We Fixed It, You’re Welcome

Middle managers were supposed to be one of the layers companies could do without. Organizations flattened their org charts, invested heavily in AI, and removed roles in the name of efficiency. Now the question is whether they also removed the people who help teams think, learn, and work effectively. Abhijit Bhaduri joins Aaron Wolpoff and Melissa Eaton to unpack the management reset happening in an AI-enabled workplace. Drawing on his experience in talent management and global learning and development, he explains why efficiency and effectiveness are not the same, how repeated restructures erode trust, and why employees need enough security to learn new skills. The conversation explores the future of middle management, the entry-level talent pipeline, the human cost of treating employees as interchangeable line items, and why AI needs thoughtful human escalation when systems fail. The answer is not to stop using AI. It is to redesign work so technology and people can make each other more effective.

In this episode: Why companies are reconsidering middle management Efficiency versus effectiveness How layoffs and reversals damage trust Why fear makes learning harder The role of managers in coaching, culture, and escalation What happens when entry-level jobs disappear Why AI needs human judgment and customer-service escalation How employers can invest in employees’ next roles Connect with Abhijit Bhaduri: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhijitbhaduri/

Connect With the Show Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives. • Website – www.wefixeditpod.com • Follow us on: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them. Disclaimer A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Advertising Week and the future of industry conferences get a full rebuild on We Fixed It You're Welcome, recorded live in New York with Erica Boeke, CEO of XP Land.

Aaron sits down with Erica in NYC while Melissa and Chino join remotely to ask why Advertising Week New York now runs out of an old Herald Square mall, why event sponsorship budgets are shrinking, and why the best conference networking happens at fringe events. Erica, who spent years creating brand experiences for Condé Nast titles, lays out an experiential marketing and event marketing strategy playbook for Advertising Week 2027 built around the attendee experience.

In this episode:

- Why Erica last spoke at Advertising Week in a former JC Penney boys department

- The dirty little secret: why she hasn't bought a badge for SXSW, AWNY or Cannes in years

- How 86 devices for the 86th Oscars beat a $250,000 logo-on-a-napkin package

- Why Canva, Sephora and Target no longer need conferences to reach their fans

- The fixes: make New York the campus, program downtime, design moments of awe

What you will learn

• Why Advertising Week moved from Broadway theaters to a Herald Square mall, where Erica last spoke inside the old JC Penney boys department

• The dirty little secret of big conferences: why Erica hasn't bought a badge for SXSW, AWNY or Cannes in years, and why that should worry organizers

• How Erica got Samsung to deliver 86 devices for the 86th Oscars green room, and why that story beats a $250,000 logo-on-a-napkin sponsorship

• Why one major insurance tech conference's sponsor list shrank to roughly half of what it was three years ago

• How Canva, Sephora and Target built audiences big enough that conferences now need them more than they need conferences

• Why the best feedback from a Fast Company Innovation Festival survey was about networking on the shuttle buses

• The 2027 fixes: audit the attendee journey, make New York the campus, get out of the mall, program downtime and design moments of awe

About the guest

Erica Boeke started her career as a journalist before moving to the brand side at Condé Nast, where she created experiences for titles including GQ, Teen Vogue, Wired and Architectural Digest. Her work includes the Oscars green room with designer David Rockwell. Today she runs XP Land, which hosts experiential events alongside Advertising Week and is launching its first experience upfront next year.

Connect with Erica Boeke:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erica-boeke/ 

Connect With the Show Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives. • Website – www.wefixeditpod.com • Follow us on: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them. Disclaimer A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Oura has sold millions of rings, generated significant revenue from both hardware and memberships, and pursued a company valuation of more than $15 billion.

It was supposed to go IPO…and then it didn’t.

The ring itself? It tracks your sleep, stress, recovery and activity. It’s a major business.

But the ring may be the least interesting part of this story.

In this episode of We Fixed It, You’re Welcome, our panelists Aaron, Melissa and Chino break down the business behind Oura, from its hardware-plus-subscription model to its growing customer base, brand awareness, and health-data strategy and challenge each other about whether an IPO was ever the right move to begin with.

The conversation explores why Oura has succeeded in a crowded wearable market, how it can continue growing, and what happens when a company becomes responsible for an increasingly valuable collection of deeply personal health data.

The central question is:

With all eyes on this company, how does Oura move on from here?

What You Will Learn

• Why Oura is more than a ring

• How Oura's hardware-plus-subscription business works

• Why the subscription model is both an opportunity and a challenge

• How Oura can expand its audience

• Why Oura's screenless experience is an important differentiator

• Why retention does not necessarily mean genuine customer engagement

• How raw health data can be turned into actionable guidance

• Why customers may want different levels of health information

• The discussion around Oura's sleep-data accuracy

• Why customer consent matters when collecting health data

• How AI could increase the value of biometric information

• Why health-data privacy could become increasingly important

• What a customer-controlled data permission center could look like

• Why longitudinal health data could become a valuable asset

• The tension between shareholder expectations and customer privacy

• Whether Oura should monetize its data

• Whether Oura should introduce additional products

• Whether Oura should increase subscription prices

Connect With the Show Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives. • Website – www.wefixeditpod.com • Follow us on: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them. Disclaimer A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

It feels like one of those environmental debates we settled a long time ago.

Paper comes from trees, breaks down, and feels natural. Plastic comes from fossil fuels and represents pollution.

So if we're trying to make the environmentally responsible choice, paper seems like the obvious answer.

Except the closer you look, the less obvious it gets.

Depending on the conditions, paper can require more material, water, and energy to produce than plastic. Plastic can perform better in some lifecycle assessments, while also creating challenges around recycling, microplastics, and environmental impact.

In this episode of We Fixed It, Christine Yeager joins the conversation to unpack the complicated reality behind one of the most familiar sustainability questions.

Christine spent more than 11 years at Coca-Cola, eventually leading its North American Sustainability Project Management Office. She also worked with Circular Action Alliance to help move Extended Producer Responsibility programs from policy into implementation. Today, she helps producers and service providers navigate EPR.

The conversation explores packaging choices, lifecycle assessments, recycling infrastructure, consumer behavior, corporate sustainability, and the economics behind Extended Producer Responsibility.

Because the real question isn't simply paper or plastic?

It's:

What happens to that material across its entire lifecycle?

What You Will Learn

• Why paper isn't automatically more sustainable than plastic

• Why plastic can perform better in some lifecycle assessments

• How lifecycle assessments influence packaging decisions

• Why packaging weight matters

• How energy sources can change the environmental impact of paper

• Why recyclability doesn't guarantee actual recycling

• What Extended Producer Responsibility means

• How EPR changes the economics of packaging

• Why EPR primarily incentivizes recyclability

• Why recycling is heavily influenced by geography

• Why the same packaging can have different outcomes in different locations

• Why local infrastructure matters

• Why consumers respond strongly to “recyclable” and “compostable”

• Why compostable packaging can still create infrastructure challenges

• What companies can learn from McDonald's paper straw experience

• What Coca-Cola learned from changing Sprite's packaging

• Why some sustainability work is invisible to consumers

• Why recycling needs functioning end markets

• Why recycled material can be more expensive than virgin material

• How EPR could change corporate packaging decisions

About the Guest

Christine Yeager is an environmental sustainability professional, consultant, and founder of CSY Impact Consulting.

