Have you ever been taken advantage of by ticket scalpers or purchased fraudulent tickets to an event?  If so, that can leave you very embarrassed and angry.  Today with cell phones, block chain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, it is now possible to mitigate these risks as well as assure the safety of people attending venues, concerts, sporting events, etc.  In this episode Eric Rozenberg of SecuTix talks about how they address these issues and help organizations and venues regain their independence.Eric Rozenberg is the US CEO of SecuTix SA.  He has over 20 years of experience with event and meeting management and is also the best-selling author of Meeting at C-Level.My favorite Quotes from Eric Rozenberg:“Quality is crucial”“It is difficult to change, change is always stressful” “When you are faced with something new, you need the pioneers that understand what is coming next”“Whatever happens to you in life, you move forward to find a solution” “Processes and procedures are essential to sales and marketing”“Yoda: Do or do not, there is no try”“Lead, follow, or get out of the way”How to reach Eric Rozenberg:LinkedIn: Eric RozenbergTwitter: @Yoda18Web Site:  SecuTix.comAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

Business Performance Podcast

044: Addressing Ticket Fraud, Security, & Data Collection – A Conversation with Eric Rozenberg / SecuTix

Delivering software QA and testing services requires a lot of process discipline, as well as being an entrepreneur starting a new consultancy company.  The quality of the delivered services is directly related to the quality of the processes used for delivering the services.  In this episode, Fritz Frtizius talks about software testing automation, misconceptions, and pitfalls and what is he has done to overcome these challenges.Fritz has a long career as a tester/software QA with various companies.  Five years ago he formed Arch DevOps and has been creating automation solutions for software companies, including anything within the DevOps spectrum (continuous testing, test automation, continuous integration, delivery, etc.) for any size company, any sector ever since.My favorite quotes from Fritz:“Everyone has a maker’s mindset.”“The Happiness Chain is the chief quality metric.”“People know what good software is.”“Success is quiet and failure is loud.”“Building trust comes with communication.”How to reach and stay connected with Fritz:LinkedIn: Michael "Frtiz" FritziusEmail:  fritz@archdevops.com About PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.net Support the show (https://ppqc.net)

057: Conversation with Michael “Fritz” Fritzius – A Late Blooming Process Advocate

Disruption and automation affects every business today.  Cultural resistance is the biggest obstacle to overcome as many people fear losing their jobs to automation as companies try to become better, faster, and cheaper while pursuing improved customer satisfaction.  In this episode, Bälaji Ramanujam talks about overcoming these challenges and building customer satisfaction based on data.Bälaji Ramanujam has a proven track record of positively impacting EBITDA and customer growth by rapidly building high performing, results oriented teams and solutions with an emphasis on engineering, product delivery, and governance for real world, large scale solutions. My favorite quotes from Bälaji Ramanujam:“Some times you have to do negative testing and shut the system down.”“Quality is the right place, the right price, the right time.”“There is not a single business that is not being disrupted by technology.”“Being complacent is the worst thing that can happen today.”How to reach and stay connected with Bälaji Ramanujam:LinkedIn: Balaji RamanujamAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.net Support the show (https://ppqc.net)

056: Maximizing Customer Lifetime Value– A Conversation with Bälaji Ramanujam

The traditional marketing funnel uses A/B testing and can be quite time consuming to zero in on the best marketing strategy.  Today the landscape of traditional marketing techniques is rapidly changing with the use of AI and autonomous cross channel marketing.  In this episode, Jim Calhoun/CEO of Nectar9 talks about how they are building a world in which marketing automation is truly left to the machines.Jim Calhoun is a seasoned Silicon Valley executive with a track record of success developing software, teams, and businesses.  His early work included the development of enterprise content management software at NetObjects, Inc.  Then as the chief executive of PopularMedia, Inc., Calhoun and his team developed enterprise marketing software that analyzed social connections to make predictions about consumer behavior.  Backed by Sequoia Capital and Steamboat VC (Disney), the company was later acquired StrongView Systems in 2009 to extend that company's product portfolio into the then-emerging social media sector.My favorite quotes from Jim Calhoun:“The comfort level of customers taking on AI is interesting to watch.”“It takes a while for advanced customers to say OK, we are going to turn all of this stuff over to AI.”“AI takes the drudgery out of working with spreadsheets.”“You can’t step in the same river twice.?”“The cost of experimentation with AI and ML is very low.”How to reach and stay connected with Jim Calhoun:LinkedIn: Jim CalhounWeb Site: nectar9.comEmail:  jim@nectar9.comAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show (https://ppqc.net)

055: Autonomous Cross Channel Marketing– A Conversation with Jim Calhoun / CEO Nectar9

