Talk to Th3 Doc with Steve Meek

🎯 TOP TAKEAWAY “We want leaders to think about cyber in particular and technology more broadly as an investment.” Is your technology producing a measurable return, or quietly adding expense and risk? Robert Maxwell explains how SMB leaders can connect AI, cybersecurity, backups, and recovery planning to resilience and growth. You will hear how one regulatory process dropped from about 675 staff hours to 30 minutes. 👤 GUEST BIO Robert Maxwell is Founder and CEO of TGT Solutions Inc. For more than 30 years, he has translated technology and cyber risk into practical business decisions that strengthen resilience and support growth. 📊 VITALS • 675 hours to 30 minutes: Automation dramatically reduced a client’s regulatory workload. • Quarterly measurement: Set priorities and compare planned results with actual results. • Recovery objectives: Define acceptable recovery times, then prove them through testing. 🩺 MEDICAL HISTORY Technology alone does not create resilience. Leaders must define the objective, assign ownership, measure progress, and confirm the expected dividend. 🔬 EXAM AND CHAPTERS 00:00 Technology, AI, and business leadership 05:17 Strategic decisions and AI governance 07:17 Building a technology roadmap 08:58 Assessing tools, owners, and workflows 11:34 Pilots, automation, and measurable implementation 14:34 Addressing employee concerns about AI 16:31 Calculating technology ROI 19:41 Cybersecurity as a competitive advantage 24:40 Cybersecurity and business performance 31:40 Patching and software accountability 35:33 Backup testing, recovery time, and continuity 37:52 Cyber insurance and organizational readiness 42:12 Investing in resilience before disruption 46:28 Prioritizing software by business impact 51:51 Treating technology as an investment 💊 TREATMENT PLAN Use Robert’s Prepare, Assess, Implement, and Reap framework to connect each initiative to a business goal, owner, implementation plan, and measurable outcome. Robert also recommends his book, Cyber Model Dividends, for leaders who want to evaluate cybersecurity and technology through an investment and dividend model. 📬 CONNECT WITH ROBERT MAXWELL Website: https://www.tgtsolutions.com Email: [email protected] Phone: 416-540-7061 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-maxwell-tgt/ 🎧 PODCAST CALL TO ACTION Subscribe on your preferred platform, then like, comment, favorite, and share this episode with another leader. For help evaluating your technology roadmap, cybersecurity posture, AI readiness, or recovery strategy, request an initial consultation: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/talk-to-th3-doc-podcast/ Listen and subscribe: https://pod.link/1807560282 More episodes: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/talk-to-th3-doc-podcast/ YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi1vcfxOUyUhHmTgOANWb7EUeNNHdlE0l&si=DRLQ9NjoXKdpnzYS 📩 CONNECT WITH STEVE “THE DOCTOR” MEEK Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemeekcissp/ 🤝 THE FULCRUM GROUP Website: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/ Sales: 817-337-0300 | [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fulcrum-group-inc/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thefulcrumgroup X: @TheFulcrumGroup | Facebook: The Fulcrum Group, Inc. Instagram: @TheFulcrumGroupInc 📚 GLOSSARY Technology ROI: The business return from a technology investment. Recovery time objective: The target time for restoring a critical system. Technology governance: The rules and ownership used to manage technology. #TalkToTh3Doc #RobertMaxwell #TGTSolutions #TechnologyStrategy #TechnologyROI #AIGovernance #Cybersecurity #CyberResilience #BusinessContinuity #DisasterRecovery #SMBLeadership #ITLeadership #TechnologyRoadmap #StrategicITPlanning #CyberInsurance #DataProtection #BusinessAutomation #DigitalTransformation #DFWBusiness #TheFulcrumGroup

