Robert Roy Orr is a service advisor based in Clio, Michigan, with more than 35 years of experience in customer service, sales, and leadership. Growing up in Flint, Michigan, he learned the value of teamwork through football, school band, and the people who surrounded him. After graduating from Hamady High School, he attended Mott Community College for three years and continued building his professional skills through sales training, including Sales RX.

Robert spent 23 years with Dukes Car Stereo, where he worked his way into management, serving 17 years as a manager and 12 years as a branch manager. Those years taught him that success isn’t just about selling a product. It’s about building relationships, solving problems, and creating an experience that makes people want to come back.

Today, Robert works as a service advisor with Gales Auto Repair. Every day brings a different challenge, whether it’s helping someone understand a repair, coordinating with technicians, or making sure customers leave feeling confident about the work being done.

Away from work, he enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, volunteering with their baseball team, playing golf, and taking care of his property. He believes that showing up every day, treating people with respect, and taking pride in your work never goes out of style.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

Every morning starts with a plan, but I know it’s probably going to change. I’ll review the day’s appointments, check on vehicles that are already in the shop, and touch base with the technicians before customers start arriving. From there, my job is really about keeping everything moving. I spend a lot of time answering questions, explaining repairs, and making sure customers know what’s happening with their vehicles. I’ve found that taking a few extra minutes to communicate clearly usually saves much more time later because everyone is working from the same understanding.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Most of the ideas I’ve used over the years didn’t come from sitting in meetings. They came from paying attention. If I notice that customers keep asking the same question or that the team is running into the same issue over and over, that’s usually a sign something can be improved.

I like trying small changes first. Sometimes it’s changing the way something is explained. Sometimes it’s adjusting a process so it flows better. You don’t always need a huge plan to make a meaningful improvement. Small changes, repeated consistently, usually have the biggest impact.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The technology in today’s vehicles keeps getting better, and I think that’s exciting because it challenges everyone in the industry to keep learning. Cars today are very different from the ones I worked on years ago, and the tools continue to evolve.

At the same time, technology hasn’t replaced the need for good customer service. People still want someone who will listen to them, explain things clearly, and be honest. I think the future belongs to people who can combine technical knowledge with strong communication.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

I make it a point to get out from behind my desk throughout the day. Walking through the shop and talking with technicians face to face gives me a much better understanding of what’s happening than waiting for updates.

The same goes for customers. I’ve learned that people appreciate direct conversations. When they understand what’s happening with their vehicle and why, they’re usually much more comfortable with the process. That habit has probably saved me countless hours over the years.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I’d tell myself not to feel like I have to know everything. Asking good questions is just as important as having good answers.

The people I’ve learned the most from have been coworkers, customers, and people willing to share their experiences. If you’re willing to listen, you’ll keep learning no matter how long you’ve been doing something.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I think people spend too much time trying to diagnose their own vehicles before talking to someone who works on them every day. I understand why, because there’s so much information online now, but every vehicle is different.

I’d rather have someone tell me exactly what they’re seeing, hearing, or feeling than walk in convinced they already know what’s wrong. Those conversations usually lead to better solutions and save everyone time.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Follow up with people. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a customer, a coworker, or someone you haven’t talked to in a while. A simple phone call or message asking how things are going shows people you genuinely care.

I’ve seen small follow-ups turn into long-term relationships, and I think that’s something many businesses overlook today. People remember how you make them feel.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I stop thinking about everything that needs to be done and focus on the next thing that actually needs my attention. When you’re working with customers all day, it’s easy to feel pulled in different directions.

Breaking the day into smaller pieces helps me stay calm. Once one problem is solved, it’s easier to move on to the next without carrying unnecessary stress from one situation into another.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

The biggest thing has been building trust. Customers can usually tell when someone is trying to sell them something versus trying to help them.

I’ve never wanted people to feel pressured. I want them to understand what’s happening and make a decision they’re comfortable with. When customers feel respected, they’re much more likely to come back the next time they need help, and they usually tell other people about their experience too.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

One mistake I made was assuming I understood what someone needed before hearing the whole story. Every once in a while, I’d jump to a conclusion because I’d seen something similar before.

Eventually, I realized every customer and every situation deserves a fresh conversation. Taking an extra minute to ask a few more questions has helped me avoid misunderstandings and provide better service. It reminded me that experience is valuable, but listening is just as important.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I think every service business should make follow-up calls that aren’t connected to selling anything. Just check in and ask how things are going.

That simple conversation tells people they’re more than a transaction. It doesn’t cost much, but it builds loyalty and trust in a way that advertising never can.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

The shop management software we use every day keeps everything organized. It helps track appointments, repair orders, customer information, and the progress of every vehicle that’s in the shop.

Without a system like that, it would be much harder to keep everyone informed throughout the day. It allows me to spend more time communicating with people instead of trying to keep track of paperwork.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

I tend to enjoy books and podcasts that focus on customer service, communication, and leadership. Those topics never really become outdated because every job involves working with people.

You can learn a lot from listening to how other people solve problems or approach difficult conversations, and I’ve found there’s usually at least one idea you can apply to your own work.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I really enjoyed Ford v Ferrari. Of course I like it because it’s about cars, but what stood out to me was the teamwork behind everything. Nobody succeeds on their own.

It also shows the pride that comes from doing quality work and refusing to settle for “good enough.” That mindset applies whether you’re building race cars or helping customers every day.

Key learnings

Great customer service starts with listening before offering solutions.
Small improvements made consistently often have a greater impact than major changes.
Trust is earned through honest communication and follow-through.
Strong relationships are built by checking in with people long after the transaction is over.
Staying curious and continuing to learn helps professionals adapt as their industry changes.

Born in 1971 in what was then Yugoslavia, Vinko Anthony grew up with a deep appreciation for resilience, beauty, and the power of human connection. Having lived in Australia since 1983, he brings a rare blend of European warmth and Australian openness to everything he does. Today, he is best known as the co-founder of Beau Brummell Introductions, an international matchmaking agency built on authenticity, empathy, and integrity—values that have guided his life and work for more than four decades.

From an early age, Vinko showed a strong entrepreneurial spirit and an insatiable curiosity about the world. From the age of thirteen, while still studying, he began creating small businesses that allowed him to explore life beyond convention. This adventurous mindset took him across continents—from running a restaurant in Greece to working in London’s West End, and later into the refined world of Giorgio Armani, where he spent many years honing his understanding of elegance, expression, and human connection. His journey has always been one of discovery, shaped by travel, creativity, and the courage to do things differently.

His path later led him to an executive role with Lucy Turnbull and former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, where he developed a deeper understanding of leadership, diplomacy, and purpose.

Alongside his professional life, Vinko has always been devoted to personal growth. He studied Chinese Medicine, seeing it not just as a discipline but as a journey of self-development and understanding. A long-time practitioner of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness, he approaches life with balance and gratitude—a reflection of his belief that true success comes from alignment between heart, mind, and spirit.

In both his private life and his work, Vinko is deeply passionate about the art of listening—believing it to be the foundation of every meaningful relationship. For him, authentic listening begins with the breath; learning to pause, to centre, and to be present with ourselves before we can fully hear another. This philosophy shapes how he leads, teaches, and connects, serving as a guiding principle in all areas of his life.

