Episode #504: Debunking Degrowth

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW SUMMARY: In this episode of The Soul of Enterprise, Ron and Ed explore the themes presented in "Doughnuts and Degrowth" by Andrew Stuttaford. The article delves into the growing ideological shift from economic growth to a focus on sustainability, as advocated by figures like Olivier De Schutter and Kate Raworth. Ron and Ed provide a critical analysis of the so-called "degrowth" movement and its potential impact on democracy, innovation, and individual freedoms. They discuss the concept of "doughnut economics" and how it aligns with broader trends in global governance, questioning the practicality and desirability of this shift. Tune in as they dissect the intersection of economics, environmentalism, and human rights, offering their own perspectives on what a growth-averse future might hold.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

• We have a listener question to start off the show. Thank you Donna! @calcmoves If you would like to submit a question just visit https://www.thesoulofenterprise.com/questions 

• Donna asked us about using a waitlist for prospects and how to incorporate it into her business while she is on a 90 day bucket list trip. Ron suggested starting with your normal intake process and trying from there to incorporate a waitlist.

• With respect to Donna’s question about prospect waitlists: “The hardest decision to make is the first person on the waitlist. At what point do you say….wait list from here on in.” —Ed Kless

• We love getting email from folks and we read a great one from a lawyer and fan of the show during the first segment of the show today. Take a listen once the podcast drops in about 1 hour.

• This is the article from Andrew Stuttaford that sparked our conversation today: https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/07/doughnuts-and-degrowth/ 

Segment two

• One of the main folks behind the degrowth movement says he wants us to shift our focus from growth to humanity. Well, that presupposes that growth is anti human. So we reject your premise right there. 

• One of the funniest phrases used by the degrowth movement is “modernizing poverty”. I really wish we could say more about this but, honestly, we don’t even know what that phrase means.

• “I just can't get my mind unwrapped around the notion that wealth is knowledge.” —Ed Kless /// Neither can we Ed, neither can we. 

• “The economy is not just an incentive system. In fact, Gilder would say it's really just an information system completely. It's not incentive at all. It’s pure information.” —Ed Kless

Segment three

• Entrepreneurs only keep 2% of the wealth they create. Multiply that number by 49 (because that's how you do the inverse of 2%), and that's how much wealth was created OUTSIDE the organization.

• To Ron and Ed, the degrowth movement’s founders feel like totalitarians. “Everything within the state.” https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/07/doughnuts-and-degrowth/ 

• “The most common air of a smart engineer is to optimize the thing that should not exist.” —Elon Musk

• There is a great article in FEE that Ron and Ed are going to discuss in the 4th segment of the show. “Elon Musk on the Difference between an Engineer and an Entrepreneur” https://fee.org/articles/elon-musk-on-the-difference-between-an-engineer-and-an-entrepreneur/ 

Segment four

• Growth almost exclusively in the Soviet Union was in capital goods, iron and steel, hydroelectric dams, etc. None of this growth ever seemed to filter down to the standard of living of the average Soviet consumer. (Paraphrased from Murray Rothbard)

• “Planetary boundaries” was referenced by the degrowth movement and Ed found an article in the Guardian that goes through some of these so-called boundaries. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/13/earth-well-outside-safe-operating-space-for-humanity-scientists-find 

• At the close of the show today, Ron discussed this article from FEE - “The ‘Green Economy’ Is In Retreat, And It’s Not Hard to See Why” https://fee.org/articles/the-green-economy-is-in-retreat-and-its-not-hard-to-see-why/ 

• “You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.” —Ayn Rand

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #503: Moral Injury — Interview with Wendy Dean, MD

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW SUMMARY: Co-hosts Ron Baker and Ed Kless talk with Dr. Wendy Dean, author of If I Betray These Words. Dr. Dean, a psychiatrist and co-founder of the nonprofit Moral Injury of Healthcare, explores the profound ethical dilemmas faced by professionals today. Through the lens of her groundbreaking book, Dr. Dean discusses the concept of moral injury—the psychological distress that occurs when individuals feel unable to act according to their ethical and moral values. She shares real-life stories from the frontlines of healthcare, highlighting the emotional toll on professionals who are often caught between the demands of a healthcare system and their commitment to patient care. Ron and Ed pursue with her the idea that moral injury applies to professionals in other fields as well.

ABOUT DR. WENDY DEAN

Wendy Dean, MD is the CEO and co-founder of The Moral Injury of Healthcare, a nonprofit focused on alleviating workforce distress through research, education, consultation, and training. She is the author of, If I Betray These Words: Moral Injury In Medicine and Why It’s So Hard For Clinicians to Put Patients First, and cohost of the Moral Matters and 43cc podcasts. Before co-founding the nonprofit, Dr. Dean practiced as a psychiatrist, worked for the Department of Defense in research innovation, and as an executive for a large international non-profit supporting military medical research. Dr. Dean graduated from Smith College and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She did her residency training at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH.

Buy on Amazon

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

• Ron’s favorite TV show is House, M.D. and he describes Dr. Dean as the “House” of moral injury. Her book, “If I Betray These Words” is at this link https://www.amazon.com/If-Betray-These-Words-Clinicians/dp/1586423541 

• With respect to medicine Dr. Dean says, “The real reason that we went into this profession was to take care of people at their most vulnerable, without self interest.”