Why do smart leaders still make expensive hiring mistakes? In Episode 150 of Talk To Th3 Doc, Steve “The Doctor” Meek talks with Craig della Penna, Founder and Managing Partner of Aesop Partners, creator of the HireBest® System, and author of Cipher: A Proven Framework to Hire the Best People. Craig’s central prescription is simple: “Stop interviewing candidates until you’ve defined the role.” Too many organizations start evaluating people before leadership has agreed on the business problem, expected outcomes, and evidence of success. Craig explains how his Cipher methodology helps leaders define roles more clearly, interview with better evidence, reduce gut-feel decisions, and continue using those expectations after the hire for onboarding, coaching, and performance. craig-steve 💡 TOP TAKEAWAY Retention is not the same as success. A good hire should produce the outcomes the role was created to deliver. In this episode, we cover: • Why hiring is a business issue, not just an HR issue • How AI is changing recruiting and candidate evaluation • Job descriptions vs. Job Ciphers • The CODE framework: Charge, Outcome, Deliverables, Efforts • Why simple, structured interview questions can reveal more • How to define quality of hire • When coaching should begin • The hidden economic cost of a bad hire • How high-performing teams attract better talent • Why role clarity should continue after the employee starts ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Why people are the most important asset 03:04 Scaling a better hiring process 03:58 AI and uncertainty in hiring 05:27 Hiring is a business issue 09:21 Job Description vs. Job Cipher 11:08 Using the Cipher after hiring 15:31 Management vs. performance coaching 22:09 Better interview questions 26:16 The truth about hiring success 28:36 Defining outcomes that matter 31:06 Fixing unclear expectations 34:03 AI-assisted role definition 37:51 When coaching or intervention is needed 40:13 The economic cost of a bad hire 45:25 Building a high-performance culture 48:57 Craig’s top hiring prescription 📘 Craig’s Resources HireBest® / Cipher Generator: https://hirebest.ai/ Aesop Partners: https://aesoppartners.com/ Email Craig: [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdp/ 🎧 Listen to Talk To Th3 Doc https://pod.link/1807560282 🌐 Connect With The Fulcrum Group Podcast: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/talk-to-th3-doc-podcast/ Website: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/ Email Steve: [email protected] Steve on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemeekcissp/ The Fulcrum Group helps DFW organizations align people, processes, cybersecurity, and technology through SPOT Managed IT Services, the STARPower™ Framework, and our No IT Jerks philosophy. If this conversation made you rethink your hiring process, subscribe, like, comment, and share Episode 150 with another business leader preparing to grow their team. #TalkToTh3Doc #HiringStrategy #Leadership #TalentManagement #SMBLeadership #QualityOfHire #JobCipher #BusinessGrowth #DFWBusiness #TheFulcrumGroup

🎙️ Is your business prepared for the next economic shift, or are today's headlines driving tomorrow's decisions? In Episode 148 of Talk To Th3 Doc, Steve “The Doctor” Meek talks with Dr. Bill Conerly, President of Conerly Consulting LLC, about how SMB leaders can prepare for economic uncertainty without trying to predict every twist and turn. 💡 TOP TAKEAWAY: “Be ready for that occasional downpour.” Bill's message is practical: the economy is usually more stable than the headlines suggest, but smart leaders prepare for the times when conditions change. You'll learn how to think about inflation, interest rates, AI productivity, employee retention, capital investment, pricing, cash flow, and both upside and downside contingency planning. 🩺 IN THIS APPOINTMENT 00:00 Meet business economist Dr. Bill Conerly 02:57 Which economic indicators should leaders actually watch? 07:13 Could 2% economic growth become normal? 10:14 Where AI may create real productivity 14:15 Could AI adopters actually create more jobs? 16:24 AI, technology and customer experience 21:40 Business metrics SMB leaders should monitor 22:42 Why every company needs a contingency plan 26:23 Inflation and locking in vendor pricing 30:05 Can your business raise prices? 32:31 Finding productivity beyond AI 37:01 Employee retention in a tight labor market 40:10 Are managers focused on the wrong employees? 