Vinko has also lived openly and courageously with HIV, an experience he shares in his book “All IN, How to Make Love Stick” with profound honesty and vulnerability. Writing about it has been the most personal and revealing step of his life, but also one of deep purpose.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

My day starts with manifestations, mantras, and gratitude for being alive. Then it’s a walk, yoga, and often a dip in the ocean before heading into the office early to work with clients across different time zones. Running a global business keeps me busy, but I make time to learn something new each day, read at least 20 pages of a book, and find joy in the everyday.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I bring ideas to life through manifestation, passion and action. I take time to visualise what I want to create, then share ideas with my team, exchange perspectives, and put them to the test. For me, manifestation means believing in the possibility and doing the work to make it happen.

What’s one trend that excites you?

A trend that excites me is the growing focus on looking after yourself—staying fit, feeling healthy, and having fun with fashion. I enjoy keeping my style current and taking care of my skin. At my age, a little maintenance goes a long way!

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Meditation is one habit that keeps me productive. It helps me clear my mind and stay focused. Alongside yoga, reading, and learning something new every day, it’s a part of my life I couldn’t do without.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Learn more languages, play a musical instrument, and never sell any of your real estate!

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I believe love deserves as much time and intention as building a career. People happily invest years in professional success, yet often expect the right relationship to happen by chance.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Meditate, do yoga, read, be kind, be kind, be kind

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

Go for walks – remove myself from the situation, meditate, watch something funny, so I can have a good laugh. Stay silent; do not react.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Building genuine relationships and staying personally involved has helped me grow my business. Listening closely to clients and using their feedback to improve our service builds trust and helps us understand what people need. In matchmaking, that personal care is everything, and word of mouth has been a powerful part of our growth. But generally in business, treat your staff as if they are gold, and if you are working for someone else, treat it as your own business.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

I don’t look at anything as a failure; if you fail at something, which will always happen, these are your best lessons.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Have great listening skills; observe and listen to everyone’s opinion and input – stay silent until the end and then add your two words.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Hubspot – I use it every day, and it helps me stay on top of things and current in my business.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I gave EUR 100 to a homeless man during my recent travels and bought him lunch on the way back.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

I love all the advice Arianna Huffington gives, through books or podcasts…

Favourite book: RING OF BRIGHT WATER, “GAVIN MAXWELL”

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

Dynasty – my first ever series watched in the 80s, and it is just one of those memories that will stay with me forever.

Key learnings

• Love deserves the same intentionality as a career. Many people invest years in professional success yet leave relationships to chance. Treating the search for a partner with deliberate time and effort can lead to more lasting connection.
• Listening is the foundation of meaningful relationships and good business. Staying silent until the end and then adding only a few words builds trust. Listening closely to clients and acting on their feedback helps a business understand what people need, and personal involvement drives word-of-mouth growth.
• Daily habits of mind and body sustain productivity. Meditation, yoga, walks, reading, and learning something new each day help clear the mind and manage overwhelm. Treating staff as gold and running someone else’s business as if it were one’s own reinforces a culture of care.

Travis Bright grew up in Greenville, North Carolina, where he developed an early interest in both sports and hands-on work. He played golf in high school and later attended North Carolina State University and East Carolina University, studying construction management and learning how planning, scheduling, and trade coordination shape a finished project.

His education eventually moved beyond the management side of construction. Bright studied heating and air at Pitt Community College, where he graduated ahead of his class. That technical training gave him a closer understanding of what happens behind the walls of a home and how HVAC systems affect the wider building process.

Bright’s career has also included work with Pair Electronics and experience involving indoor and outdoor wiring, electronics, security systems, and single-family residential construction. Over time, those different areas gave him a broad view of how homes are built and how seemingly separate trades can affect one another.

He believes good residential construction often comes down to solving problems before they become visible. Whether thinking about HVAC placement, future security cameras, wiring routes, or the order in which trades enter a project, Bright prefers to look several steps ahead.

Outside of work, Bright remains active through golf, pickleball, rock climbing, off-road biking, skiing, fishing, and regular workouts. He has also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, bringing his construction experience into community-focused projects.

For Bright, learning has never been limited to one classroom or one trade. His career reflects a willingness to understand the larger project while continuing to learn the technical details underneath it.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

My day usually starts with figuring out what could create a problem later if I ignore it now. In construction, the obvious task is not always the most important one. I might be looking at a schedule, checking where wiring needs to go, thinking about an HVAC issue, or making sure one trade is not going to block another.

I like to stay active too, so I usually try to work out or do something physical during the day. That helps me reset and keeps me from feeling like I have been staring at the same problem for too long.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I start by trying to find the weak point in the idea. If it is a construction idea, I ask what happens when the electrician, HVAC installer, security company, and homeowner all have different needs. Once I understand where the conflicts could happen, it becomes easier to turn the idea into something practical.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I am interested in how much more connected homes are becoming. Security systems, cameras, smart thermostats, internet equipment, lighting, and other electronics are starting to overlap with traditional construction much more than they used to.

What interests me most is not necessarily the newest device. It is how builders can prepare a home for technology that may not even exist yet by thinking ahead about wiring, conduit, power, and access.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

I walk the project in my head before I start working on it. I think about what has to happen first, what happens next, and where something could interfere with another part of the job.
That habit comes partly from construction and partly from golf. In both cases, thinking one move ahead can save you from creating a harder situation for yourself.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Learn more trades earlier. You do not have to become the person installing every system, but understanding how those systems work makes you much better at managing the whole project.

I would also tell myself not to rush past technical education just because management sounds more important. Some of the most useful things I have learned came from understanding how the work is actually done.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I think a lot of homes should be built with empty conduit in strategic places even if nobody knows exactly what it will be used for. People sometimes see that as unnecessary because there is no immediate purpose for it.

I see it differently. Technology changes quickly, while walls stay closed for years. Giving a homeowner a simple way to run future cable can be more useful than guessing which technology will still matter ten years from now.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Look at something in person whenever you can. Plans, photographs, emails, and measurements are useful, but they do not always tell you the whole story.

Walking through a house can show you things that are difficult to notice on paper, especially when different systems are competing for the same space.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I do something physical. I might work out, play golf or pickleball, go fishing, or get outside for a while.

I find that continuing to stare at a problem does not always solve it. Getting away from it for a short time often makes the answer much more obvious when I come back.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Learning outside my main area has probably helped me the most. Construction management gave me one perspective, while heating and air, electronics, wiring, and security gave me others.

That wider knowledge helps when people are talking about a project from completely different viewpoints. I may not be doing every trade myself, but understanding what each person needs makes communication much easier.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

I sometimes assumed that if something looked straightforward on paper, it would be straightforward in the field. That is not always true. A location that seems perfect for one system can create a problem for another trade once everyone starts working in the same space.

I became much more careful about checking conditions in person and asking more questions before work started. The lesson was that an extra conversation early is usually cheaper than a correction later.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I think there is room for a residential pre-wire consulting service that does not sell the homeowner any particular technology. The service would simply review the plans before drywall and recommend where to place conduit, network cable, camera wiring, outlets, and other infrastructure based on how the homeowner may use the property in the future.

A lot of people do not need a complete smart home immediately. They just need someone to help them avoid closing the walls before they have thought about what could come later.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I use the notes and photo tools on my phone constantly. I like being able to photograph something in the field and immediately add a note about what needs to change or what I need to remember.