Christine spent more than 11 years at Coca-Cola and eventually led its North American Sustainability Project Management Office.

She later worked with Circular Action Alliance, helping move Extended Producer Responsibility programs from policy toward implementation.

Today, Christine helps producers and service providers navigate EPR and sustainability challenges, with a focus on the systems, economics, and practical realities behind environmental impact.

Christine also hosts the Change Cycle podcast.

Connect with Christine Yeager

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinesyeager/

Website - https://www.csyimpact.com

Change Cycle podcast - https://www.csyimpact.com/podcast

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

Website:www.wefixeditpod.com

Follow us on:

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble.

These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome.

All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Watching your favorite team used to be simple. Turn on the television, find the channel, and watch the game.

Today, following one team can mean navigating multiple streaming platforms, subscriptions, blackout restrictions, premium tiers, and constantly changing media-rights deals.

In this episode of We Fixed It, Renee Washington joins the conversation to unpack the rapidly changing business of sports media and what it means for the people who actually watch the games.

Renee brings experience from across sports broadcasting, including work with ESPN, FIFA, NBC Sports and other major sports platforms, along with her background as a former professional soccer player and three-time All-American.

The conversation explores why sports leagues are increasingly prioritizing global audiences, how enormous media-rights deals are reshaping distribution, why local broadcasters and communities still matter, and why athletes themselves are becoming increasingly powerful brands.

For decades, sports broadcasting was built around a relatively simple relationship between fans, teams and television.

That relationship has changed dramatically.

Today, leagues are negotiating enormous media-rights agreements with traditional networks and streaming platforms. A single sport can appear across multiple services, forcing fans to figure out where individual games are being broadcast.

Renee Washington explains that the driving force behind much of this change is money.

Sports media rights represent enormous revenue opportunities, while streaming platforms see live sports as a way to attract audiences, collect viewing data, build habits and introduce viewers to their broader entertainment ecosystems.

But the financial opportunity comes with a cost: complexity.

Fans can find themselves juggling multiple subscriptions simply to follow one team. Local broadcasts have also become less prominent in some markets, while national and global programming has become increasingly important.

What You Will Learn

• Why watching sports has become increasingly complicated

• How the battle for sports media rights is reshaping broadcasting

• Why streaming platforms are aggressively pursuing live sports

• How multiple subscriptions affect the fan experience

• Why sports leagues are increasingly focused on global audiences

• What local broadcasters bring to a team's relationship with its community

• Why some sports broadcasts are produced away from the actual venue

• How athlete-driven fandom is changing traditional team loyalty

• Why players can now build audiences that transcend teams and countries

• How soccer's global model has influenced American sports

• Why the NFL's predictable broadcast structure works differently from other sports

• Why baseball, basketball and other leagues face different streaming challenges

• How exclusive media-rights agreements affect where fans can watch games

• Why streaming platforms care about more than the game itself

• How sports broadcasts can become gateways into movies, shows and other programming

• Why audience data has become such an important part of sports media

• Whether a single team-based login could simplify sports streaming

• Why leagues and networks may resist simplifying access

• How sports could preserve local communities while expanding globally

• Why more in-person experiences could become important in the future

Connect With Renee Washington

Website: www.reneepwashington.com

Renee Washington can also be found across social platforms under Renee Washington, with her X account using @ReneePwash

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

Website: www.wefixeditpod.com

Follow us on:

Instagram: @wefixeditpod

LinkedIn: @wefixeditpod

YouTube: @wefixeditpod

Disclaimer

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble.

These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome.

All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

UPS has spent 119 years building one of the world's most disciplined operating systems. But now the company is changing that machine from the inside: consolidating responsibility, restructuring operations, reducing costs, closing facilities and moving away from Amazon volume that no longer fits the economics of the business.

Noel Massie knows what that machine looks like from the inside. He spent 42 years at UPS, beginning as a college student loading trucks in 1977 and eventually becoming a president of five business units and Vice President of U.S. Delivery Operations. He describes a company where managers were given real ownership, frontline employees were trusted to make decisions, and culture was treated as an operating system rather than a poster on the wall.

Aaron Wolpoff, Chino Nnadi and Melissa Eaton use Noel's experience to examine a much bigger business question: Can a company become more standardized and efficient without becoming too rigid to respond when reality gets messy?

The conversation goes deep into UPS's long-running transformation, its volatile relationship with Amazon, the economics of unpredictable volume, the difference between standardizing guardrails and localizing judgment, and why Noel believes the company's biggest competitive advantage is ultimately its culture of ownership.

About the guest

Noel Massie is a former UPS executive with more than four decades of experience in operations, logistics and leadership.

He began working for UPS in 1977 while attending San Jose State University, initially taking a night-loading job to pay for college. He expected to leave UPS after graduation for a position at Hewlett-Packard, but the company convinced him to stay and promoted him into management.

Over the course of his UPS career, Massie became a manager, mid-level leader, president of multiple business units and ultimately Vice President of U.S. Delivery Operations. In his final role, he supported the company's domestic presidents and provided perspective on last-mile delivery, P&L, service levels and succession planning.

Today, he works as an author, executive coach and leadership consultant. His LinkedIn profile identifies his specialties as executive leadership, operations management, and supply chain & logistics.

What you will learn

• Why UPS's latest restructuring is not actually as sudden as it looks from the outside, and how its current transformation has been developing for years.

• How UPS went from 76 domestic business-unit presidents to 17, and what that consolidation says about the company's changing operating model.

• Why Noel believes ownership—not just stock ownership, but decision-making authority—is central to UPS's culture.

• The hidden cost of having one enormous customer: how Amazon's explosive growth created capacity, staffing and aircraft-planning problems for UPS.

• Why Amazon's growth eventually forced UPS to rethink the relationship—and why more volume does not automatically mean better business.

• The operational reality behind Amazon's unpredictable volume, including one period when Noel says UPS needed seven additional aircraft in a single day.

• Why "UPS doesn't need no supply chain company freight or otherwise [give] free shipping" became an important part of the Amazon conversation.

• Why the best operating model may be to standardize the guardrails while localizing the judgment.

• Why Noel describes UPS's culture as a "Yoda culture"—where experienced leaders invest in younger people before expecting results from them.

• Why companies going through massive change need to make employees feel that they matter more, not less.

• The leadership blueprint the panel believes other companies can take from UPS: invest in people, expect change, protect autonomy and build ownership.

Connect with Noel Massie:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelmassie/

Website - https://noelmassie.com/

Connect With the Show:

We Fixed It, You're Welcome

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod/

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod/

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and leave a review. Share it with someone who loves business strategy, operations, leadership, branding, or marketing.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold, and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice, or anything that would get us in trouble.

These are simply our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone is thinking, have engaging conversations, and explore ideas worth discussing.

If, by the end, we fixed it... you're welcome.

All trademarks, intellectual property, and brand elements discussed remain the property of their respective owners.