• “We people have been doing really intensive studies and important work in this field. We still have 40% of our clinicians who feel burned out because that's the language that we use. If that's the case, maybe we should reconsider what we're treating.” —Dr. Wendy Dean

• So what is the definition of moral injury? Jonathan Shay was the first one who defined it in 1990s, and he said it was betrayal by a legitimate authority in a high stakes situation.

Segment two

• Burnout is traditionally defined as sort of a demand resource mismatch. Moral injury is more of a qualitative challenge…a relational rupture based on betrayal (unintentional in most cases).

• On the professional services side, here is a great example of moral injury: You know that you should be working to a certain standard and you're being asked to lower that standard because someone inappropriately bid on the job. 

• “90% of leadership books are all about how do we deal with the five crucial conversations. It’s transactional. The reality is that the anxiety is more chronic.” —Ed Kless

• “There's this great term that I just learned called care washing which focuses on the superficial level of our distress. What we are really asking for is that we actually start doing the hard work of changing the underlying system.” —Dr. Wendy Dean (paraphrased)

Segment three

• Ed mentioned this article during segment three: “How American Health Care Killed My Father” https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/09/how-american-health-care-killed-my-father/307617/ 

• “We can renovate this house of health care but in order to do it in the most efficient way possible, we need to have the blueprint, which is why I wrote the book and it's why I wrote it in the way I did, which is not only to tell to lay out where we are but how we got here.” —Dr. Wendy Dean 

• Wow! There are only a million physicians in the US. There are only 3 million nurses. There are 330 million patients.

• “Physicians can't keep practicing like this and feel like they they are maintaining that oath and their integrity.” —Dr. Wendy Dean

Segment four

• From Wendy today on healthcare reform: 1) We need to decouple it from our employers. 2) We need to move from having it be care for everything to catastrophic care. 3) Wellness and preventative care should be in a different bucket of money. 

• This is a GREAT quote from Wendy today on the show by way of Jerry Moeller, “Everything that we measure doesn't matter.”

• Ed read a great quote on the show today that came out of Disney parks, “It's okay to be off task, as long as you're on purpose.”

• A big THANK YOU to Dr. Wendy Dean for joining us today. Please, please, PLEASE check out her amazing book “If I Betray These Words” on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/If-Betray-These-Words-Clinicians/dp/1586423541 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #502: Geraldine's Guide to Greatness for CPAs

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW SUMMARY: Join Ed and Ron for an enlightening interview with Geraldine Carter, a consultant to CPA firms and author of the transformative book "Down to 40 Hours: A Roadmap for CPAs to End Overworking Without Giving Up Revenue." Geraldine's mission is to help overworked CPAs reclaim their time and create the accounting firms and lives they've always dreamed of. Since 2016, Geraldine has been coaching CPAs, bringing a unique perspective from her experience as a client who has worked with numerous bookkeepers, accountants, and CPAs. She'll provide insights into her coaching approach and how her book offers a practical roadmap for CPAs to reduce overworking without sacrificing revenue. We'll also delve into Geraldine's adventurous spirit, shaped by guiding luxury travel adventures across all seven continents and 50+ countries, and how her experiences have enriched her coaching philosophy. Tune in to hear about her impressive athletic achievements, including marathons and an Ironman, and how she balances her professional life with living in the mountains of Idaho with her two young children.

ABOUT GERALDINE CARTER

Geraldine Carter helps overworked CPAs create the accounting firm and the life they have always wanted.

• How did you get to coaching CPAs? I was coaching a variety of business owners when two CPAs reached out simultaneously to ask if I could help them with their businesses.

• But you’re not a CPA, right? Nope. Tax gives me hives. I speak 3 languages; tax is not one of them.

• Connect the dots then? Here’s the string you need: I have a degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Cornell University. I think in numbers and formulas. When I co-founded a company in 2008, I fell into managing the money and the operations because of my background. That’s how I came to appreciate accounting. I bring the perspective of the buyer (your client) to the table. I know what it’s like to be in your client’s shoes because I’ve paid half a dozen bookkeepers, accountants, and CPAs.

• How long have you been coaching CPAs? Since 2016.

• What was the company you co-founded? Climate Ride. It’s granted more than $13M to support conservation, climate, sustainability, and active transportation. It’s awesome – check it out.

• What else has shaped your worldview? For ten years, I guided adventures for a luxury travel company. I have been to all seven continents and 50+ countries. I carry a French passport; it came in handy. My academic education was excellent, but nothing taught me more than spending time in faraway places.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

• Geraldine Carter is our guest today! She is all about helping you work less without losing revenue or hiring. I like her already!!! More here: https://geraldinecarter.com/ 

• Geraldine Carter’s book is “Down to 40 Hours: A Roadmap for CPAs to End Overworking Without Giving Up Revenue” https://www.amazon.com/Down-40-Hours-Roadmap-Overworking/dp/B0CYY1PGT2 

• Accountants are excellent at complexity and these puzzles that most of the rest of us cannot solve. [they think] if it's simple, it must be obvious and easy and somebody would have figured it out by now.