It is simple, but that is why it works. I do not want a complicated system between noticing a problem and recording it.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

I tend to get more value from practical podcasts and videos where people explain how they solved a real problem than from anything overly theoretical. I like hearing someone explain what went wrong on a project, what they changed, and what they would do differently the next time.

That kind of information sticks with me because I can immediately connect it to situations I have seen myself.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I enjoy shows that involve building, engineering, survival, or solving practical problems because I like watching people work through limitations. The interesting part for me is usually not the final result. It is seeing the decisions that had to be made along the way and how people adapt when the first plan does not work.

Key learnings

• Learning how several building systems work can make it easier to spot conflicts before construction reaches the finishing stages.
• Planning wiring, conduit, security, and technology infrastructure while walls are open can make future upgrades much easier.
• Field experience can reveal problems that are difficult to identify from plans, photographs, or schedules alone.
• Physical activity can provide a useful reset when a problem becomes difficult to solve through continued focus alone.
• Asking more questions early in a project can prevent far more complicated corrections later.

Timothy Lubniewski grew up on Staten Island, New York, where baseball taught him early lessons in competition, discipline, and persistence. He later studied economics at SUNY Albany, but much of his professional education came from building businesses from the ground up.

At 23, Lubniewski started his first construction company. He went on to own and operate Stream-N-Stone Inc., Paving Arts Corp., and Paving Associates, building a career in commercial paving and maintenance. Over the years, he learned the business from the ground up. His work required him to understand customers, crews, scheduling, operations, and the small details that can make or break a project.

His career eventually led to the sale of his company to private-equity-backed Rose Paving. Lubniewski remained with the organization as a general manager, giving him experience on both sides of a major business transition.
Life later presented a challenge that could not be approached like a construction project. Lubniewski stepped away from his executive career after his wife, Kathryn “KC” Lubniewski, developed ALS. He became her primary caregiver while raising their two young sons, Andrew and Robert.

The experience has changed how Lubniewski thinks about leadership, time, and responsibility. The competitive drive that helped him build companies remains, but his definition of winning has become broader.

Today, Lubniewski is focused on his family while considering what his next professional chapter may look like. He still values faith, hard work, service, and persistence, while recognizing that strength can mean adapting when life refuses to follow the plan.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

My days are very different from when I was running a paving business. Right now, my first responsibilities are caring for my wife, KC, and raising our sons, who are six and five. Appointments, school schedules, meals, household responsibilities, and whatever else comes up. I stay productive by deciding what actually needs to happen that day instead of trying to finish everything. Some days, getting the important things handled is enough.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I start by asking whether an idea solves a real problem. In construction, an idea eventually has to work with actual crews, customers, equipment, schedules, and budgets. I learned to get out of the theoretical stage quickly. Start small, see what happens, listen to the people doing the work, and adjust.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I am interested in the renewed appreciation for skilled trades and practical careers. There are great opportunities for people who can build, repair, maintain, and operate things. College can be valuable, but it is not the only route to a successful career.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

I write things down. I used to think I could keep everything in my head. Between running companies in the past and managing family responsibilities now, I have learned that your brain should not be your filing cabinet.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Be more careful about who you partner with. I once partnered with someone whose views and approach were very different from mine. I learned that a partnership can look good financially and still be wrong. Character and shared values matter.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I think persistence is usually more valuable than having the perfect strategy. People can spend so much time looking for the smartest answer that they stop moving. I would rather make a reasonable decision, learn from what happens, and keep going.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Ask another question. Whether I am talking to a contractor, employee, doctor, or anyone else, I do not like leaving a conversation pretending I understood something that I did not. Ask until the answer makes sense.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I need quiet. With two young boys and caregiving responsibilities, I occasionally reach a point where I am simply burned out. A few hours without having to solve something can make a major difference. I also enjoy gardening because it gives me something physical and straightforward to focus on.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

I paid attention to the people closest to the work. You cannot run a construction company effectively from a desk alone. The people on a crew often see a problem before management does. Listening to them helped me make better operational decisions and build stronger relationships.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

Choosing the wrong business partner was one of my biggest mistakes. I initially focused too much on what the partnership could accomplish and not enough on whether our values and ways of operating were compatible. I moved forward, but I became much more careful about evaluating people, not just opportunities.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I think there is room for a simple service that helps small contractors organize recurring property-maintenance needs for commercial clients. Instead of waiting for a parking lot, walkway, or exterior area to become a major problem, the service would help owners track inspections and maintenance year-round.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

The calendar on my phone is probably the simplest answer. I use it for appointments, family schedules, reminders, and anything I can’t afford to rely on memory for. Simple tools are often the ones I use most consistently.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

The Book of Job has stayed with me because it explores faith when life doesn’t make sense. I have experienced enough to know that faith is much easier to discuss when everything is going well. The harder question is what you believe when circumstances are outside your control.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I tend to enjoy sports documentaries. Baseball has been part of my life since I was young, and I like hearing what happened behind the statistics. The most interesting parts are usually the setbacks, personalities, clubhouse relationships, and decisions people never saw during the game.

Key learnings

• Separate what needs attention today from what can safely wait. Not every open question deserves immediate energy.
• Evaluate potential partners by their character and values, not only by what the partnership might accomplish.
• Listen to the people closest to the work. They often notice operational problems before leadership does.
• Keep asking questions when something is unclear rather than pretending to understand.
• Build routines that protect time for family, recovery, and interests outside work.

Edward Witt is a retired physician and longtime medical practice owner based in Alabama. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he grew up in a close family and attended Catholic schools for 12 years. Sports and music shaped much of his early life. He began playing hockey at age five, later earned an MVP award, competed on travel teams, and played Junior A hockey before receiving a college scholarship.

Witt eventually chose medicine as his profession. After completing medical school and a Family Practice residency, he began a career that lasted roughly 30 years. He worked with Huntsville Hospital, Crestwood Hospital, and Maryvale Hospital in Phoenix before moving further into practice ownership.

Over the years, Witt owned and operated Southcare Clinic, an aesthetic clinic, and Recovery Center. His work at Recovery Center became especially meaningful because it allowed him to support people dealing with addiction and the difficult early stages of recovery. Even after retiring from full-time practice, he has remained the clinic’s owner and still helps when needed.

Medicine also connected Witt with another lifelong passion: music. In Huntsville, he became known as a “Rock Doc,” providing medical care for performers visiting the city’s major arena. His work brought him into contact with artists including Elton John, Bob Dylan, Bryan Adams, Heart, Chicago, Hall & Oates, and others.

Outside medicine, Witt still enjoys hockey, music, golf, and trail riding. Across each part of his life, he has returned to the same principle: treat people well, stay useful, and keep showing up.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

My days are different now because I am retired from full-time practice. I still own Recovery Center, so I stay connected and will go in when I am needed, but I am no longer working the schedule I kept during most of my medical career.

I try to keep some structure in the day. I check on anything related to the clinic, spend time with my wife, and make room for hockey, music, golf, or getting outside. Productivity means less to me now in terms of how many tasks I complete. I think more about whether I did something useful, helped someone, learned something, or spent my time well.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I usually start by asking whether the idea solves a real problem. Owning clinics taught me that an idea can sound impressive but still be useless if it makes things harder for patients or staff.