Lean.  Agile.  DevOps.  These terms and concepts are quite the vogue with software development today, and were meant to address the shortcomings of waterfall development and ill-defined requirements.  Yet people implement these concepts to varying degrees, claiming they are agile, and the quality problems of yesterday still exist.  In this episode Michael Nir of Sapir Consulting talks about agile, retrospectives, and quality in software development teams.Michael Nir is an executive agile Lean DevOps expert known for his passion, creativity and innovation.  His Masters in Engineering and training in Gestalt balance his technical know-how with emotional intelligence.  Michael is the author of ten books on influence, consumer experience, and Lean Agile project management.My favorite quotes from Michael Nir:Michael loves this quote from Seth Godin:  “All software is held together with patches, shortcuts and cruft.  (Many old houses are as well).  Don’t be surprised.  Expect it.  At some point, you’ll need to take a deep breath and pay a bunch of money to start fresh.  And then, the very next day, there will be paper clips and string accumulating again.  That’s how it works.  And it’s a miracle that it works at all.”“Scrum and KanBan are the starting points for a conversation.  They make things more visible.  Then the question is, what do you do with this visibility?”“Tickets are what you get from a cop.  You don’t manage tickets.”“Process changes fail because there is no team buy-in.”“Entropy wins”How to reach and stay connected with Michael Nir:LinkedIn: Michael NirWeb Site: michaelnir.comEmail:  michael@michaelnir.comAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show (https://ppqc.net)

054: On a Quest for Business Agility– A Conversation with Michael Nir / President Sapir Consulting

Entrepreneur Eric Ries co-founded and served as CTO of IMVU.  The lessons he learned at IMVU became the basis for The Lean Startup.  Eight years later IMVU continues to grow and move up the hockey stick, today using AI and experiments to grow their customer base through the efforts of their VP Growth, Lomit Patel.  Lomit's first book, Lean AI part of Eric Ries' The Lean Startup series, will be published in March 2020.  In this episode Lomit talks about quality, vanity metrics, growing market share, etc. through the use of Lean AI.Lomit Patel is the Vice President of Growth at IMVU, responsible for user acquisition, retention and monetization.  Prior to IMVU, Lomit managed growth at early stage startups including Roku (IPO), TrustedID (acquired by Equifax), Texture (acquired by Apple) and EarthLink.  Lomit is a public speaker, author, advisor, and recognized as a Mobile Hero by Liftoff.My favorite quotes from Lomit Patel:“The best way to build trust with your users is to always give them value.”“Trust is a currency to keep that user around.”“The more experiments that you run, the smarter you get.”“Advocates can become your biggest evangelists.”How to reach and stay connected with Lomit Patel:LinkedIn: Lomit PatelBlog: LomitPatel.comWeb Site: Lean AI About PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show (https://ppqc.net)

053: Driving Customer Growth via Lean AI – A Conversation with Lomit Patel / VP Growth at IMVU

There are many different moving parts when it comes to healthcare:  patients, providers, payers, insurance companies, etc.  And when you try to connect the patient to the provider to the payer, things can get bogged down due to different forms, formats, information, data, etc.  Bridging these gaps can be quite a challenge, especially when it comes to quality and human interactions.  In this episode Colin Mulholland talks about how he is introducing cultural change into Change Healthcare by co-creating, coaching, and counseling executive leaders, transformation teams, and internal strategic partners to deliver value while building a culture of adaptability through change.Colin Mulholland has spent the last 5+ years of his career seeking to provide value through organizational change within technology, operations and education environments for start-ups to Fortune 100 companies.  He is passionately exploring and discovering the intersections of customer experience, culture, co-creation, agile delivery and data analytics to challenge the status quo, deliver value and provide purpose at work.My favorite quotes from Colin Mulholland:“Use what works and forget everything else.”“We are innately relational”“The only way for knowledge transfer to work is that folks need to trust you.”“My life mission is bigger than my workplace.”“People don’t reject plans they help create.”How to reach and stay connected with Colin Mulholland:LinkedIn: Colin MulhollandAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

052: Humanizing Process Improvement – A Conversation with Colin Mulholland / Enterprise Practice Leader at Change Healthcare

Disruption and innovation are today’s business models.  No industry sector is immune.  A case in point is Field Agent and how they are changing the way that the world collects business information. Field Agent uses crowdsourcing to gain access to their client's shoppers who then utilize the latest in smart phone technology to deliver near real time access to business information.  Field Agent provides better coverage in less time and in a more cost-effective solution than current providers of research, retail auditing, data collection and mystery shopping services.  In this episode Rick West talks about the importance of collecting high quality data and providing meaningful analytics to their clients.Rick West is the husband of one, father of three, Grandaddy of two, and a friend to many.  He is an experienced CEO and co-founder of multiple start-ups with emphasis in technology, innovation and CPG.  As a leader in the Retail Industry for seventeen years in the United States, Hong Kong and Thailand he has been an Entrepreneur for over sixteen years in the U.S. and currently serves as a speaker and mentor within the business community and research industry.My favorite quotes from Rick West:“We keep honest people honest”“Don’t overthink the instructions”“Recall, at best, is bad”“Let your yes be yes and your no be no.  There is no maybe.  Maybes are terrible.”How to reach and stay connected with Rick West:LinkedIn: Rick WestWeb Site:  Field AgentEmail:  Rick.West@fieldagent.netAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

