Engineering Calmer Agencies & Consulting Firms: Calm is the New KPI

After 11 years, Tanya’s business hums. She's got warm leads, proven offers, talented contractors. And yet… projects that should take two weeks stretch to two months because she’s the translator between client and designer. In this live diagnosis, we map a transition from “Tanya-as-critical-path” to a productized, reliable service with automated coordination, a structured client-feedback loop, and clear handoffs. We also unpack the fear behind delegating client trust - and why productizing increases value rather than commoditizing it.

What You’ll Learn

• How to design a Coordination Offload System so delivery runs without you in the middle
• A simple, automated client-feedback flywheel (template email + form + status trigger)
• Why productizing raises reliability and margin without lowering price
• Where to add a copywriter or coordinator—and where automation beats headcount
• A tiny, 90-minute action that can save 3–4 hours every month (and unstick cash flow)

Connect with Tanya

Meetings don’t equal management—most of the time, they’re just control theater. Freelance project manager Kacie Brennell joins Susan to unpack how autonomy—not attendance—drives real outcomes. They dig into async accountability, why tools fail without culture shifts, and how perfectionism + codependency quietly sabotage calm. If you’ve ever looked up from a day of calls with a longer to-do list, this one’s for you.

What you’ll learn

• How to shift from presence-driven management to outcome-driven autonomy
• The simple async cadence: owner → outcome → deadline → 3-bullet update
• Why software alone won’t save you (and what culture change must come first)
• Spotting perfectionism and codependency at work—and what to model instead
• How to use efficiency to create margin (and then actually keep it)
• Practical scripts for moving “quick calls” into written, visible decisions

Connect with Kacie

What if your most important KPI wasn’t about revenue, leads, or efficiency—but about people? In this episode, operations strategist Layla Pomper shares the story of her Death List KPI: a surprisingly human metric born out of emergency planning that reshaped her entire approach to resilience.

What started as a morbid exercise—writing down who her partner should call if she died—became a powerful reframe. It forced Layla to measure not just internal systems, but the strength of her external relationships. The result? A business that’s not only operationally sound, but relationally resilient.

What You’ll Learn

• Why a Death List KPI matters more than a perfectly documented SOP.
• How to structure your own list by category: legal, financial, operational, technical.
• The role of community as real business infrastructure.
• Why operators in particular need a stronger “village.”
• How one metric can cascade into redesigning your business model, marketing, and personal priorities.

Learn More About Layla Pomper

When your signature skill is the thing clients line up for, it’s easy to accidentally build a beautiful trap. In this live diagnosis, Jeremy Enns, the founder of Podcast Marketing Academy, shares how his rave-review podcast audits started running his weeks (and energy) into the ground. 

We focus on Business Design and Margin Mindset to keep the magic intact while redesigning delivery so results scale and burnout doesn’t. Think: fewer audits, higher prices, phased delivery, and using your audit as a kickoff to a year-long, calm growth arc.

What You’ll Learn

• Why splitting “the thinking” across multiple people weakens synthesis - and what to do instead
• A calm way to productize deep expertise: shorter delivery, phased implementation, clearer prioritization
• How to reframe audits from one heavy drop to a year-long outcomes program
• Pricing and packaging tweaks that filter for fit and reduce overwhelm
• Using “show, don’t tell” proof (full audit shares/teardowns) to communicate outsized value

Learn More About Jeremy Enns

If you've been sharing the same ideas for years but still feel like you're reinventing the wheel every time you explain them, this episode is for you. Susan sits down with Melanie Deziel, creator of the IRON Framework, to explore how to transform raw, unstructured ideas into scalable, repeatable frameworks. Go behind the scenes of the Calmer Framework’s evolution, explore why naming comes last, and show how frameworks can become the backbone of your services, content, and operations. Whether you’re trying to clarify your IP or reduce your mental load, this episode will help you treat your ideas like infrastructure.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why lack of structure - not lack of clarity - is holding your IP back
• The four components of Mel’s IRON Framework for turning ideas into frameworks
• How systematizing your thinking creates business leverage and margin
• The difference between creativity and reinvention
• Why framework development is more collaborative than you think

Learn More About Melanie Deziel:
Melanie Deziel is a keynote speaker, author of The Content Fuel Framework, and the founder of StoryFuel. She helps entrepreneurs and organizations transform their ideas into scalable content and IP.