Once I know there is a real need, I prefer to test the idea in a practical setting. I like seeing how people respond before making something bigger or more complicated. Medicine teaches you to observe, make adjustments, and not become emotionally attached to your first answer.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I am interested in the growing recognition that addiction recovery needs long-term support rather than one isolated intervention. Early recovery can be an extremely vulnerable period. People often need consistent medical care, someone they trust, and a dependable support system.

I think the more healthcare understands addiction as something that requires ongoing care and strong relationships, the better our chances are of helping people stay alive and build stability.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

I deal with things while they are still small. If there is a patient concern, a staffing issue, a conversation that needs to happen, or something personal that is bothering me, I would rather address it than let it sit there.

Problems usually become more difficult when people avoid them. I learned that in medicine, business, sports, and marriage.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell myself not to rush through the good parts because I was focused on reaching the next thing. When you are young, you tend to think everything important is ahead of you.

Looking back, some of the best parts were already happening. Playing hockey, studying medicine, building practices, travelling with musicians, spending time with my parents, and eventually building a life with my wife all mattered while they were happening. I would tell myself to pay more attention.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I think customer service belongs in medicine just as much as it belongs in any other profession. Some people dislike putting those two ideas together because medicine is obviously much more serious than a normal service business.

I understand that, but patients still notice whether you listen, return a call, explain something clearly, remember who they are, and respect their time. Those things affect trust, and trust affects care.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Treat people well when there is nothing obvious for you to gain from doing it. That tells you more about your character than how you treat someone important.

I have always tried to live that way, whether it meant taking care of patients, caring for my parents in their final years, helping someone with groceries, or giving food or clothing to someone who needed it.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I change environments. I might skate, play music, ride a trail bike, or go hit golf balls. Physical movement usually helps me think more clearly.

Hockey has been especially useful for that throughout my life. When you are on the ice, you cannot keep replaying ten unrelated problems in your head. You have to pay attention to what is happening around you right now.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

I paid attention to how people felt after interacting with us. My strongest business skill was probably customer service.

Patients may not understand every medical decision you make, but they understand whether you listened to them, whether your staff was kind, and whether they felt ignored. Building three clinics taught me that reputation grows one interaction at a time. If people trust you, they return, they listen, and they tell others about their experience.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

One mistake I made earlier in my career was thinking I could personally solve too many problems. Physicians are trained to take responsibility, and that can become a weakness when you are also running a business.

I learned that you have to know when to involve other people, when to refer someone, and when another person is better equipped to handle the issue. Trying to control everything usually slows things down. Good judgement includes knowing your own limits.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I think there is room for a service that helps patients leaving addiction treatment navigate the first 90 days of ordinary life. Not another treatment centre, but a practical coordination service.

It could help people schedule appointments, organise transportation, find local meetings, manage basic reminders, connect with approved support contacts, and build a weekly routine. Many people know what they are supposed to do in recovery. The difficult part is maintaining structure when normal life starts again.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I use the calendar on my phone constantly. It is not exciting software, but it works. During medicine, there were always appointments, commitments, follow-ups, travel dates, and personal responsibilities competing for attention.

If something matters, I put it on the calendar. I do not assume I will remember everything simply because it seems important at the moment.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

I tend to get more value from biographies than traditional business books. I like reading about people who reached a high level in sports, music, or medicine because the details are usually more interesting than the headline success.

I pay attention to how they prepared, how they dealt with mistakes, and how they behaved when their career did not go according to plan. Those lessons tend to transfer well across professions.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I enjoy sports documentaries, particularly ones about hockey. I like seeing the parts fans usually do not notice: the training, travel, injuries, relationships with coaches, and the way teams handle pressure.

Having played and coached hockey myself, I enjoy recognising the small details. The game looks very different when you understand what is happening away from the puck.

Key learnings

• Strong patient relationships are built through consistent communication, respect, and follow-through.
• Addressing small problems early can prevent them from becoming larger operational or personal challenges.
• Knowing when to involve other people is an important part of leadership and sound judgement.
• Long-term addiction recovery benefits from structure, continuity, and reliable support after initial treatment.
• Time spent with family, hobbies, and meaningful relationships can become more valuable than constant professional growth.

Linda Ellard grew up in Michigan, where she played just about every sport there was to play: cheerleading, wrestling, softball, volleyball, cross country. That range shows up later in her career, too. She started nursing in Tulsa in 2009 and spent her early years working as a burn nurse, a job that pulled her toward wound care and, eventually, toward the question of what actually causes a wound to turn into something worse. By 2017, she had become an advanced practice registered nurse.

Her first APRN role was as a hospitalist, a job that put her in contact with specialists across nearly every discipline and forced her to hold a wide base of medical knowledge at once. That broad foundation turned out to be useful. Since 2019, she has practiced as an infectious disease APRN, working alongside five different infectious disease attending physicians, each with a different way of reasoning through a case. In that same stretch, she has also worked in chronic pain management and addiction treatment, and from 2024 to 2026 she has added wound care back into her practice, closing a loop that started in the burn unit years earlier.

She studied at Wayne State University and a community college in Michigan before finishing her BSN and MSN at OU Tulsa, making dean’s honor roll for most of her time in school. In 2019 she began a DNP at the University of Alabama Huntsville, which she has paused with about a year and a half left to finish. Outside of work, she fishes, goes to the gym, and credits her family, especially her husband, with keeping her grounded through all of it.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

My days move between specialties, which keeps me sharp but also means I have to be organized about it. Mornings are usually rounds or patient visits tied to infectious disease, then I shift into pain management or addiction treatment appointments in the afternoon. I keep a running list the night before so I’m not reconstructing my day from memory at 6 a.m. The productivity comes from not trying to multitask across specialties at the same time. One patient type at a time, one chart at a time.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I write them down first, then break them into steps I can actually act on that week. If it’s a clinical idea, like a different way to coordinate between a pain management patient and their infectious disease needs, I’ll run it by one of the attendings I work with before I build it into a plan. Five different attendings means five different ways of thinking through a problem, and I use that.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I like seeing patients take more ownership of their own recovery, tracking their own symptoms, their own labs, asking sharper questions at appointments. It changes the conversation from me explaining everything to us working through it together.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Setting realistic goals and working through them one at a time instead of all at once. I used to try to tackle everything in a week. Now I pick what actually matters and let the rest wait its turn.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Stop rushing the parts of your training that feel slow. The years I spent in the burn unit felt like a detour at the time. They ended up being the reason I understood infection the way I do now.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I think burn nursing should be a required rotation for anyone going into infectious disease. You see what infection actually does to tissue in real time, not just on a lab report, and it changes how you treat every wound after that.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Get outside and move. Fishing does for my head what a gym session does for my body. I recommend people find whatever version of that works for them and protect the time for it.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I step away, usually outside, and let my husband talk me through it if it’s a bigger issue. Most of the time I just need an hour of quiet before I can look at the problem clearly again.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Working under multiple attending physicians instead of just one. Each of the five infectious disease attendings I’ve worked with approaches a case differently, some lean heavier on imaging, some on history, some on gut instinct built over decades. Seeing those differences side by side taught me faster than any single mentor could have.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

Early on, I asked a nurse on call to phone me back with lab results and the callback never came. The patient ended up in surgery the next day. I overcame it by changing how I handle waiting periods entirely. Now I consult other specialists while labs are pending instead of sitting on my hands. I never delay care waiting for one piece of information again.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

A simple scheduling tool that lets patients seeing multiple specialists, infectious disease, pain management, wound care, see one combined calendar instead of juggling three separate portals. Coordination between specialties is where a lot of care falls through the cracks.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I use a notes app to keep a running list of patient follow-ups that don’t fit neatly into the EHR, things like a phone call I’m waiting on or a question I want to bring to another provider. It’s low-tech but it keeps small things from slipping through.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

I lean toward nonfiction that deals with how people make decisions under pressure. It’s useful outside of clinical work, and reading has always been a way for me to slow my brain down after a long shift.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I enjoyed a medical drama recently, mostly because it got some of the small details right that most shows skip over. It’s rare to watch one and not immediately start picking apart the clinical accuracy, so when one holds up, I notice.