42:41 Trends leaders should watch beyond next quarter 45:21 When to invest versus preserve cash 46:13 Why rapid growth can create a cash crisis 49:18 Interest rates and business investment 51:36 Why housing matters to business leaders 53:14 Bill's One Big Takeaway 💊 THE PRESCRIPTION Don't build your organization around one economic prediction. Build it to handle multiple futures. That means knowing what you'll do if sales slow, but also what happens if demand suddenly takes off. For DFW SMBs, that same thinking should extend to technology: align AI, automation, cybersecurity, productivity, and technology investments with where the organization is going. At The Fulcrum Group, that's why our STARpower™ strategic alignment process goes beyond fixing today's IT problems. We help leaders continually connect technology investments with business priorities, risk, innovation, and future growth. 👨‍⚕️ ABOUT DR. BILL CONERLY Dr. Bill Conerly is a business economist and President of Conerly Consulting LLC. A Duke University Ph.D., Bill has worked in economics and corporate planning for Fortune 500 companies and as a bank senior vice president. He has spoken to more than 1,400 business audiences and is the author of The Flexible Stance: Thriving in a Boom/Bust Economy. 🌐 Conerly Consulting 📰 Businomics Newsletter 🔗 Bill Conerly on LinkedIn ▶️ Bill Conerly on YouTube 🎧 TALK TO TH3 DOC Enjoyed the appointment? Subscribe, like, comment, and share this episode with another business leader. 🎧 Listen on Apple, Spotify and other podcast platforms 📺 Watch Episode 148 on YouTube 🌐 Explore Talk To Th3 Doc 🔗 Connect with Steve Meek on LinkedIn Need help aligning technology with where your organization is headed? Use the Initial Consultation form on our podcast page to start a conversation with The Fulcrum Group. 🔎 HASHTAGS #TalkToTh3Doc #BillConerly #EconomicOutlook #EconomicUncertainty #BusinessLeadership #BusinessStrategy #BusinessPlanning #SMBStrategy #SmallBusiness #BusinessResilience #ContingencyPlanning #AIProductivity #AIForBusiness #BusinessAutomation #StrategicPlanning #TechnologyStrategy #EmployeeRetention #CashFlow #DFWBusiness #ManagedITServices

🎙️ Are soft skills the new AI advantage? In Episode 147 of Talk To Th3 Doc, Steve “The Doctor” Meek sits down with Ana Welsh, Wharton lecturer, workplace dynamics speaker, and next-gen talent developer, to talk about why human skills still matter in an AI-powered workplace. AI can help teams write, summarize, automate, and analyze faster. But leaders still need people who can communicate clearly, build trust, think critically, manage relationships, and make good decisions. That is where soft skills become a real business advantage. In this episode, Ana and Steve discuss why employee engagement is an outcome, not a strategy; why “bring your whole self to work” may need a little executive supervision; and why the future of work may belong to people who are deeply human with an AI tool belt. For SMB owners, city managers, nonprofit leaders, healthcare executives, professional services firms, and DFW business leaders, this conversation is a reminder that technology only works when people, process, leadership, and trust are aligned. At The Fulcrum Group, that same belief shapes our approach to SPOT Managed IT Services, SPOT Managed Security Services, and our STARPower Framework. We help DFW organizations connect technology decisions to business goals, reduce risk, improve communication, and build smarter roadmaps for growth. In This Episode ✅ Why soft skills matter more in the AI workplace ✅ How leaders can coach communication and professionalism ✅ Why employee engagement starts with trust ✅ What Gen Z and multigenerational teams need from leaders ✅ How to use AI without losing human judgment ✅ Why “Giraffe Vision” helps teams zoom out before reacting ✅ How human skills support innovation, AI readiness, and technology alignment Top Takeaway Technology can accelerate work, but human skills determine whether the work actually gets better. If your team cannot communicate, adapt, build trust, and think clearly, AI may just help you create confusion faster. Guest Ana Welsh Wharton Lecturer | Workplace Dynamics Speaker | Next Gen Talent Developer Website: https://anawelsh.