• Hilarious from Geraldine Carter today: “83% of people think that they are better than average.”

• With respect to pricing your services, “If we do a clean sweep of your client roster and adjust your pricing, you will feel a significant difference inside a month or two. .” —Geraldine Carter

Segment two

• From Geraldine: The [accounting] profession has set itself up for what it's experiencing right now, by not learning the fundamentals of business, by ignoring value, by ignoring pricing tools, by ignoring positioning and niching

• “It's wonderful that AI is coming in at a great time to relieve the shortage, but I think that fundamentally CPAs who are in business need to learn business fundamentals.” —Geraldine Carter

• “We go into [public accounting] because we want to work with a variety of different businesses. That's great for your intellectual curiosity, but it sucks to build a business like that.” Ron Baker

• So how should an accountant look at pricing? Here’s a great quip from Geraldine Carter, “So, accountants are already creating transformations, and the transformation is where the most value is. But the accountant is pricing the service instead of pricing the transformation.” 

Segment three

• Geraldine has a great phrase in her book called horizontal niching. Simply put this is niching by topic, instead of niching by industry.

• “What I see for accountants and CPAs is niching by psychographic just doesn't have near the juice from the squeeze as niching by vertical or niching by horizontal.” —Geraldine Carter

• “Going through the exercise of creating a website forces you to get clear about who you serve, what value you create for them, how you serve them, what outcomes you deliver, and how you price.” —Geraldine Carter

• “Most of us didn't go to business school and, even if we did, we wouldn't have gotten the education that we needed to be high quality business owners…skilled business owners.” —Geraldine Carter

Segment four

• From Geraldine Carter’s book, “Price is a decision, not a calculation. Pricing isn't math, it's psychology.” https://www.amazon.com/Down-40-Hours-Roadmap-Overworking/dp/B0CYY1PGT2 

• This single statement almost sums up the amazing conversation with Geraldine Carter today. And it’s from her great book. “Simple pricing can increase revenue.” https://www.amazon.com/Down-40-Hours-Roadmap-Overworking/dp/B0CYY1PGT2 

• Geraldine left us with an AMAZING line of thinking as we closed out the show today. “Your business failures are not your personal failures and you are not a personal failure if your business is not doing well.” 

• A big THANK YOU to Geraldine Carter for joining us today. Please check out her book, “Down to 40 Hours” on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Down-40-Hours-Roadmap-Overworking/dp/B0CYY1PGT2

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #501: Rick (Rubin) and Rory (Sutherland)

NEW SHOW FEATURE: If you want to ask Ron or Ed a question and be featured on the show, please submit a voice recording from any device at https://thesoulofenterprise.com/questions

SHOW SUMMARY: In this episode of The Soul of Enterprise, hosts Ron Baker and Ed Kless dive into the world of creativity and innovation with a focus on the work of two remarkable individuals: Rory Sutherland and Rick Rubin. Sutherland, a leading advertising executive known for his unconventional thinking, and Rubin, a legendary music producer celebrated for his minimalist approach, offer unique perspectives on the creative process. Join us as we explore how these two visionaries approach problem-solving, the importance of intuition in their respective fields, and the impact of their work on advertising and music. We'll discuss key insights from Sutherland's thought-provoking theories on behavioral economics and Rubin's philosophy of creating space for artists to express their true selves.

AI SHOW NOTES

These are AI notes so keep in mind that much of the context of the quotes/snippets is missing.

• Introduction to Rick Rubin and Rory Sutherland:

  • The episode focuses on a conversation between Rick Rubin and Rory Sutherland, emphasizing the importance of creative solutions and the impact of their insights on business and creativity.

• Creativity vs. Rationality:

  • Discussion on why creative people must present their ideas to rational finance people for approval, but not the other way around. This emphasizes the imbalance in decision-making processes in organizations.

• Anecdotes vs. Averages:

  • Anecdotes are considered more impactful than averages because they provide relatable stories that people can connect with, as opposed to abstract numbers.

• Concept of Veblen Goods:

  • Explanation of Veblen goods, where demand increases with the price due to their status signaling effect, and how this concept applies to luxury goods and pricing strategies.

• Importance of Constraints in Creativity:

  • Creativity can be sparked by either abandoning assumptions or imposing additional constraints. The latter can often lead to innovative solutions.

• Feedback Loop between Exploration and Exploitation:

  • Using the example of bees, the importance of balancing exploration (discovery of new opportunities) and exploitation (maximizing existing opportunities) in business strategies.

• Humanity's Misconception of Understanding:

  • One of humanity's greatest problems is thinking we know how things work, highlighting the need for continuous questioning and exploration.

• Rick Rubin's Insights on Creativity:

  • Rubin's book "The Creative Act" is filled with profound aphorisms, such as "The real work of the artist is a way of being in the world," emphasizing the deeper essence of creativity beyond just the output.

• Irrationality in Decision-Making:

  • Example of how emotional and irrational factors often drive major decisions, such as purchasing a car, despite the complex and rational processes involved in creating it.

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits.