In this end-of-year solo episode, Hilary Corna looks ahead to 2026 and explains why it will be a “convergence year” where AI goes mainstream and operations become a true competitive advantage. She walks through three core questions every leader should ask about their operations before Q1, shows how lack of clarity (“who does what, when, and why”) caps growth, and reframes AI as a solution to real bottlenecks—not a shiny object to chase. Get intentional about the small shifts now so they can compound over 2026. TIMESTAMPS [01:28] Last episode of the year &amp; why 2026 is your year for operations [02:17] The #1 myth holding leaders back from using AI [03:20] 2026 as the convergence year for AI, operations, and scale [04:01] Three key questions to diagnose bottlenecks and opportunities [05:57] Using AI as the solution to real operational problems [07:28] Behind the scenes: saving 10 hours a week in content production [08:15] The “quiet stretch” before Q1 and productizing your operation [09:20] Mindset shift: from perfection to intentional, clear operations [09:57] How to get support: masterclass, community, and resources [10:29] Happy 2026 &amp; holiday break sign-off Enrolling now for The Ops Edge Academy Q1 2026 cohort and PDCA Certification. Reach out to Team@HilaryCorna.com

<description>&lt;p&gt;In this end-of-year solo episode, Hilary Corna looks ahead to 2026 and explains why it will be a “convergence year” where AI goes mainstream and operations become a true competitive advantage. She walks through three core questions every leader should ask about their operations before Q1, shows how lack of clarity (“who does what, when, and why”) caps growth, and reframes AI as a solution to real bottlenecks—not a shiny object to chase. Get intentional about the small shifts now so they can compound over 2026.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;TIMESTAMPS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;[01:28] Last episode of the year &amp;amp; why 2026 is your year for operations&lt;br/&gt;[02:17] The #1 myth holding leaders back from using AI&lt;br/&gt;[03:20] 2026 as the convergence year for AI, operations, and scale&lt;br/&gt;[04:01] Three key questions to diagnose bottlenecks and opportunities&lt;br/&gt;[05:57] Using AI as the solution to real operational problems&lt;br/&gt;[07:28] Behind the scenes: saving 10 hours a week in content production&lt;br/&gt;[08:15] The “quiet stretch” before Q1 and productizing your operation&lt;br/&gt;[09:20] Mindset shift: from perfection to intentional, clear operations&lt;br/&gt;[09:57] How to get support: masterclass, community, and resources&lt;br/&gt;[10:29] Happy 2026 &amp;amp; holiday break sign-off&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Enrolling now for The Ops Edge Academy Q1 2026 cohort and PDCA Certification. Reach out to Team@HilaryCorna.com&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

In this end-of-year solo episode, Hilary Corna looks ahead to 2026 and explains why it will be a “convergence year” where AI goes mainstream and operations become a true competitive advantage. She walks through three core questions every leader should ask about their operations before Q1, shows how lack of clarity (“who does what, when, and why”) caps growth, and reframes AI as a solution to real bottlenecks—not a shiny object to chase. Get intentional about the small shifts now so they can c...

[SOLO] 2026, Let’s Go! Everything You Need to Know Going into the New Year

In this solo episode, Hilary Corna shares how to boost revenue without adding more leads by tightening the quality of your sales process. She breaks down a simple three-stage pre-sales framework—prospecting, quoting, and closing—and shows where businesses commonly leak money through poor lead fit, inconsistent follow-up, and non-standard proposals or contracts. With practical examples, Hilary explains how to better qualify leads, standardize responses and documents, and create a clear onboarding roadmap so you convert more of the opportunities you already have. TIMESTAMPS [01:28] Why you don’t need more leads to grow revenue [02:55] Where your sales process actually loses money [04:12] Saying no to non-ideal clients &amp; staying in your lane [07:20] The three core stages of a pre-sales operation [09:08] Stage 1 – Prospecting: defining lead sources &amp; tracking quality [16:08] Stage 2 – Quoting &amp; proposals: standardizing and using AI [22:11] Stage 3 – Closing: contracts, agreements, and low-hanging fixes [27:18] Designing the onboarding roadmap &amp; “what happens next” tool [31:49] Wrap-up: improving quality to increase revenue from existing leads Enrolling now for The Ops Edge Academy and PDCA Certification. Reach out to Team@HilaryCorna.com to schedule a call.Download our brand new free guide to (legit) boosting revenue without adding leads at www.hilarycorna.com/Learning-Center

<description>&lt;p&gt;In this solo episode, Hilary Corna shares how to boost revenue without adding more leads by tightening the quality of your sales process. She breaks down a simple three-stage pre-sales framework—prospecting, quoting, and closing—and shows where businesses commonly leak money through poor lead fit, inconsistent follow-up, and non-standard proposals or contracts. With practical examples, Hilary explains how to better qualify leads, standardize responses and documents, and create a clear onboarding roadmap so you convert more of the opportunities you already have.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;TIMESTAMPS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;[01:28] Why you don’t need more leads to grow revenue&lt;br/&gt;[02:55] Where your sales process actually loses money&lt;br/&gt;[04:12] Saying no to non-ideal clients &amp;amp; staying in your lane&lt;br/&gt;[07:20] The three core stages of a pre-sales operation&lt;br/&gt;[09:08] Stage 1 – Prospecting: defining lead sources &amp;amp; tracking quality&lt;br/&gt;[16:08] Stage 2 – Quoting &amp;amp; proposals: standardizing and using AI&lt;br/&gt;[22:11] Stage 3 – Closing: contracts, agreements, and low-hanging fixes&lt;br/&gt;[27:18] Designing the onboarding roadmap &amp;amp; “what happens next” tool&lt;br/&gt;[31:49] Wrap-up: improving quality to increase revenue from existing leads&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Enrolling now for The Ops Edge Academy and PDCA Certification. Reach out to Team@HilaryCorna.com to schedule a call.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Download our brand new free guide to (legit) boosting revenue without adding leads at www.hilarycorna.com/Learning-Center&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

In this solo episode, Hilary Corna shares how to boost revenue without adding more leads by tightening the quality of your sales process. She breaks down a simple three-stage pre-sales framework—prospecting, quoting, and closing—and shows where businesses commonly leak money through poor lead fit, inconsistent follow-up, and non-standard proposals or contracts. With practical examples, Hilary explains how to better qualify leads, standardize responses and documents, and create a clear onboard...

[SOLO] How to Boost Revenue Without Adding More Leads

Bold leaders don&apos;t guess, they implement. In this special episode, Hilary Corna brings together the most powerful moments of 2025, where founders and experts revealed the specific processes they used to scale with clarity. Discover how they applied principles like PDCA to simplify operations, make data-driven decisions, and build impactful businesses without burning out.Enrolling now for The Ops Edge Academy and PDCA Certification. Reach out to Team@HilaryCorna.com to schedule a call.

<description>&lt;p&gt;Bold leaders don&amp;apos;t guess, they implement.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;In this special episode, Hilary Corna brings together the most powerful moments of 2025, where founders and experts revealed the specific processes they used to scale with clarity. Discover how they applied principles like PDCA to simplify operations, make data-driven decisions, and build impactful businesses without burning out.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Enrolling now for The Ops Edge Academy and PDCA Certification. Reach out to Team@HilaryCorna.com to schedule a call.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Bold leaders don't guess, they implement.  In this special episode, Hilary Corna brings together the most powerful moments of 2025, where founders and experts revealed the specific processes they used to scale with clarity. Discover how they applied principles like PDCA to simplify operations, make data-driven decisions, and build impactful businesses without burning out. Enrolling now for The Ops Edge Academy and PDCA Certification. Reach out to Team@HilaryCorna.com to schedule a call. 

Wrap Up of Your Favorite Episodes of 2025

Ready to launch your new processes with consistency and clarity? In this episode, Hilary introduces a powerful tool she uses with all her clients—a training template designed to simplify go live preparations. Download the template at: https://rebrand.ly/training-template or visit www.HilaryCorna.com/Learning-center This template ensures that every training session is structured, standardized, and impactful, so no one is left behind in understanding the process. Whether it’s new automation, onboarding deck, agenda or anything, this episode breaks down how to train your team effectively, ensuring everyone hears the same message, grounded in the context of your overarching company processes. Let’s talk about building the foundation for continuous improvement and how to sustain it long after the go live. TIMESTAMPS: [01:15]  The importance of standardizing training for successful go live preparation [03:00]  What to include in a go live training template [06:00]  Explaining the PCA process and its role in shaping training content [09:45]  A breakdown of how to close the training effectively [13:00]  Why standardizing the opening and closing is crucial for success [15:00] The role of the training facilitator and their use of the template [18:00]  Wrapping up with actionable steps and next steps for listeners

<description>&lt;p&gt;Ready to launch your new processes with consistency and clarity? In this episode, Hilary introduces a powerful tool she uses with all her clients—a training template designed to simplify go live preparations. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Download the template at: https://rebrand.ly/training-template or visit www.HilaryCorna.com/Learning-center&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This template ensures that every training session is structured, standardized, and impactful, so no one is left behind in understanding the process. Whether it’s new automation, onboarding deck, agenda or anything, this episode breaks down how to train your team effectively, ensuring everyone hears the same message, grounded in the context of your overarching company processes. Let’s talk about building the foundation for continuous improvement and how to sustain it long after the go live.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;TIMESTAMPS:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;[01:15]  The importance of standardizing training for successful go live preparation&lt;br/&gt;[03:00]  What to include in a go live training template&lt;br/&gt;[06:00]  Explaining the PCA process and its role in shaping training content&lt;br/&gt;[09:45]  A breakdown of how to close the training effectively&lt;br/&gt;[13:00]  Why standardizing the opening and closing is crucial for success&lt;br/&gt;[15:00] The role of the training facilitator and their use of the template&lt;br/&gt;[18:00]  Wrapping up with actionable steps and next steps for listeners&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Ready to launch your new processes with consistency and clarity? In this episode, Hilary introduces a powerful tool she uses with all her clients—a training template designed to simplify go live preparations.   Download the template at: https://rebrand.ly/training-template or visit www.HilaryCorna.com/Learning-center  This template ensures that every training session is structured, standardized, and impactful, so no one is left behind in understanding the process. Whether it’s new automation,...

[SOLO] How to Use Our Training Template

Register for our upcoming free masterclass on process mapping and identifying waste at <a href='https://www.HilaryCorna.com.'>www.HilaryCorna.com.</a> This podcast episode highlights how world-class organizations use breakdowns as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks. It explains how the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle transforms mistakes into structured learning that compounds over time, building operational resilience. As leaders look ahead to 2026, the episode challenges them to stop “winging it” and start systematizing their processes to prevent crises before they happen. By auditing key systems, documenting knowledge, and identifying single points of failure, companies can move from reactive to proactive. The episode closes with a reminder that even giants like Amazon experience outages—but with the right mindset and processes, failures become springboards for stronger, smarter organizations

<description>&lt;p&gt;Register for our upcoming free masterclass on process mapping and identifying waste at &lt;a href='https://www.HilaryCorna.com.'&gt;www.HilaryCorna.com.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This podcast episode highlights how world-class organizations use breakdowns as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks. It explains how the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle transforms mistakes into structured learning that compounds over time, building operational resilience. As leaders look ahead to 2026, the episode challenges them to stop “winging it” and start systematizing their processes to prevent crises before they happen. By auditing key systems, documenting knowledge, and identifying single points of failure, companies can move from reactive to proactive. The episode closes with a reminder that even giants like Amazon experience outages—but with the right mindset and processes, failures become springboards for stronger, smarter organizations&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Register for our upcoming free masterclass on process mapping and identifying waste at www.HilaryCorna.com.  This podcast episode highlights how world-class organizations use breakdowns as opportunities for growth rather than setbacks. It explains how the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle transforms mistakes into structured learning that compounds over time, building operational resilience. As leaders look ahead to 2026, the episode challenges them to stop “winging it” and start systematizing th...

[SOLO] If AWS Can Go Down, So Can You

Hilary Corna, former Toyota executive and process expert, empowers service-based businesses to streamline operations and scale with clarity using the PDCA methodology. Unprofessional is a community-driven podcast for bold leaders seeking actionable strategies, fresh perspectives, and the tools to build streamlined, impactful businesses with purpose. &nbsp;

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