051: Crowdsourcing the Collection of Business Data – A Conversation with Rick West / Co-Founder and CEO at Field Agent

What has been your experience with searching for a job or changing your career?  Are you one of the million people applying for the same job posted on the different Job Sites?  Are you looking for a better way to meet your goals?  Meet Kyle Gantos, who after receiving his MBA, was frustrated with all the competition for the same small set of jobs.  Over the past seven years Kyle has honed his coaching and training method to help his clients overcome their fears and meet their gig.  In this episode Kyle Gantos discusses his journey, challenges, fears, and successes with helping people achieve their dreams.Kyle Gantos is the founder of meetyourgig.com, a coaching and training service company that helps people develop elite professional marketing skills to thrive in an ultra-competitive workforce and transform their evolving career ambitions into target opportunities.My favorite quotes from Kyle Gantos:“Quit trying to optimize your solution.  Get traffic instead”“I found a problem so compelling to me that I went out to solve it without anyone paying me to do it.”“I hate those LinkedIn marketing messages that start: I came across your profile …”How to reach and stay connected with Kyle Gantos:LinkedIn: Kyle GantosWeb Site:  MeetYourGigAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

050: Developing Trust: The Executive Career Accelerator – A Conversation with Kyle Gantos / Founder at MeetYourGig

How do you disrupt an established industry and/or market?  By thinking outside of the box and using state of the art technology to circumvent the high-pressure sales environment in brick and mortar jewelry stores.  The biggest challenge to overcomes is FOBRO, fear of buying rings online.  Entrepreneur Anubh Shah leveraged his financial background, family history in the diamond business, and 3D printing technology to bring custom engagement ring design to the masses by delivering 3D printed prototypes that look and feel like the actual ring to the customer with an unparalleled unboxing experience that meets and exceeds all expectations.  In this episode we meet Anubh Shah where he explains how he has disrupted the engagement ring business.Anubh Shah is the founder of With Clarity, an online, direct to consumer home try-on engagement ring company.  With Clarity is #18 on the 2019 INC. 5000 list, #4 of the top consumer product companies, and #3 of the top New York companies.  And they have experienced an impressive 9,179% growth over the past three years!My favorite quotes from Anubh Shah:“Experience never trumps research.”“We want the luxury ring buying experience to available to the masses.”How to reach Anubh Shah:LinkedIn: Anubh ShahWeb Site:  With ClarityEmail:  anubh.shah@withclarity.com Email:  service@withclarity.com About PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

049: Deliberately Different: Disrupting the Engagement Ring Business – A Conversation with Anubh Shah / Founder @ With Clarity

One of the issues facing healthcare and hospitals today is the paucity of time for clinicians and physicians to focus on the needs of the patient, rather than getting caught up with all of the new technology.  Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health’s Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice President for Technology Innovation and Consumer Experience Neil Gomes is leading the effort to bring innovation to healthcare, thereby providing more time for focusing on the quality of care and life for patients.Neil has lead a $5.2 billion organization and associated industries to transform digitally by designing, developing, and implementing consumer-oriented, value-driven digital and real-world solutions that precipitate growth, develop competitive advantage, and define the future.My favorite quotes from Neil Gomes:“If you ever feel lonely at home, just watch an episode of Criminal Minds and you’ll feel like everyone is trying to break into your home and you won’t feel lonely anymore.”“An idea is a belief that the mind possesses.  A belief is an idea that possesses the mind.”How to reach Neil Gomes:LinkedIn: Neil GomesTwitter: NeilGomesWeb Site:  Neil GomesEmail:  neilgomes@mac.com  About PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

048: Saving Clinicians’ and Physicians’ Most Precious Resource, Time – A Conversation with Neil Gomes/Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice President for Technology Innovation and Consumer Experience