Key learnings

• Broad early experience, including work outside one’s eventual specialty, can build clinical judgment that specialization alone does not.
• Exposure to multiple mentors or supervisors with different approaches accelerates skill development faster than a single mentorship track.
• Treating delays in information, such as pending lab results, as a cue to consult other specialists rather than wait can prevent care gaps.
• Physical hobbies and time away from clinical settings support clearer decision-making under pressure.
  Coordination gaps between specialties remain a practical problem that simple tools, not just new programs, could help solve.

With Sawyer Oliphant as CEO, QuantFarming has built its work around quantitative analysis and algorithmic trading. That means studying market information and using computer instructions to put defined trading rules into practice.

Behind those tools is a process of testing and review. The company’s development updates have explored historical data, trading system improvements, and the search for meaningful patterns. The emphasis is on examining ideas and refining them, rather than treating the first version as the finished product.

Alongside its technical work, QuantFarming has made education and support part of its offering. Its resources include virtual learning, help getting started, and technical guidance. Company materials also describe group training and community sessions in Arizona.
That human side gives the business another dimension. Software is only one part of the experience. Having room to ask questions, understand the process, and connect with others matters, too.

Since its founding, QuantFarming’s story has connected technology with ongoing study. Its focus brings attention to the less glamorous parts of building something useful: reviewing details, questioning assumptions, and returning to an idea with fresh eyes.

The work is technical, but the rhythm is familiar. Learn something. Put it to the test. Take another look. Then bring that understanding to whatever comes next.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I like to start by reviewing market activity and checking how our trading systems performed against expectations. From there, I divide my time between software development, research, and conversations with our team. I try to handle technical work early, when I can concentrate without distractions.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I start with a question that can be tested. For example, could a trading system respond differently during periods of high volatility? We examine historical data, build a model, and test the results. Sometimes the original idea doesn’t hold up. That’s part of the process.

What’s one trend that excites you?

The growing use of artificial intelligence in quantitative research. AI can help researchers examine large datasets and identify relationships that might otherwise go unnoticed. I’m particularly interested in how machine learning can support trading-system development without replacing human judgment.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

Keeping a research journal. I write down what we’re testing, why we’re testing it, and what we learned. It’s surprisingly easy to forget why you made a technical decision three months earlier.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Spend less time looking for shortcuts and more time understanding the fundamentals. When you’re young, it’s tempting to measure progress by how quickly something happens. I’ve learned that understanding a process is more valuable than rushing toward an outcome.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I think a trading strategy that doesn’t produce impressive results can still be valuable research. Sometimes discovering why something fails teaches you more than a successful backtest. Knowing what doesn’t work helps you ask better questions.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Question your assumptions. In quantitative trading, historical results can look convincing until you examine the conditions behind them. I recommend asking what evidence would prove your original idea wrong.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I step away from the screen and take a walk. Arizona offers plenty of opportunities to get outside. When I return, I identify the single problem that needs my attention rather than trying to solve everything at once.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

Connecting technology with education has shaped our approach at QuantFarming. Software can be complicated, especially for people unfamiliar with algorithmic trading. Creating learning resources, offering technical support, and discussing concepts through our community helps us understand where people struggle and what needs improvement.

What is one failure in your career,  how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

One challenge in quantitative development is building something that performs well on historical data but struggles when tested against unfamiliar conditions. I’ve learned to treat that as a research problem rather than simply adjusting the model until the numbers look better. It reinforces the importance of testing assumptions and avoiding overfitting.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Create a simple research platform where people can test everyday financial assumptions against historical data. For example, does market volatility actually increase after certain economic announcements? Make the results easy to understand, including when the original assumption turns out to be wrong.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

Python is an incredibly useful tool for quantitative research. It can help organize market data, run statistical tests, and automate repetitive analysis. I like tools that make it easier to repeat an experiment and examine the results.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefèvre is a book I’d recommend. It explores decision-making when outcomes are uncertain. That’s particularly relevant to financial markets, where a good decision doesn’t always produce a good result.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

I’ve really enjoyed Billions. It’s entertaining, but what interests me most is how the characters approach financial markets, risk, and competition. The show highlights how psychology, strategy, and information can influence major decisions. Working in quantitative trading, I find it interesting to watch the balance between human instinct and data-driven thinking. It also shows how ego and emotion can cloud judgment, even when someone has access to incredible resources. Obviously, Hollywood adds plenty of drama, but there’s a valuable lesson underneath it all: having information isn’t enough. What matters is how you interpret it and what you do with it.

Key learnings

• Test assumptions before trusting results. Strong historical performance doesn’t guarantee that an idea will work under different conditions.
• Treat unsuccessful experiments as valuable information. Understanding why something failed can lead to better questions and stronger research methods.
• Combine technology with education. Software becomes more useful when people understand its purpose, limitations, and underlying processes.
• Document your decisions. Keeping a record of experiments and observations makes it easier to learn from past work.
• Focus on the process rather than immediate outcomes. Consistent research, thoughtful testing, and a willingness to revise assumptions support long-term development.

Chen Baraker is the founder and CEO of Ayamuro Studios, an independent game studio founded in 2025. Fascinated by programming from a young age, Baraker focuses on developing original games built around distinctive gameplay mechanics and technical problem-solving.

His current project is MoveMe, a two-to-four-player online co-op climbing game in development for Steam. The game introduces an unconventional control system in which each player’s keyboard controls their partner’s character, while their partner controls theirs. Communication and coordination are central to the experience.

MoveMe features a custom technical implementation designed to make its central mechanic feel seamless. Rather than transmitting keyboard inputs between players, the game swaps cameras and character models and teleports the characters around a ring, making the exchange feel instantaneous. Development began in February 2026, with Baraker creating the game entirely on his own.

Beyond MoveMe, Baraker is developing two additional games. One is a fast-paced roguelike shooter being made in collaboration with a friend. The other is a solo-developed open-world action game built around a large-scale sandbox experience. These projects represent his ongoing work across different genres and approaches to game design.

Through Ayamuro Studios, Baraker is building a portfolio of original games while remaining directly involved in their development. His work combines a longstanding interest in code with the practical challenges of designing and building interactive experiences from the ground up. His long-term goal is to build a studio in the tradition of the great game makers, the way Valve did, one that pushes the gaming industry forward instead of following it.