Can companies predict the future? Allen Nejah, founder and CEO of SunMan Engineering, joins Aaron Wolpoff and Melissa Eaton on We Fixed It, You're Welcome to explain why he built a connected, voice controlled car dashboard in 2005 and then watched the rest of the industry sell it fifteen years later.

This is a conversation about corporate innovation strategy and the distance between a good idea and a good idea at the right time. We get into why only 12% of advanced manufacturing companies ever commercialize an innovation at scale, why 95% of filed patents never earn a dollar, how quarterly earnings pressure quietly shrinks R&D ambition, why a corporate innovation lab has to be funded and measured differently from the rest of the business, and how large companies use patent litigation to push small inventors out of a market.

In 2005, Allen Nejah built a touchscreen tablet that lived in a car dashboard, connected to the internet, and answered when you spoke to it. He called the voice assistant Genie. The iPhone did not exist yet. Tablets did not exist yet. The carriers he pitched asked him whether he was trying to get people killed. Twenty years later every car on the lot ships a version of what he built, and he is not the one selling it.

Aaron Wolpoff and Melissa Eaton use his story to work through the question sitting underneath every innovation budget: how do you tell an idea that is wrong from an idea that is only early? The conversation runs from Ernst and Young's finding that just 12% of advanced manufacturing companies ever commercialize at scale, through the legal machinery large companies use to squeeze small patent holders out of a market, and lands on a practical playbook for funding, measuring and killing innovation projects without punishing the people who ran them. It is for founders, R&D leads, product people and anyone who has been asked to justify a project that will not pay off this quarter.

About the guest

Allen Nejah is the founder and CEO of SunMan Engineering, where he has spent more than 35 years doing product development and prototyping across automotive, aerospace, robotics and telecom. His team has delivered over 1,670 projects for clients including IBM, Sony, Samsung and Apple.

He is a serial entrepreneur and a professor at San Jose State University, and he holds patents on the connected car technology he started building in 2005. He is currently developing what he describes as the smallest transmission in the world, a robotic transmission his research suggests could increase EV range by 40%.

What you will learn

• Why Allen's 2005 connected car system was allowed only a seven inch screen, and what that reveals about how organisations decide what is possible

• The two numbers Melissa opens with: 12% of advanced manufacturers commercialize at scale, and 95% of filed patents never earn a dollar

• How a nonprofit law firm funded by the largest players in an industry can invalidate a small holder's patent, and why Allen was told he could go to jail for owning one

• Why Allen says engineers build from product to customer, and why reversing that order is the mistake that has cost him millions

• The case for funding an innovation lab out of the cash cow rather than the operating budget, and giving it milestones instead of company OKRs

• Why "fail fast" is mostly a slogan when pilots run for eleven years, and what rewarding the kill instead of only the win looks like in practice

• How Sunman builds its own technology in the idle gaps between client projects, and what that funding model makes possible

In this episode:

- The driverless car project Allen started in 2005, and the tablet he had to build himself because none existed yet

- Why carriers and automakers told him internet in the car would get people killed

- The Ernst and Young numbers sitting underneath most failed innovation programs

- Why engineers build from product to customer, and why that order has cost him millions

- Funding an innovation lab out of the cash cow instead of the operating budget

- Rewarding the kill and not just the win, and why "fail fast" usually is not fast

- The robotic transmission that could add 40% to EV range, seven years in and still waiting for a window

Connect with Allen Nejah

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allen-nejah/

Connect with We Fixed It, You're Welcome

Website: https://www.wefixeditpod.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and leave a review. Share it with someone who loves business strategy, branding, or marketing.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold, and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice, or anything that would get us in trouble. These are simply our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone is thinking, have engaging conversations, and explore ideas worth discussing.

If, by the end, we fixed it... you're welcome.

All trademarks, intellectual property, and brand elements discussed remain the property of their respective owners.

Apple has a new CEO. But should John Ternus try to change Apple — or protect what already works?

Chris Deaver, former Apple and Disney leader and co-founder of BraveCore, joins Aaron Wolpoff and Melissa Eaton to unpack one of the biggest questions facing Apple's next chapter: how do you evolve a company without losing the culture that made it great?

Chris brings an unusually close perspective to the conversation. He worked in leadership development at Apple and worked extensively with John Ternus over more than a decade as Ternus developed into the leader Apple ultimately chose to succeed Tim Cook.

The conversation explores why Steve Jobs and Tim Cook were so different, why that difference actually helped Apple, and why John Ternus doesn't need to become either one.

They discuss Apple's collaborative culture, the shift from "Think Different" to "Different Together," the company's approach to AI and privacy, the future of AR, the challenge of creating Apple's next major product category, and the pressure on a new CEO to deliver a "mic drop" moment.

Chris also explains why Apple's current transition is less about fixing a broken company and more about preemptively positioning a healthy company for its next phase.

In this episode:

• Why Steve Jobs chose a fundamentally different successor in Tim Cook

• What Apple actually needs from John Ternus

• Why culture may be Apple's most important product

• The shift from "Think Different" to "Different Together"

• Why Apple promotes people based on principles, not just results

• The danger of a CEO trying to control every function

• Apple's "category one" philosophy

• What Disney's succession problems can teach Apple

• Why Apple's approach to AI is different

• Privacy vs. AI's dependence on massive amounts of data

• Why Apple doesn't need to be first

• The future of AR glasses

• What would make consumers actually want Apple's next wearable

• Why Apple's next major product doesn't have to replace the iPhone

• The pressure on John Ternus to deliver a major signal

• Why Apple should preserve its culture while evolving its operating mechanics

• Why Apple needs to sell the thesis, not just live it

  What you will learn

• Why Steve Jobs and Tim Cook were intentionally different leaders

• Why Apple needs the right leader for the right phase, rather than another Steve Jobs

• Why Apple's culture may actually be its most important "product"

• How Apple shifted from **"Think Different" to "Different Together"

• Why John Ternus's biggest challenge isn't hardware — it's becoming a truly enterprise-wide CEO

• Why Apple promotes leaders who demonstrate its principles, not just performance

• How Apple's "category one" philosophy allows leaders to own their expertise while trusting other leaders to own theirs

• Why CEOs can damage companies by trying to have their hands in everything

• What Apple's approach to AI reveals about its commitment to privacy

• Why Apple may deliberately refuse to be first in AI

• Why "we don't care about being the first, we care about being the best" is central to Apple's strategy

• Why AR could become Apple's next meaningful product category

• What Apple needs to prove before consumers will actually want AR glasses

• Why Apple's biggest challenge may be explaining the use case, not building the technology

• Why the pressure for a "mic drop" product announcement could become a problem for Ternus

• What Apple can learn from its failed succession stories

• Why Chris sees the current situation as preemptive positioning rather than fixing a broken company

• Why Ternus needs to become a deeper collaborator rather than trying to impose a singular vision

• Why Apple should "sell the thesis, don't just live it"

• Why the best future for Apple may involve preserving its culture while changing the mechanics around it Notable quotes

"The culture is the gift that keeps on giving." — Chris Deaver

"For Apple, incremental is revolutionary." — Chris Deaver

"Apple's always been a company that is first about getting the principles right." — Chris Deaver

"We don't care about being the first, we care about being the best." — Chris Deaver

"You don't want to be educating the consumer about this. You want them to experience it." — Chris Deaver

"There's not really a broken per se." — Chris Deaver

"It's almost a preemptive, like, let's not let it break." — Chris Deaver

"Do you really wanna rush Michelangelo's sculpture?" — Chris Deaver

About our guest

Chris Deaver is the co-founder of BraveCore, a leadership and culture consultancy focused on helping organizations build cultures around co-creation and collaboration. His LinkedIn describes his work as spanning two decades inside organizations including Apple and Disney

Connect with Chris Deaver:

Linkedin -  LinkedIn

Website -  BraveCore

Connect with We Fixed It

, You're Welcome: Website-  https://www.wefixeditpod.com

Instagram -  https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube -https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them. Disclaimer A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

What happens when one of America's most iconic snack brands becomes a multi-billion-dollar acquisition that’s not as sweet as it once seemed?

In this episode of We Fixed It, You're Welcome, the team tackles Smucker's $5.6 billion acquisition of Hostess and asks why beloved brands like Twinkies, Ho Hos, Ding Dongs, and Donettes have struggled since joining the Smucker's portfolio.

Joining the discussion is Rebeca Johnson, former VP of Marketing at Frito-Lay and a veteran CMO who has spent decades transforming legacy brands. Together, our panel explores why operational fit matters just as much as brand equity, how evolving consumer habits have reshaped the snack aisle, and what Smucker's could do to turn the Hostess situation around.

In this episode:

• Why Smucker's acquisition has struggled despite Hostess' iconic status

• The operational mismatch between grocery and convenience store distribution

• Why nostalgia alone can't revive legacy brands

• How healthier consumer preferences changed the snack category

• The importance of shopper psychology and shelf placement

• Our own product innovation ideas including healthier Twinkies and Smucker's-inspired flavors

• Why great acquisitions fail despite strong financial models

• How social media, influencer marketing, and cultural relevance could revive Hostess

• The team's complete turnaround strategy for one of America's most recognizable snack brands

If you enjoy lively conversations about business strategy, branding, marketing, operations, acquisitions, and customer experience, this episode is for you.

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

🌐 Websitewww.wefixeditpod.com

📲 Follow Us

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and leave a review. Share it with someone who loves business strategy, branding, or marketing.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold, and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice, or anything that would get us in trouble. These are simply our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone is thinking, have engaging conversations, and explore ideas worth discussing.

If, by the end, we fixed it... you're welcome.

All trademarks, intellectual property, and brand elements discussed remain the property of their respective owners.

Research suggests that 30–50% of today’s work tasks could technically be automated. And yet most of us feel busier than ever.

So what’s going on?

In this episode, we sit down with author, AI strategist, and business coach Steve Ferman to unpack the “automation irony”: the more tools and systems we add, the less time we seem to get back. Instead of blaming the technology, we dig into the real blockers—governance gaps, cultural resistance, change management failures, rising expectations, and leadership blind spots that prevent automation from delivering the relief it promises.

This isn’t an anti-AI episode. It’s a pro-leadership one.

About Our Guest

Steve Ferman is a tech executive, AI strategist, and certified Scaling Up business coach with over 40 years of experience building, scaling, buying, and selling technology companies. Learn more: https://4pillarcoach.com

Key Topics & Takeaways

• Why automation isn’t a tech problem — it’s an operations problem
• AI sprawl and shadow AI inside organizations
• The danger of implementing tools without governance or guardrails
• Why efficiency gains often lead to raised quotas, not reduced workload
• The “walled garden trap” and siloed automation efforts
• How automation quietly shifts burden upstream and creates hidden burnout
• Why layoffs blamed on AI increase fear and stall adoption
• The cultural gap between automation promise and employee experience
• The need for executive alignment before tool selection
• Why adoption requires enablement, not just software licenses

The Core Insight

Automation is not failing.

Leadership strategy is.

Companies often start with the solution — buying the newest AI tool — instead of identifying the operational bottlenecks they actually need to solve. Without executive buy-in, guardrails, and employee engagement, automation simply becomes another layer of work.

And when time is saved?

Organizations often fill it immediately with more output expectations, reinforcing the productivity paradox instead of relieving it.

Strategic Fixes Proposed

1️⃣ Start with Operations, Not Software

AI should solve clearly defined operational friction, not chase trends. Diagnose before you deploy.

2️⃣ Build Governance Early

Create AI councils, guardrails, usage policies, and clear expectations. Avoid AI sprawl.

3️⃣ Ask Employees First

“What are two tasks you hate doing?”

Automate those first to build trust and momentum.

4️⃣ Protect Reclaimed Time

Hard-code reclaimed hours into the operating model.

Allocate portions to:

• Innovation
• Upskilling
• Strategic thinking
• Reduced workload

5️⃣ Redefine Productivity

More output is not always better output.

Innovation, morale, and long-term sustainability matter.

6️⃣ Treat AI Like a New Colleague

Onboard it. Train around it. Clarify when human judgment overrides automation.

7️⃣ Keep Humans in the Loop

AI lacks empathy, emotional intelligence, and true reasoning.

The human element remains essential.

Who This Episode Is For

• Executives implementing AI initiatives
• HR and People & Culture leaders
• Founders and startup operators
• Technology and operations leaders
• Anyone feeling busier despite automation

The Big Question This Episode Answers

Is automation actually freeing us, or are we just running faster on the same wheel?

Final Take

Automation can absolutely give us time back.

But only if leaders resist the temptation to immediately reinvest every reclaimed minute into higher output expectations.

The real opportunity isn’t just efficiency.

It’s reinvention.

If done right, automation shifts work from execution to strategy, from repetition to creativity, from burnout to innovation.

But that shift requires intentional leadership, cultural clarity, and guardrails.

Otherwise, we're stuck with the burden of knowing we'll never catch up, no matter how many time-saving tools we add.

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

Steve Ferman: https://www.linkedin.com/company/4-pillar-coach/ 

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

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If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking. Have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

See Privacy Policy at ⁠https://art19.com/privacy⁠ and California Privacy Notice at ⁠https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info⁠.

In this episode of "We Fixed It. You're Welcome," the hosts explore cultural and product differences between the United States and Canada. They discuss unique Canadian offerings like specialty sauces at Subway, higher quality fast food, and distinctive snack flavors.

The conversation delves into consumer preferences, brand loyalty, and government regulations affecting product quality and availability. The hosts examine why some American brands struggle to expand into Canada and vice versa, highlighting the importance of understanding local markets.

They also touch on the impact of government monopolies on alcohol sales in Ontario and the potential for cross-border product exchanges. The episode concludes with recommendations for Americans to explore Canadian products and for businesses to consider expansion strategies carefully.

See Privacy Policy at ⁠https://art19.com/privacy⁠ and California Privacy Notice at ⁠https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info⁠.

Are too many people being promoted into leadership roles? As a result, are companies becoming too top heavy? If we’ve created a system that values managers over executers, is this a recipe for disaster?

