The "modern elder." It's a strange term. Chip Conley describes it this way: As curious as you are wise. I heard Chip at a conference in San Francisco, wrangled a meeting with him, and booked this podcast. I was moved by his content. If modern medicine has its way, we're going to live a long time and need a place to apply ourselves during and after …

Entrepreneur Operating System. It's building momentum amongst small to medium sized businesses in the area. Sid Sexton and Forrest Derr are advocates of it. Both have seen the results on their own work. Sid runs Sexton Lawn and Landscape and says EOS has changed his company. Forrest was part of the transformation. The biggest place where you can se…

Judge Roy Bean Spirits began when David Gibson sold his advertising and marketing agency and decided to try his hand at whiskey and tossed a new brand into the marketplace. His product has a distinct pecan wood finish, making it unique. The regulatory body in the state of Alabama offered him a trail in markets south of I-10 and his product quickly …

The What's Working radio show has come to a close. The podcast remains. This is the first of the new podcast-only, non-radio versions of What's Working. No forced breaks for commercials, no time limit per episode. Much easier to edit. More fun for me. No obligations and no deadlines for new weekly content. If you're a fan of the show, please give t…

Monte Criswell is a songwriter. A big time, bad-a$$ songwriter. 200 of his songs have been recorded by Nashville artists and he's had several number 1 hits and a few Grammy nominations. His passion from a young age was to be in music. From the University of Alabama (and St Paul's Episcopal School in Mobile, Alabame before that) he declined a law sc…

Low T. What's it mean? What does a man with low T experience? What does testosterone replacment feel like? Whan changes can you expect? Dr Matt Barber has taken on this issue with his new business called Gameday Men's Health. In a private environment, you will get tested to see what your testosterone level is and whether you need their services or …

The Isle Dauphine Oyster Company was born out of Doug's passion for process, the coastal waters, and Doug's fondness for oysters. A trained engineer, Doug has now created a predictable product that's ready for the big time. That's a part of his pitch when he enters restaurants in Nashville, Birmingham, Atlanta, and New Orleans - they can count on h…

Ron McBay travels to places most of us only fainly know about to represent NATO and train these countries leadership on NATO approved engagement practices. It's very precise content and Ron, trained as an attorney and a background as a JAG, knows it very well. Curious how NATO really works? Want to know what engagement tactics are allowed? Listen i…

Maymay went on to YouTube from Chilton County, Alabama many years ago out of a desire to create some beautiful paper creations. People watched. Then more people. Then many more people. Now she hosts events online with hundreds of attendees and they travel internationally to come to her hosted events in Chilton County. Social media is her advertisin…

The National Association of Realtors changed home buying rules and they've been in effect about a month. Home buyers will now have a new conversation with their realtor when they go to buy a home. The realtor will need to negotiate a fee with the buyer. Previously it was in the background as the deal went forward with a typical 6% commission split …

Telling people things allows them to disagree with you. Asking them questions allows you to understand their perspective and allows you to align with their ideas before directing them. Bob Tiede is an author of the book Leading with Questions. He and I discuss the power of questions as a leadership tool. Show Sponsors: E3 Termite & Pest Control Roy…

The business of moving and movers. Pretty tried and true. Very little room for disruption, right? Wrong. Ron Holt has upended tradtional businesses before and is doing it again. His first was Two Maids where he based the payment of the service providers on the evaluations of the customers. The result? Huge efforts from the cleaners to please the cu…

With all the free weather apps avaialble, why pay for a forecast? Because Crown Weather offers something a bit more, a bit personal. Rob Lightbrown offers a subscription only weather forecast that gets into the weeds of the weather. I was referred to him by a retired banker who used Rob's service to help his agricultural clients try to prepare for …

Who is the hero of your business? Too often, it's you. It SHOULD be the customer. Stephanie Greenwood is a StoryBrand consultant and explains it all so simply to me. She's with IMMIX Strategic and walks me through the process. The customer is the hero. You - the business - are a guide that helps the hero overcome their problem. You bring them to so…

Leadership consultant and author Brandon Smith has written a book that I've had referenced to me too many times in the past weeks to simply ignore. Called Author vs Editor Dilemma, the book is a management and leadership guide with simple plans for turning your employees into a more highly productive team. It's a simple concept - as the leader, too…

Cline Jones spent time as a boy watching the locks and dams near his home take and receive tow-boats on the river. The attraction of the work was deep and he signed up to be a part of that industry. Today he's the Executive Director of the Tennessee River Valley Association and the Tennessee-Cumberland Waterways Council. He knows the numbers: the 1…

Economist Connor Lokar says it's goign to get worse before it gets better. Then it's going to get much worse. Connor is with ITR Economics. He and his firm work with businesses to help them prepare for economic change. Avowedly apolitical, Connor and his team only say the November election is unlikely to change our economy in any meaningful way, re…

Lots of changes coming to workplace rules ranging from the legality of non-compete agreements to changes to the salary of exempt employees. Windy Bitzer of the Hand Arendall law firm explains the changes and what they mean for you and me. Show Sponsors: E3 Termite & Pest Control Roy Lewis Construction Allison Horner - State Farm Agent Angelo DePaol…

Chandler Nicole Sherrill is a talented publisher, creative director, and avid podcast listener. This being her first interview behind the mic, Chandler channels the spirit of her favorite toasty podcasters while sharing tips for songwriters, artists, and aspiring musical directors. This episode is not sponsored by Spritz, but boy do we wish it was.…

Lots of chatter out there about AI. Lots. Every day some some sort of news about how it will make our world unbelievably better and another about how it will be the end of humanity. I reached out to Kai Gray to ask him to answer some questions - what can AI really do? Aside from being the best source tech help I've ever found, what can it do for me…

Tenaska has created a method for capturing the greenhouse gasses emited from industrial sites and pushing it through pipelines to a hub where it is injected 10,000 feet under ground. The diposal site must have a top layer of impermeable rock and the CO2 ultimately turns into an inert stone. The process requires a significant investment and Tenaska …

For years Scott McKain has led audiences and his consulting clients how to become distinct and different in a crowded marketplace. His approach is simple yet most companies won't do it - what are the extra things you can do to remain memorable to customers and how can you incorporate them into your business? Most people will claim their expertise i…

Burnie Juneau can walk into a business and tell if it is franchisable. He's gained a sense of how easy it will be based on his years of experience. His approach to the owner is "are you interested in growing quickly." The company he works for, Franchise Marketing Systems, does all the paperwork, files the trademark documents, and readies the busine…

Col. John Kilpatrick saves veteran lives. He offers a system for doing it, with key roles filled by other veterans. "Unless you're a veteran," he told me, "you'll never know what we've gone through and no one will listen to you." His agency, Vets Recover, is the first of its type he knows about in the country. From vets in despair on the edge of su…

Last time on the show Dr Robert Pearl gave a general overview of the impact he predicts AI with have with medicine. I asked him to return to the show on the release of his new book, ChatGPT MD, now availble on Amazon. Dr Pearl gives a wonderful example of someone injured in a ski accident and when they entered details about their accident and the r…

Dan Sigmond has seen a great deal in his time with the FBI. He and I discuss his pursuit of financail fraud the the crooks who commit it. Some the crooks are idiots, Sigmond says. Some, however, are brilliant. Sigmond tells us what to look for, how to defend ourselves, and the most common mistakes businesses make. Show Sponsors: Mason Hills Farms -…