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anawelshspeaks/ Connect With The Fulcrum Group 📌 Talk To Th3 Doc Podcast: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/talk-to-th3-doc-podcast/ 🎧 Listen on your favorite podcast platform: https://pod.link/1807560282 🌐 The Fulcrum Group: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/ 📩 Email Steve: [email protected] 🔗 Connect with Steve: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemeekcissp/ 📞 Sales: 817-337-0300 Suggested Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:26 Meet Ana Welsh 02:45 AI, Gen Z, and the future of work 04:16 Time, empathy, and patience 07:11 Communication, critical thinking, and professionalism 08:08 Better onboarding and one-on-one meetings 10:50 Signature Self vs. unfiltered self 15:07 First impressions and nonverbal communication 21:08 Virtual work and remote presence 24:18 Is this a Gen Z issue or leadership issue? 27:04 Coaching without “back in my day” energy 29:15 Checklists, SOPs, and the power of why 30:25 AI, jobs, and changing workflows 35:49 Brain first, AI second, brain last 36:56 Giraffe Vision and running to daylight 39:06 The one human skill leaders cannot overlook 40:18 Practical prescriptions 41:02 How to reach Ana and closing

Is AI marketing helping your business grow, or just helping you create more noise faster? In Episode 146 of Talk To Th3 Doc, Steve “The Doctor” Meek sits down with Sheila Rondeau, CEO / CMO of MOGXP, to talk about AI marketing, business strategy, customer trust, and the real risk of letting tools outrun leadership. Sheila’s core message is simple: AI can amplify your message, your mess, or your momentum. The difference is strategy. For DFW SMB leaders, nonprofits, healthcare practices, professional services firms, manufacturers, and local organizations, this episode explains why AI marketing should start with goals, customer understanding, brand voice, clean data, and measurable outcomes before adding more tools. At The Fulcrum Group, Inc., we see the same pattern in managed IT, cybersecurity, Microsoft 365, compliance, cloud, co-managed IT, and AI readiness. Technology works best when it is aligned to the business, secured properly, and reviewed through a practical roadmap. That is why our SPOT Managed IT Services, SPOT Managed Security Services, STARPower Framework, and “No IT Jerks” philosophy all start with listening, clarity, and smarter execution. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN: • Why AI marketing still needs human judgment • How SMBs can avoid creating generic AI content • Why “read it out loud” is a useful brand voice test • How AI can speed up either growth or confusion • Why marketing strategy and IT governance now overlap • How to start small with AI and measure what matters FEATURED QUOTE: “AI does not have judgment.” CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 00:40 Sheila Rondeau’s background 02:48 Why marketing dollars need math 04:11 AI marketing needs judgment 05:48 Building authentic brand voice 07:12 Customer language, SEO, AEO, and GEO 08:38 Strategy before AI amplification 10:11 The “read it out loud” test 17:12 Marketing metrics that matter 26:40 Automation vs. AI 42:54 Scorecards and strategy metrics 51:35 Sheila’s one big takeaway 52:04 Practical AI prescriptions 52:41 How to connect with Sheila CONNECT WITH SHEILA RONDEAU: MOGXP: https://mogxp.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilarondeau/ Email: [email protected] CONNECT WITH THE FULCRUM GROUP: Podcast: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/talk-to-th3-doc-podcast/ Website: https://www.fulcrumgroup.net/ Email Steve: [email protected] Sales: [email protected] Phone: 817-337-0300 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-fulcrum-group-inc-/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFulcrumGroup ABOUT TALK TO TH3 DOC: Talk To Th3 Doc helps SMB owners, executives, and civic leaders think more clearly about leadership, cybersecurity, AI, managed IT services, compliance, and smarter technology decisions. Subscribe, like, comment, and share this episode with a business leader who is wondering whether AI marketing is helping or hurting growth. #TalkToTh3Doc #AIMarketing #AIStrategy #SMBGrowth #DFWBusiness #ManagedITServices #DFWManagedITServices #TheFulcrumGroup #SPOTManagedITServices #SPOTManagedSecurityServices #STARPowerFramework #NoITJerks #Microsoft365 #Cybersecurity #AIReadiness #MarketingStrategy #BusinessGrowth #GEO #AEO #KellerTX