In this episode, we’re joined by Ron Hetrick, Principal Economist at Lightcast and one of the most influential labor economists in the country. Together, we unpack one of the most important questions facing today’s labor market: whether modern organizations are overloaded with managers and what that means for productivity, hiring, layoffs, and career paths.

Drawing on decades of labor market research and macro workforce data, Ron explains why middle managers are often the first cut during layoffs, how that decision can negatively impact companies, and why a contributor-based evaluation might be a better approach.

This dynamic conversation digs into provocative questions we’re all asking, challenges assumptions, and poses some very real solutions about improving our collective thinking about the labor force.

If organizations want stability, they must create career ladders where experts can grow financially without being pushed into management roles if it creates misalignment.

As Ron explains during the episode:

The farther your role is from creating revenue or protecting margin, the harder it becomes to justify during restructuring.

About the Guest: Ron Hetrick

Ron Hetrick is a leading labor economist and Principal Economist at Lightcast. He previously worked at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and advises Fortune 100 companies, policymakers, and workforce strategists.
Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

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If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are

our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

For generations, a bite of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup meant one thing:

Milk chocolate. Real peanut butter. That unmistakable taste. Now, many loyal fans say something is different.

In this episode, we sit down with Brad Reese, grandson of H. B. Reese and self-appointed “Protector of Reese’s Brand Integrity,” to unpack a controversy that has caught the world’s attention.

Brad and others are upset about the current quality of Reese’s products under Hershey’s control, pointing to a shift in taste and either proven or alleged ingredient swaps. 

Emotions are high - people love Reese’s. They want real answers.

This isn’t just about candy.

It’s about trust, heritage, and a beloved company at a cultural tension point with its best customers.

What Sparked the Controversy?

Brad published an open letter to Hershey’s on LinkedIn calling out what he and many consumers observed:

• Certain varieties no longer list milk chocolate
• Some now use “chocolate candy,” “chocolatey coating,” or compound coating
• Peanut butter replaced in some products with “peanut butter creme”
• Ingredient changes implemented quietly, without announcement

While The Hershey Company has publicly stated that core ingredients have not changed, consumers began comparing labels and conducting side-by-side taste tests online.

The consumer pushback and Hershey’s response quickly went viral, drawing attention from major media outlets and even commentary from MrBeast while promoting his own line of Feastibles.

A Powerful Quote from Brad

“They’re stooping for pennies and passing up dollars.”

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

Brad Reese

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradreesecom/

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

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If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking. Have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

See Privacy Policy at ⁠https://art19.com/privacy⁠ and California Privacy Notice at ⁠https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info⁠.

What a season it's been! In the Season 3 finale, Aaron, Melissa, and Chino reflect on the biggest lessons, favorite guests, and most memorable fixes from an incredible run of problem-solving. We dig into three popular topics to see what's changed over time, and to add new observations and suggestions that are exclusive to this episode.

Melissa revisits Hired or Hustled?, where the team originally exposed unethical recruiters and job search scams. Since then, AI-powered deepfakes, fake candidates, and sophisticated employment fraud have transformed hiring into an even bigger trust problem. The conversation explores why verification has become more important than instinct and what both companies and job seekers must do to stay protected.

Aaron brings back one of the internet's most unforgettable branding moments: McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski's awkward burger video. Was it simply a bad day, or a missed opportunity to turn self-awareness into brilliant marketing? The panel explores how modern CEOs should approach public visibility and why embracing mistakes can sometimes strengthen a brand.

Chino follows up on the viral Japanese 7-Eleven egg salad sandwich experiment after experiencing it firsthand in Canada. While the product generated enormous online buzz, the rollout highlighted a deeper lesson: successful products can't simply be copied into new markets without adapting to local consumer behavior. The team discusses why experience matters more than imitation and how 7-Eleven still has the opportunity to evolve in a creative way.

The episode also features a brand-new listener submission about reinventing the Home Depot shopping experience through smarter technology, AI-assisted associates, and better customer service. The discussion highlights the show's recurring theme that the best solutions often combine technology with human expertise rather than replacing it.

Finally, Aaron, Melissa, and Chino close out Season 3 by thanking listeners, reflecting on what they've learned from each other and their guests, and teasing what's coming in Season 4, including conversations about sports, space, the future, and many more problems waiting to be fixed.

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic® and Wegovy® are transforming far more than weight loss. They're changing how people eat, shop, spend money, dine out, and interact with brands, creating ripple effects across retail, restaurants, healthcare, apparel, and the broader economy.

In this episode of We Fixed It, You're Welcome, Aaron Wolpoff and Chino Nnadi sit down with Lisa W. Miller, ex PepsiCo VP Consumer Strategy & Insights and founder of Lisa W. Miller & Associates, to discuss groundbreaking findings from her latest proprietary research on the rapidly evolving GLP-1 economy. With insights from more than 30 industry studies and a survey of 6,500 U.S. consumers, Lisa reveals what businesses need to know as consumer behavior changes in real time.

From the surprising rise of male GLP-1 users to the future of retail, employee benefits, and restaurant innovation, this conversation explores why companies that adapt early will likely have a competitive advantage while those that ignore these shifts risk being left behind.

What You'll Learn

• How GLP-1 medications are reshaping consumer spending habits

• Why restaurants, retailers, and grocery brands are being forced to adapt

• The surprising growth of male GLP-1 adoption and why most brands are missing it

• Why simply labeling products "GLP-1 Friendly" isn't enough

• How apparel companies and wedding retailers are responding to rapid weight loss

• The impact of GLP-1s on HR, employee benefits, and workplace policies

• The opportunities and risks businesses should prepare for over the next several years

• Why understanding consumer behavior matters more than following headlines.

About Our Guest

Lisa W. Miller is a Consumer Insights & Innovation Strategist with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations turn consumer insights into business growth. She previously served as Vice President of Insights at PepsiCo and Vice President of Innovation at Brinker International. Today, through Lisa W. Miller & Associates, she helps leadership teams translate research into actionable business strategies.

Connect with Lisa:

• LinkedIn: Lisa W. Miller

• Website: Lisa W. Miller & Associates

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should beconstrued as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

OpenAI and Anthropic are locked in a high stakes rivalry, and the fallout is hurting public trust in AI overall. In this episode, the "We Fixed It, You're Welcome" panel (Aaron Wolpoff, Melissa Eaton, and Chino) sits down with veteran tech PR strategist Perry Headrick to unpack whether the ChatGPT vs Claude rivalry is a branding win or a trust disaster. With over 20 years of experience representing brands like AOL, Bing, Yelp, and Logitech, Perry brings sharp, no nonsense insight into why both AI giants are missing the mark with everyday users, and what they need to do to fix it.

Guest Bio

Perry Headrick is the founder of Crackle PR, a B2B tech focused communications agency working with startups through publicly traded companies. He also co-hosts the Under Embargo podcast alongside Becca Chambers, CMO at Scale Ventures. Perry brings decades of experience in media strategy, reputation management, and crisis control.