MoveMe is currently listed on Steam as coming soon, with no release date announced. More information is available at playmoveme.com.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

Most of my time goes into building games and solving problems. I focus on what is blocking progress, work through it, and test the result. I try to measure progress by what actually works, not by how busy I was.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I start with the core mechanic and figure out how to make it work. MoveMe is a good example. The idea is simple: your keyboard moves your friend’s character, and theirs moves yours. Making that feel instant without sending keyboard inputs between players required a different technical solution. Once the core idea works, you can build the rest around it.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I’m interested in what independent developers can build with modern tools. A small operation can take on technically ambitious projects without needing a huge organization behind it. I think there is a lot of room for games that stand out because of their mechanics rather than their size.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

I break large problems into smaller ones that I can actually solve and test. It is easier to make progress when the next step is clear. I would rather get one important thing working than have ten things half-finished.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Start building earlier, and finish what you start. Half-finished projects teach you a lot less than finished ones. Getting MoveMe all the way to its own Steam page taught me things no unfinished project could.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you.

I believe a tiny studio can still change the gaming industry. A lot of people think that era is over, and that real change only comes from giant companies with huge budgets. I don’t buy it. The studios that changed games, like Valve, started small and took risks bigger companies wouldn’t. That’s what I want Ayamuro to be.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

Turn ideas into something you can test. You can debate an idea forever, but a working prototype shows you what is actually interesting and what isn’t. Reality is a much better filter than imagination alone.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

I stop and pick one thing. When everything feels urgent at once, nothing gets done. So I ask what is actually blocking the game right now, fix that, and let the rest wait.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

I focus on what makes a game different instead of trying to compete with everything at once. MoveMe has a clear central mechanic that people can understand quickly, but implementing it requires real technical work. That gives the project a clear direction and helps me decide which features belong in it.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

The hardest part of MoveMe wasn’t the swap itself. It was everything the swap broke. Almost every system in a game quietly assumes that your body is you. Once your camera follows your friend’s body, that stops being true. Every body is now tied to two people: the one moving it and the one watching through it. So every basic system, even ones you never think about, became a problem to solve. Sound came from the wrong place because the audio listener sat on the wrong body. Voice chat had to come from the right person, not the right body. Name tags and colors pointed at the wrong player. Every fix showed me another system making the same assumption.

I got through it by going system by system and asking one question every time: should this follow the body, the person watching it, or the person controlling it? Once I asked that question first, the bugs got much easier to fix.

The lesson: when you change one core rule, expect it to touch everything. Getting the idea working was the easy part. Making it feel right took most of the project.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

One idea is a lightweight playtesting service for independent game developers. Players would opt in to share privacy-conscious gameplay data, and the service would show developers where people get stuck, abandon a session, or struggle to understand a mechanic. Instead of guessing which part of a game is confusing, developers could use real playtest evidence to decide what to fix.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

MoveMe is built in Unity, and my other two games are in Unreal Engine. Unity is where most of my day happens: building levels, testing multiplayer, and fixing whatever the last playtest broke. I’d rather pick the engine that fits the project than force one engine onto everything.

What is the best $100 you recently spent?

The $100 Steam Direct fee to put MoveMe on Steam. Seeing my first game with its own store page on Steam was a really good feeling. People could wishlist it, and it stopped being a project on my hard drive. I can’t wait to have many more up there.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast from which you’ve received much value?

How To Market A Game by Chris Zukowski. It’s a blog and YouTube channel about selling indie games on Steam, and I love it. What stuck with me: wishlists before launch matter a lot, and he warns that most indie multiplayer games struggle because they need a lot of players online to stay alive. That made me think hard about how to present MoveMe.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

Honestly, I enjoy almost every show I start, so picking one feels unfair. What I pay attention to is how a good series makes you need the next episode. Every episode answers one question and leaves a bigger one open. Games can learn a lot from that. If a player stops at the right moment and can’t stop thinking about it, they come back.

Key learnings:

• Build a working version of an idea early so real results can replace assumptions.
• When a core rule changes, expect it to touch every system, and check each one deliberately.
• Small studios can still aim to change the industry; size limits budget, not ambition.
• Break complex technical problems into smaller, testable steps.
• Let a project’s defining mechanic decide which features belong in it.

Torey Alston has built a career around education, public service, infrastructure, and expanding opportunity. A Broward County, Florida native, he grew up in a family where service was part of everyday life. His father, Louis Alston, was a retired police officer, while his mother, Bobby Smith Alston, worked as a social worker.

Alston graduated from Blanche Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida before attending Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU). He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management in 2005 and an MBA in 2007. He later continued his professional education through programs at various educational institutions covering nonprofit leadership, compliance, accessibility, contracting, and operational improvement.

His career began with the State of Florida, where he led offices focused on supplier development and efficient government. From there, he moved through leadership roles with Broward County, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the City of Gainesville, and the Florida Department of Transportation. His work frequently centered on operations, economic opportunity, compliance, accessibility, and organizational leadership.

Alston later served as CEO of the Greater Miami Expressway Agency before becoming the eighth President and CEO of Broward College in February 2025. He served in that position through August 2026, continuing a career shaped by both public leadership and education.
Public service has remained another important part of his career.

Alston has served on the Broward County Board of Commissioners, chaired the School Board of Broward County, and participated in numerous civic and educational organizations throughout Florida. He also values family time and enjoys fishing, bowling, and traveling, while continuing to focus on the idea that institutions work best when leaders understand the people they serve.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

My days have changed depending on the role, but I’ve always tried to start by identifying the two or three things that truly need my attention. I start my day with prayer and affirmations and loving on my wife and kids. Then I quietly scan world, regional, and local affairs to understand the pulse and environment for the day.

Leadership roles can fill your calendar very quickly, so if you don’t decide what matters before the day gets moving, other people will decide for you.

I also try to leave room for conversations because some of the most useful information I’ve received throughout my career has come from a brief discussion with an employee, student, community member, or partner that wasn’t necessarily on the formal agenda. Those conversations can surface issues early and help me make better decisions.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I start by asking who the idea is supposed to help and what problem it is actually solving. Once that is clear, I like to break the idea into practical steps and identify who needs to be involved, what resources are required, and where the likely roadblocks are.

My background in operations taught me that good ideas can fail when execution is treated as an afterthought. I want to know who owns each part, what could slow us down, and how we will know whether the idea actually worked once it is in place.

What’s one trend that excites you?

I’m interested in the growing connection between higher education and the workforce. Students increasingly want to understand how what they are learning connects to a career, an industry, or the needs of their community, and I think colleges have an opportunity to respond to that more directly. It includes providing more experiences and programs in K-12 school districts where students are exposed even earlier to high-demand careers.

We should also be thinking more creatively about credentials, partnerships, career pathways, and lifelong learning. Education does not stop when someone earns a degree, and institutions have an important role to play in helping people keep building skills throughout their careers.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

I write things down because I don’t like relying completely on memory, especially when I’m moving between meetings and conversations throughout the day. My memory is not always the best, according to my wife, so it helps. I keep notes on decisions, follow-ups, and people I need to reconnect with so that important details do not get lost.

It sounds simple, but it keeps small commitments from becoming forgotten commitments. Consistency in those small things can make a big difference over time.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Never say no to an opportunity! I would also tell my younger self not to be in such a hurry to reach the next title. Early in your career, you can become focused on what comes next instead of paying attention to everything the current experience is teaching you.

Some of the assignments that seemed routine at the time taught me skills I later needed in much larger leadership positions. I would remind myself to learn the job in front of me, ask more questions, and trust that the next opportunity will come when the foundation is there.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I think systems and organizational processes deserve far more attention than new ideas. People naturally want to talk about vision, innovation, and major initiatives, but organizations often succeed or fail because of broken systems, structures and silos.