I am sure that you have sometime in your life you have been frustrated  by the bill you receive from a hospital stay.  Incorrect billing, incorrect application of your medical insurance, delayed billing etc.  Wouldn’t it be great if there was a solution to reduce these errors, speed up the process, and be of benefit to both the patients and the hospitals?  Now there is with Avelead.  In this episode we meet Avelead’s Founder Jawad Shaikh and discover how he and Avelead have successfully addressed these challenges. Avelead rose from #449 on the 2018 Inc 5000 List to #228 in 2019.  They are #4 of all IT development companies, #12 in the Top Atlanta companies, and #12 in the top Georgia companies.  Jawad is the Executive Director at Avelead where he focusses on managing growth and strategy for Avelead’s mission of automating the revenue cycle in healthcare.  He is also a Board Member for the American University School of Medicine Aruba (AUSOMA).  My favorite Quote from Jawad Shaikh:“My focus is on leadership, technology, and results” How to reach Jawad Shaikh:LinkedIn: Jawad ShaikhTwitter: jwshaikhWeb Site:  Avelead About PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.net Support the show

047: Improving the Healthcare Revenue Cycle – A Conversation with Jawad Shaikh of Avelead

Automobile dealerships have some unique issues when it comes to operations and marketing.  The consumer has always dreaded going to the dealer because of the high-pressure experience.  Innovation and disruption has come to auto sales with businesses like Car Max and Carvana.  So traditional dealerships have to adjust and rethink their marketing strategies and service offerings.  In this episode Jason Harris of Strategy with Jason talks about his journey and mission to add value to dealerships through education.Jason Harris has over 18 years of experience in sales, online marketing and operations.  He has always had a strong passion for the automotive industry and has held positions such as Marketing Manager, Business Development Manager, General Manager, Operations Manager, and Dealer Principal.  Jason specializes in pro-active marketing strategies and implementation of processes that directly affect sales and service. How to reach Jason Harris:LinkedIn: Jason HarrisYouTube:  Strategy with JasonFacebook:  Strategy with JasonInstagram:  Strategy with JasonTwitter: StratWJasonWeb Site:  strategywithjason.comWeb Site:  digitaldealershipsolutions.ca About PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

046: Practical Strategies for Auto Dealers – A Conversation with Jason Harris of Digital Dealership Solutions

Have you ever wondered how small companies are able to introduce innovation to NASA?  It is an uphill battle even with NASA being on the cutting edge of technology.  Innovative technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, and holoportation are being used to train, troubleshoot, and communicate with astronauts as they prepare to travel on long interplanetary voyages.  In this episode AEXA CEO Fernando De La Peña Llaca discusses how his company has overcome the challenges of being a small business and become able to bid as a prime contractor.Fernando De La Peña Llaca is the CEO of AEXA Aerospace LLC, an innovative company that provides creative solutions for astronaut training and operational support using mixed reality and virtual reality through their  HoloWizard application.  Fernando has twenty years of successful leadership in technology and engineering companies.  His lifelong passion for space exploration combined with Aexa's leading-edge expertise, plays a key role in his support for NASA.My favorite Quotes from Fernando De La Peña Llaca:“It is not my fault, but now it is my problem, so I need to fix it.”“Keep cool, keep your mind focused, and proceed”“Our quality system is designed to scale our capabilities”“In the NASA community, we never speak bad about the other companies.  We speak positively, saying that we can take you to the next level”“When you help with technology and succeed, you open the doors for other companies to succeed”How to reach Fernando De La Peña Llaca:LinkedIn: Fernando De La Peña LlacaEmail:  FernandoInstagram:  fdodelapFacebook:  fernando.delapenaTwitter: fdodelapWeb Site:  AEXA.com About PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

045: Bringing Innovation to NASA – A Conversation with Fernando De La Peña Llaca AEXA Aerospace CEO

Have you ever wondered what it takes for a company to build an eCommerce presence on the web?  This is a non-trivial task that includes determining the company’s vision and roadmap before considering web development, web design, custom software development, content management, and the User Experience Design (UED).  In this episode CEO and entrepreneur Isaiah Bollinger takes us on his journey developing Trellis into a full service eCommerce solutions agency that made the Inc. 5000 list in 2018.Isaiah Bollinger works with Trellis’ customers to help ensure they are on the right technical infrastructure like Magento, WordPress, Shopify, etc and that they have a plan of action to improve their website for the next wave of technology.My favorite Quotes from Isaiah Bollinger:“Work smarter not harder”‘We’re only as good as you are”“As a busy entrepreneur I want the ability to help people without spending an inordinate amount of time”How to reach Isaiah Bollinger:LinkedIn: Isaiah BollingerTwitter: Isaiah BollingerWeb Site:  Trellis.coEmail:  Isaiah BollingerAbout PPQC:Process and Product Quality Consulting (PPQC) helps global executives tackle complex corporate challenges.To learn more about PPQC, visit www.ppqc.netSupport the show

043: Work Smarter, Not Harder – A Conversation with Entrepreneur Isaiah Bollinger / Trellis

The Business Performance Podcast is a monthly podcast dedicated to helping companies spread the word on their lessons learned from improving product quality, processes, and performance.

hubhopper

044: Addressing Ticket Fraud, Security, & Data Collection – ...

hubhopper