Key Topics Discussed

• Why only 17% of Americans trust the people running major AI companies, and 40% consider them untrustworthy

• The origin of the OpenAI vs Anthropic rivalry, born from a philosophical split within OpenAI

• How the Super Bowl ad wars and competitive digs are backfiring on both brands

• The psychology of "AI dread" and why fear, not excitement, dominates public perception

• Why AI companies make themselves the star instead of the customer

• Perry's real world examples: turning heads at a local Chinese restaurant with an AI generated photo, and using AI to pick better golf clubs

• The case for radical transparency over "promiseware" and vague grandiosity

• Why sycophantic AI responses (agreeing with everything, false reassurances) erode user trust

• The Claude broken links example and why owning limitations matters more than smoothing them over

• Reddit and AMAs as an underused trust building tool

• Are OpenAI and Anthropic "too big to fail," or heading toward a Yahoo vs Google outcome

• Why competing companies dragging each other down risks making the entire AI category look unsafe

• DuckDuckGo's rise as a case study in giving users control (the option to turn AI off)

Connect with Perry Headrick

• LinkedIn: Perry Headrick

• Podcast: Under Embargo (co-hosted with Becca Chambers, CMO at Scale Ventures)

• Website: cracklepr.com

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Spotify recently rolled out "personal podcasts," letting anyone generate a custom AI show with no creator involved. So what actually counts as a podcast anymore? Aaron, Melissa, and Chino bring in podcasting veteran and Hall of Famer Rob Walch, who has been a mainstay of the podcast industry since 2005, to unpack where AI fits in, where it doesn't, and why human-made shows probably aren't going anywhere.

Rob breaks down the real history of podcasting's biggest growth moments, reacts to the rise of AI in podcasting, and explains why trust, once lost, is brutally hard to win back. Our panel also tackles celebrity podcasts, the trouble with unlabeled AI content, and what actually counts as a podcast these days in a rapidly changing landscape.

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Guest Links

• Rob Walch's personal podcast: podcast411.com

• Co-hosts In and Around Podcasting with Elsie Escobar (new episodes every other week)

• Email: [email protected]

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/podcast411/

Happy Prime Day! Amazon Prime Day just turned 11 years old, and what started as a single day invented to fill a sales lull has become somewhat of an actual holiday. How do we celebrate? We buy stuff!

In this episode, our panel digs into celebrations engineered by brands and commerce (Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, Starbucks Red Cup Day) to question whether these types of moments build real community or just psychologically condition consumers to spend on cue.

Joining the conversation is Pearl Servat, a fractional CMO who helped scale Verizon's Visible brand from zero to over a million customers and led the brand's Visible Acts of Kindness campaign, a movement that grew organically out of a single email. Pearl brings the brand-side perspective on building trust, avoiding the "race to the bottom," and the difference between a manufactured sales event and an authentic cultural moment.

Our panel breaks down why Prime Day works (consistency, trust, FOMO, basket-size psychology), where it may be falling short (personalization, social impact, fulfillment promises), and we pitch our own potential improvements, including hyper-personalized deals and a charity-driven "freeze the deals" concept that is up for grabs.
Connect with Pearl Servat

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pearlservat/

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Brand collaborations are everywhere right now. But for every Swatch x AP with overwhelming demand, there are examples like Nike x Tiffany that leave everyone wondering why those brands aligned. In this episode, Aaron, Melissa, and Chino break down the biggest brand collabs in recent history, figure out what separates the legendary ones from the cautionary tales, and build a framework to predict which ones will actually work.

What We Cover

• Why brands are obsessed with collabs and why consumers are starting to get tired of them

• The Swatch x Audemars Piguet launch that caused mall shutdowns and $25,000 resale prices

• What makes a collab feel culturally necessary versus just a marketing stunt

• Nike x Air Jordan — how the original celebrity collab still dominates decades later

• Nike x Tiffany — two iconic brands, one massive execution failure

• Adidas x Yeezy — $2 billion made, a very public breakup, and why Adidas is still profiting

• Pepsi x Kendall Jenner — what happens when a brand collab completely misreads the room

• Supreme x Louis Vuitton — the collab that redefined streetwear and luxury forever

• McDonald's Happy Meal collabs — why they keep getting it right over and over

• HM and Target designer drops — when doing collabs too often kills the excitement

• The secondary resale market — is it a bug or a feature of a great collab?

• Aaron's risk framework for predicting whether a brand collab will succeed or fail

The Collab Risk Framework (Our Fix)

1. Formalize the unofficial — if customers are already doing it themselves, own it. Lowest risk, built to last. (Taco Bell x Doritos)

2. Combine shared capabilities — two brands each bring a unique strength the other doesn't have. When done right, something magnetic happens. (Swatch x AP, Supreme x LV)

3. Shared audience + shared sensibility — the Venn diagram has to be big enough. If it's too small, the market will tell you the hard way. (Nike x Tiffany failed this test)

4. Curation and scarcity — making something too available kills the desire. The limited nature has to be real and protected.

Brands and Collabs Mentioned

• Swatch x Audemars Piguet (AP)

• Nike x Air Jordan

• Nike x Tiffany

• Adidas x Yeezy (Kanye West)

• Pepsi x Kendall Jenner

• Supreme x Louis Vuitton

• McDonald's x Cactus Plant Flea Market

• McDonald's x Korean Demon Hunters

• McDonald's x Pokemon, Beanie Babies, Minions

• HM x Balmain

• Target x Kate Spade, Diane von Furstenberg, Karl Lagerfeld, Mossimo

• Coca-Cola x Oreo

• Pepsi x Peeps

• Nike x Toy Story 5

• J.Crew x Costco

Key Takeaways

• Scarcity is the most powerful tool in a brand collab. If everyone can get it, nobody wants it.

• The Venn diagram of your two audiences has to be big. A small overlap means a small result.

• Execution matters as much as the idea. A great concept with poor delivery (Nike x Tiffany) will still fail.

• Doing collabs too frequently kills the excitement. The magic is in the rarity.

• Celebrity collabs carry more risk than brand-to-brand collabs. Brands are predictable. People are not.

• The secondary resale market is now a built-in part of any major collab launch. Brands need a plan for it.

Connect With the Show

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

What happens when luxury brands sell more than products, but the promise of ethics, craftsmanship, and sustainability?

In this episode, our panel explores the growing tension between luxury fashion's premium pricing and the increasing scrutiny surrounding supply chain transparency, labor practices, and sustainability claims. Using LVMH and several of its iconic brands as a case study, the conversation examines whether today's luxury consumers are buying status, quality, or a set of values.

Joining the discussion is Kirsten K. Harris (Nordstrom, Nike, Amazon), sustainability strategist and founder of eavolu®, who shares insights from more than two decades in the fashion industry. Together, we unpack the realities of ESG compliance, traceability, greenwashing concerns, counterfeit markets, resale opportunities, and the future of ethical luxury.

The episode highlights why transparency, authenticity, and accountability are becoming essential business strategies for brands that want to maintain consumer trust in an increasingly skeptical marketplace.

Connect with Kirsten K. Harris

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenkharris/

eavolu®: https://eavolu.com

Final Thought

Luxury brands have long sold aspiration and exclusivity. The next generation of luxury may be defined not by what brands say, but by what they can prove. As consumers demand greater transparency, the future of fashion will belong to companies that can align premium products with authentic business practices.