Fixing something ordinary can sometimes create more impact than launching something new. A well-run process may not attract much attention, but it can make life easier for employees, students, customers, or community members every single day.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

I believe in management by walking around, getting a hands-on and direct view of the environment. I recommend talking to people who see the organization differently than you do. If you’re in leadership, speak with the person doing the work every day, and if you work in operations, spend time with the people affected by the process.

If you’re making decisions about students, spend time listening to them rather than relying solely on reports or meetings. You understand an organization differently when you leave your normal circle and hear directly from people who experience it from another angle.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

This is when I take a “hot tea break” to recharge and renew my focus. I also find it helpful to fully step away for a little while, depending on the situation. In my personal time, fishing is especially good for that because you cannot rush it, and sometimes a little distance from a problem makes the solution much easier to see. My wife and kids enjoy the outdoors for relaxation and clarity.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

I’ve tried to become useful in situations where organizations need someone who can connect strategy with execution. My career has spanned education, transportation, local government, state government, compliance, and operations. Although those fields may appear different, there is alignment in the leadership and experience needed to be successful.

You still have to manage people, understand budgets, follow regulations, communicate clearly, and deliver results. Building transferable skills has allowed me to move between sectors, because the core lessons around leadership and execution continue to apply.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

Earlier in my career, I sometimes assumed that if a plan made sense on paper, people would naturally understand why we were doing it. I learned that implementation depends heavily on communication because people need context, especially when a decision changes their work or affects something they care about.

Since then, I’ve tried to spend more time explaining the reasoning behind decisions and listening for concerns before assuming everyone is aligned. That lesson has helped me approach change with more patience and a better understanding of how people experience it.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I think there is room for a service that helps small employers build stronger relationships with local colleges and training programs. Large companies often have dedicated teams managing workforce partnerships, while smaller employers may need the same talent pipelines but have no idea where to start.

A platform that helps local businesses identify relevant programs, internships, certifications, and student partnerships could create value for employers and students at the same time. It could make workforce connections easier for companies that do not have a large human resources or recruiting team.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I use both Microsoft and Google applications. Microsoft Outlook has probably been one of the most consistently useful tools throughout my career. I use the calendar heavily, but I also use it as a way to manage follow-ups and keep track of what needs to happen after meetings. I also am a fan of Microsoft Teams to ensure regular informal communication with my team.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

I tend to get the most value from leadership books and conversations that focus on how organizations actually operate rather than just big ideas. I like material that makes me think about decision-making, accountability, culture, communication, and how leaders respond when an organization is going through change.

I’m especially interested in lessons that can transfer between sectors because my own career has crossed education, government, and transportation. I find that the most useful ideas are often the ones that can be adapted to different environments rather than applied to only one industry.

From a leadership perspective, I also encourage my teams to complete the Strengths Finder assessment and read Discover Your Clifton Strengths by Don Clifton. It helps shape leaders, help teams understand varying perspectives and builds upon one’s strengths.

What’s a movie or series you recently enjoyed and why?

My favorite movie with my wife is The Best Man.

The movie favorites with the kids are all versions of Home Alone.

Key learnings

• Family Importance – Lead a strong career but maintain balance with your family and personal life. I love my wife and kids, as they keep me grounded.
• Leadership – Think big, create an environment where all ideas are welcome and build a team that can take your vision to the next level.
• Growth – Continue learning, reading and gaining knowledge from various traditional and non-traditional forms. Staying on top of trends and future growth is key to professional success.

Vera Tovino has served as an executive personal assistant and operations lead for an ultra-high-net-worth principal for more than 20 years, with responsibilities across several residences, business interests, and high-demand environments. Vera Tovino takes on many roles, including gatekeeper, decision filter, and trusted proxy who represents the principal’s interests across a multitude of arenas. A few of her daily tasks include overseeing staff, coordinating personal logistics, and managing a high-volume, multi-layered business and personal schedule.

For 14 years, Vera Tovino balanced her responsibilities as an executive personal assistant with her work as an event project manager at Brett House Catering. She coordinated numerous high-end private and corporate events for ultra-high-net-worth clientele, raising more than $1 million in philanthropic donations. She gained extensive experience in human resources and business operations management in her leadership roles at Taos Restaurant Group.

Vera Tovino holds a marketing degree from Johnson and Wales University. She regularly expands her professional knowledge by attending events in the hospitality, lifestyle, and luxury service industries. Her personal interests range from boating to travel.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

My days rarely look the same, and that’s one of the things I enjoy most about my work. In the private service and family office world, priorities can shift in a matter of minutes, so I’ve learned to build structure without becoming rigid.

I usually begin the day by reviewing my priorities, anticipating what may be needed before it’s requested, and making sure the people, properties, and projects I’m responsible for are moving forward. Some days that means coordinating travel across multiple time zones. Other days it means managing vendors, reviewing budgets, overseeing a renovation, planning an event, or simply solving an unexpected problem before it reaches my principal.

I’ve found that productivity isn’t about getting the most done. It’s about focusing on the work that creates the greatest impact. Staying organized, communicating clearly, and following through consistently allows me to remain calm, even when the pace is demanding. After more than 20 years of supporting one principal and family, I’ve learned that the best operations are often the ones no one notices. When everything runs seamlessly, it creates the freedom for others to focus on what matters most, and that’s ultimately the role I strive to play every day.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I’ve learned that great ideas rarely succeed because they’re brilliant. They succeed because someone is willing to consistently execute them. Whenever I’m presented with a new idea, I start by asking a simple question: What does success actually look like? Once that’s clear, I work backwards, breaking the vision into manageable steps, identifying priorities, and making sure that the right people have the information and resources they need to move forward.

One lesson I’ve carried throughout my career is that execution is built on communication. Whether I’m coordinating a renovation, planning a large event, implementing a new operational system, or managing a complex travel itinerary, everyone involved needs to understand not only what they’re doing, but why it matters. I’ve also become comfortable with the fact that not every detail will be known on day one. Progress creates momentum, which creates clarity. Some of the most successful projects I’ve managed evolved as we learned, adjusted, and improved along the way.

Ultimately, bringing ideas to life isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about creating an environment where people can do their best work, solving problems as they arise, and never losing sight of the original vision.

What’s one trend that excites you?

One trend that genuinely excites me is the growing appreciation for anticipatory service. Whether in private households, family offices, hospitality, or even technology, the highest level of service is no longer about simply responding to requests. It’s about understanding people’s needs well enough to address them before they have to ask.

I’ve watched expectations evolve over the course of my career. Today, success isn’t measured by how quickly you react to a problem, but by how often the problem never arises because someone was thinking several steps ahead. I also believe that technology, including artificial intelligence, has an important role to play in supporting that evolution.

Used thoughtfully, it can eliminate repetitive administrative work, improve communication, and provide better organization. But technology should never replace human judgment, empathy, or relationships. Instead, it should give professionals more time to focus on what people value most: trust, personal connection, and exceptional service. To me, that’s the future of leadership and operations. The best systems should feel almost invisible, allowing people to spend less time managing life and more time living it.

What is one habit that helps you be productive?

One habit that has served me throughout my career is making sure I close every loop.
Whether it’s following up with a vendor, confirming travel details, checking on a project, or simply making sure someone has what they need, I rarely assume something has been handled until I’ve verified it. That habit has prevented countless small issues from becoming much larger problems.