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

What separates a food fad that burns out from one that becomes a lasting brand? This episode dives into the psychology and business strategy behind viral food trends, with Pop-Up Bagels as a current example, to answer the question every food founder and investor is asking: how do you turn a moment into a movement?

Featured Guest

Talia Solomon — Founder, The Brand Economist

Talia is a fractional CMO and brand advisor with a background in marketing and behavioral science. She has impacted companies across food, media, and consumer tech including Pizza Hut, Papa John's, Maggiano's, Del Taco, Ruby Tuesday, Weight Watchers, Bravo TV, Showtime, and Ring Doorbell. Her cross-industry experience gives her a unique lens on habit formation and consumer psychology.

The Problem

Food trends explode fast, and fizzle just as quickly. Category saturation, cultural shifts, and the gap between first-time curiosity and repeat habit have ended many promising brands. The real question isn't how to generate buzz. It's how to make people come back.

Connect with Talia

Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliasacks

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

With billions of dollars traded weekly across non-traditional and traditional investors, prediction markets have quickly become one of the hottest crazes in finance. In this episode, we grab time with Andrew Lebbos of Benzinga (SVP of Licensing) to explore the current state of prediction market platforms like Kalshi and speculate about their long-term potential for good.

This provocative conversation examines why prediction markets have gained mainstream attention, how they differ from traditional investing and sports betting, and whether crowdsourced forecasting can produce more accurate outcomes than other established methods. The discussion also tackles hot-button topics such as regulation, threats of insider information, concerns over gambling addiction, and the importance of customer retention.

From the psychology of gambling to the speculative future of financial markets, this episode explores both the promise and possible risks of turning real-world events into tradable assets.

Connect with Andrew

• LinkedIn: Andrew Lebbos on LinkedIn

• Benzinga: Benzinga APIs & Data Solutions

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Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

7-Eleven has been working on a big comeback for a while. Their first big attempt at reinvention might surprise you: egg salad sandwiches. While quite popular in Japan, 7-Eleven’s big gamble on egg salad sandwiches throughout United States stores is head scratching. In this episode, our panel wonders what led to this decision, discusses the larger business challenges at play, and proposes our own fixes for what 7-Eleven should do next.

Along the way, we unpack convenience store culture, customer behavior, retail psychology, operational execution, and take a hard look at how brands can misfire when they try to import global trends without adapting them locally.

The team also debates: ● Why Japan’s 7-Eleven experience feels completely different than anywhere else ● Whether North American consumers trust convenience store “fresh food” ● Why the U.S. $5.50 sandwich may already be positioned incorrectly ● How pop-up experiences and cultural immersion could help revive the brand ● Why iced coffee might actually be a smarter gateway product than egg salad ● How brands can retrain customer behavior instead of chasing viral moments Plus, Chino gives a firsthand review after testing the North American version of the sandwich in Toronto and shares her unfiltered reaction to it.

Key Takeaways ● Convenience stores in Japan function as an everyday food ecosystem, not just gas station stops ● Freshness perception matters more than novelty ● Viral products alone don’t build long-term customer habits ● 7-Eleven may need a full retail experience redesign, not just a menu upgrade ● Limited-time cultural pop-ups could create stronger consumer engagement ● Coffee and customizable experiences may offer a lower-risk path to changing customer behavior

If you enjoyed the episode, leave a review and share it with another Fixaholic. And next time you walk into a 7-Eleven, ask yourself: are you there out of habit, convenience, or because the brand actually gave you a reason to come back?

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.
• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com • Follow us on: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome.All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

What happens when a major airline simply runs out of money?

In this episode, USA Today’s consumer travel reporter Zach Wichter joins the conversation to break down the shocking collapse of Spirit Airlines and its impact on passengers, employees, competitors, and the future of budget air travel.

After years of financial instability, failed merger attempts, mounting debt, and rising fuel costs, Spirit Airlines officially ceased operations on May 2, 2026, leaving travelers stranded and thousands of employees without jobs. But while the shutdown felt sudden to customers, the warning signs had been visible for years.

Together, we unpack how the airline industry handles collapse, why ultra low cost carriers are becoming harder to sustain, and whether Spirit’s downfall signals a much bigger shift in the economics of air travel.

In This Episode, We Cover

• Why Spirit Airlines officially shut down operations

• How fuel prices accelerated the company’s collapse

• The real reason ultra low cost airlines struggle long term

• What happened to stranded passengers and canceled flights

• Why airline shutdowns often happen abruptly

• The WARN Act and employee notification responsibilities

• How airline creditors influence shutdown decisions

• Why Spirit’s collapse could lead to higher airfare industry-wide

• The hidden role Spirit played in keeping ticket prices low

• The rise of premium travel after the pandemic

• How other airlines are responding to Spirit’s disappearance

• What happens to loyalty points and travel rewards after an airline dies

Can a financially devastated footwear brand reinvent itself overnight as an AI infrastructure company?

In this episode, noted investment strategist Todd M. Schoenberger joins the discussion to unpack one of the boldest corporate pivots in recent memory: Allbirds’ decision to reposition itself as an AI business after losing nearly all of its market value.

Is this the beginning of a revolutionary turnaround or a last-minute headline grab designed to buy time?

Together, our panel explores whether brand loyalty is enough to survive a category shift this extreme, what investors are really reacting to when companies announce “AI pivots,” and whether Allbirds might still have viable paths forward to pursue its original footwear business instead of such a drastic departure.

Are we entering an era where struggling companies can simply add “AI” to their story and reset investor expectations?

As discussed in the episode:

The company didn’t pivot to AI. They pivoted to a headline.

That distinction may define whether Allbirds’ reboot becomes a turnaround story or a cautionary case study.

Across industries, companies are racing to reposition themselves around artificial intelligence.

But investors, employees, and customers are increasingly asking:

• What counts as a real pivot?

• What signals credibility?

• And what separates strategy from survival tactics?

Allbirds provides a rare real-time example of what happens when brand identity, capital constraints, and market hype collide.

Todd M. Schoenberger is CEO of CrossCheck Media and Chief Investment Officer at CrossCheck Management. He is a veteran financial commentator whose analysis has appeared on:

• CNBC

• Fox News

• CNN

Todd specializes in interpreting market signals, investor behavior, and strategic corporate positioning during periods of economic transition.

Connect with Todd on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-m-schoenberger

Some standout insights from this episode:

✔ AI announcements can trigger short-term stock spikes without long-term strategy✔ GPU infrastructure businesses require massive capital investment to compete✔ Brand trust weakens when companies abandon their founding mission abruptly✔ Direct-to-consumer footwear strategy may have been a stronger recovery path✔ Meme-stock momentum helped amplify Allbirds’ temporary rally✔ Sustainable brand positioning could have supported a more credible pivot✔ Timing, culture shifts, and retail expansion decisions accelerated decline

The Allbirds story raises a broader question for founders and executives:

When reinvention becomes necessary, should companies evolve within their strengths or leap into entirely new categories?

Sometimes survival depends less on moving fast and more on moving credibly.