I’ve learned that productivity isn’t about doing more. It’s about creating clarity. When communication is complete, expectations are understood. People know what’s happening next, and everything moves more efficiently. Over time, I’ve realized that this approach builds something even more valuable than efficiency. It builds trust. People know they can rely on me because they don’t have to wonder whether something was forgotten or left unfinished.

What advice would you give your younger self?

If I could give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be this: Don’t let the pursuit of perfection slow your progress. I’ve always held myself to high standards, and while that has served me well throughout my career, I’ve also learned that perfection isn’t the goal. Growth is. I’ve made mistakes, just like everyone else, but I’ve found that mistakes often become your best teachers if you’re willing to own them, learn from them, and move forward with greater perspective.

I would also remind my younger self to trust my instincts sooner. Experience has taught me that preparation, integrity, and consistency matter far more than having every answer. Confidence doesn’t come from never making mistakes. It comes from knowing you’ll handle them thoughtfully and emerge stronger because of them. Looking back, I wouldn’t change the challenges I’ve faced. Each one has shaped the way I lead, solve problems, and support others today.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

I believe that organization isn’t about control. It’s about creating freedom. A lot of people associate systems, structure, and planning with rigidity, but my experience has taught me the opposite. The more organized an operation is, the more adaptable it becomes. When people know their roles, communication is clear, and the right systems are in place, you’re able to respond calmly and confidently when the unexpected happens.

I’ve spent much of my career in environments where plans changed with little notice. Flights were delayed, events evolved, projects shifted direction, and priorities changed overnight. The reason those moments didn’t become crises wasn’t because everything went according to plan. It was because there was a strong foundation that allowed us to adjust without losing momentum. To me, great organization isn’t about controlling every detail. It’s about creating enough clarity and trust that people have the freedom to focus on what matters most.

What is the one thing you repeatedly do and recommend everyone else do?

If there’s one habit I recommend to everyone, it’s this: Finish the loop. In my profession, it’s easy to assume something has been handled because someone said they would take care of it. I’ve learned that assumptions create unnecessary problems. Whether it’s confirming a reservation, following up with a contractor, checking in with a team member, or making sure a project reached completion, I believe in verifying rather than assuming.

It isn’t about micromanaging. It’s about creating confidence. When people know you’ll follow through and that nothing slips through the cracks, trust naturally develops. I’ve found that this principle extends well beyond work. Relationships, leadership, and successful organizations are all built on consistent communication and reliable follow-through. It’s a simple habit, but over time it has one of the greatest impacts.

When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do?

When I start to feel overwhelmed, I’ve learned not to react immediately. Instead, I pause long enough to regain perspective. One lesson my career has taught me is that complexity becomes much more manageable when it’s broken down into individual pieces. Rather than trying to solve everything at once, I identify what truly needs my attention first, what can wait, and who needs to be involved. Once there’s clarity, momentum naturally follows.

I also remind myself that very few situations are improved by panic. People look to leaders for calm, especially during periods of uncertainty. I’ve found that staying composed, asking good questions, and focusing on the next right step almost always leads to better decisions than trying to tackle everything at once. Ironically, the busiest environments have taught me the value of slowing my thinking before speeding up my actions. A few moments of clarity often save hours of unnecessary work later.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

One strategy that has had the greatest impact on my career is focusing on becoming genuinely valuable rather than simply being busy. Early in my career, I realized that checking tasks off a list wasn’t enough. The real opportunity was to understand the bigger picture. I wanted to know not only what needed to be done, but why it mattered and how my work could make someone else’s job easier. That mindset changed everything. Instead of waiting for direction, I began anticipating needs, identifying opportunities for improvement, and looking for ways to simplify complex situations before they became problems.

Over time, I wasn’t just completing assignments. I became a trusted partner who could be relied upon to think ahead, solve problems, and keep operations moving smoothly. I’ve found that when you consistently create value, trust naturally follows. And trust is what opens doors, strengthens relationships, and creates opportunities that no résumé alone ever could.

What is one failure in your career, how did you overcome it, and what lessons did you take away from it?

One of the biggest lessons of my career has been learning that trying to do everything yourself isn’t a strength—it’s a limitation. Early in my career, I believed that the best way to ensure something was done well was to take on as much responsibility as possible. While that approach came from a genuine desire to help, it wasn’t always sustainable. Over time, I realized that effective leadership isn’t about carrying every responsibility yourself. It’s about building trust, communicating clearly, and empowering the right people to succeed.

That shift changed the way I approach every project. I became more intentional about creating systems, developing strong relationships, and giving people the information and support they needed to do their best work. The result wasn’t less accountability—it was stronger collaboration and better outcomes.

Looking back, I don’t view that as a failure so much as an important turning point. It taught me that leadership isn’t measured by how much you personally accomplish. It’s measured by the environment you create and the success of the people around you. That lesson continues to shape the way I work every day.

What is one business idea you’re willing to give away to our readers?

If I could give away one business idea, it would involve creating a modern digital operating system for private residences and family offices. Most homes and estates have information scattered across spreadsheets, emails, notebooks, text messages, and the memories of longtime staff members. Imagine instead having one secure, centralized platform that houses everything from vendor contacts and maintenance schedules to household preferences, travel details, inventories, emergency procedures, and operating manuals. If a new team member joins or a family travels between residences, the knowledge travels with them.

I believe that the future of estate management isn’t simply about keeping your information organized. It’s about preserving institutional knowledge. The most valuable asset in any operation is often what experienced people know, and too much of that disappears when someone leaves. Technology now gives us the opportunity to capture that knowledge in a way that’s organized, searchable, secure, and easy to maintain. I think that’s one of the biggest opportunities in private service over the next decade.

What is one piece of software that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

The software I use most isn’t nearly as important as how I use it. Over the years, I’ve relied on everything from shared calendars and project management platforms to financial systems, estate management software, and, more recently, artificial intelligence. Each serves a purpose, but I’ve never believed that technology should replace good judgment. Its role is to reduce the administrative burden so that people can focus on higher-value work.

Lately, I’ve been especially interested in how AI can improve operations. It has tremendous potential to organize information, streamline communication, draft documents, summarize complex information, and preserve institutional knowledge. Used thoughtfully, it allows professionals to spend less time searching for information and more time solving problems and building relationships. The best technology is almost invisible. When it works well, it creates clarity, saves time, and supports better decisions without replacing the human qualities that matter most: experience, empathy, discretion, and trust.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

One of the best investments I’ve made recently has been in artificial intelligence tools that help me think, organize information, and solve problems more effectively. What I appreciate most isn’t that AI provides answers. It’s that it helps me to ask better questions. I use it to explore ideas, prepare for meetings, organize complex projects, summarize information, and challenge my own thinking. It’s become a valuable thought partner that allows me to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time focusing on strategy, relationships, and execution. For me, the real value isn’t the technology itself. It’s the time and mental space it gives back. That’s an investment that continues to pay dividends every day.

Key learnings

• Complex ideas are easier to execute when success is defined, work is broken into manageable steps, and everyone understands their role.
• Clear systems and organized information can help teams adapt when priorities change. They create room for flexibility rather than limiting it.
• Digital tools can reduce administrative work and preserve operational knowledge, while human judgment, discretion, and relationships remain central.
• Anticipatory service means identifying needs early so that potential problems can be addressed before they disrupt daily operations.