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Key Question Driving the EpisodeWhy This Conversation Matters Right NowAbout the Guest: Todd M. SchoenbergerDiscussion HighlightsA Bigger Strategic Lesson

Napster once reshaped the music industry by making free digital downloads mainstream. Now it’s attempting another reinvention, this time as an AI-powered music platform. But can a brand once synonymous with piracy successfully re-enter the industry it disrupted?

In this episode, our panel sits down with podcast host and music industry partner development expert Seth Schachner (ex Sony Music, Jive Records, Microsoft) to unpack Napster’s history, its current AI ambitions, and whether the company still has a meaningful role to play in today’s creator-driven music ecosystem.

Together, we explore what Napster got right the first time, what’s different now, and what it would take for the platform to succeed in an era dominated by streaming, TikTok discovery, and AI music tools.

What You’ll Learn in This EpisodeHow Napster changed music consumption foreverWhy the music industry revenue dropped dramatically after early file-sharing platforms emerged How platforms like Apple iTunes and Spotify built on Napster’s behavioral blueprint The real difference between early piracy-era innovation and today’s AI music ecosystem Why AI music tools face skepticism from artists and labels. Whether Napster’s brand still has strategic value. The strongest opportunity Napster has today: creator collaboration platforms

Why independent artist infrastructure may matter more than streaming competition. How TikTok-era discovery is reshaping music success cyclesWhat Napster would need to do to “fix” its comeback strategyIf Napster Wants to Win Again…

The panel suggests Napster should:Lean into collaborative music creation tools support independent artists instead of competing with major streaming platforms build discovery infrastructure for emerging creatorsavoid overextending into too many AI product categoriesfocus on repeat creator engagement instead of passive listening

About the GuestSeth Schachner is a veteran entertainment strategist and founder of Strat Americas. His career includes leadership roles at Sony Music and partnerships with companies like Microsoft and Live Nation Entertainment. He also hosts the podcast Breaking Down the Biz, where he explores the business behind entertainment and media.

Seth’s Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0S8P5a0rH76RD1DB3BKloD?si=7044f5767af94587

Connect with Seth:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethschachner/

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpodLinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpodYouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer -

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We’re here to ask the kinds of questions everyone’s thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you’re welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

LEGO built one of the most iconic brands in history by standing for children, creativity, and open-ended play. But in recent years, a major shift has taken hold. The company is increasingly chasing adult fans with premium, expensive, highly detailed sets, licensed IP, and collector-focused experiences.

In this episode, the panel is joined by toy industry veteran Leo Battersby to examine whether LEGO’s pivot toward adults is a smart growth strategy or a dangerous drift away from the very thing that made the brand legendary.

The conversation explores the deep tension between imagination vs instruction, open-ended creativity vs rigid build-by-numbers kits, and long-term cultural pipeline vs short-term revenue growth. With declining birth rates, rising screen time, and changing childhood behavior, LEGO is navigating a radically different world than the one it helped shape.

The group debates whether LEGO is slowly turning from a system of play into a premium model-building brand and what that means for future generations of builders.

Key Topics & Takeaways

The hidden danger of optimizing only for adult money

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

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If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking. Have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Southwest Airlines is financially strong. Record revenues. Stock price near multi-year highs. Yet longtime customers are walking away angry. In this episode, we unpack the growing tension between Wall Street performance and customer loyalty at Southwest Airlines. Host Aaron Wolpoff sits down with brand strategist Rene Huey-Lipton, founder of The Dame Collective and former strategy lead on Southwest during its golden years. The question at the center of the conversation: How can a brand be winning financially while simultaneously losing its best customers? From controversial assigned seating to unpopular baggage fees to the triggering “Boarding Royale” Super Bowl campaign, we analyze how strategic shifts have taken the most beloved airline identity in America off course for many consumers. What We Cover 1️⃣ The Core Problem: Financial Success vs Brand Equity Southwest reported record revenue, yet load factors are declining Loyal flyers publicly declaring they are leaving The emotional equity of “We’re all in this together” is eroding The danger of extracting more revenue per customer while shrinking the customer base Rene explains how this mirrors classic Wall Street optimization: maximize short-term revenue, risk long-term brand health. 2️⃣ The Boarding Royale Backfire Southwest’s Super Bowl ad mocked its former open seating model. Instead of feeling like a self-aware evolution, customers felt: Belittled Gaslit Reduced to the punchline Rene breaks down why making your most loyal customers the joke is a strategic miscalculation. 3️⃣ Hierarchy Changes Behavior Referencing research from Harvard Business School and the University of Toronto, Rene highlights how: Class distinctions increase conflict Introducing hierarchy shifts employee roles from hosts to referees Southwest’s once-democratic seating model helped create community When tiered seating and baggage fees entered the picture, the cultural dynamic shifted. 4️⃣ Internal Culture Risk Southwest’s frontline employees have historically been its greatest asset: Humor Warmth Human connection But layoffs, operational constraints, and policy changes are altering that culture. The episode explores whether internal friction could accelerate brand decline faster than customer dissatisfaction alone. 5️⃣ What Should Southwest Do? Rene proposes a bold alternative: A Dual-Brand Strategy Modeled after Qantas and Jetstar: Preserve Southwest as a high-trust, economy-focused domestic brand Launch a separate premium or long-haul sub-brand Protect the emotional equity instead of diluting it Other ideas discussed: Restore fee transparency Recommit to “Bags Fly Free” Monetize passenger engagement through paid brand research partnerships Re-empower employees as ambassadors rather than enforcers Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives. Rene Huey-Lipton https://www.linkedin.com/in/hueylipton/ • Website – www.wefixeditpod.com • Follow us on: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends! Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them. Disclaimer A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking. Have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

Are too many people being promoted into leadership roles? As a result, are companies becoming too top heavy? If we’ve created a system that values managers over executers, is this a recipe for disaster?

In this episode, we’re joined by Ron Hetrick, Principal Economist at Lightcast and one of the most influential labor economists in the country. Together, we unpack one of the most important questions facing today’s labor market: whether modern organizations are overloaded with managers and what that means for productivity, hiring, layoffs, and career paths. Drawing on decades of labor market research and macro workforce data, Ron explains why middle managers are often the first cut during layoffs, how that decision can negatively impact companies, and why a contributor-based evaluation might be a better approach. This dynamic conversation digs into provocative questions we’re all asking, challenges assumptions, and poses some very real solutions about improving our collective thinking about the labor force.

In This Episode, We Cover

● Why organizations naturally accumulate management layers over time

● The hidden risk of promoting top performers into leadership roles

● How layoffs disproportionately affect middle managers

● The mismatch between workforce expectations and available leadership roles

● Why companies reward management more than execution

● The growing importance of Individual Contributor career paths

● How interest rates and capital costs influence layoffs

● The long term consequences of overhiring during economic spikes

● Why forecasting failures create workforce instability

● How companies can rethink compensation structures to retain expertise

● The role AI may play in reshaping management structures

● Why trades and technical careers are becoming more attractive again

Key Insight from Ron Hetrick

One of the biggest workforce challenges today is not simply too many managers. It is a system that rewards leadership titles more than execution excellence.

If organizations want stability, they must create career ladders where experts can grow inancially without being pushed into management roles if it creates misalignment.

As Ron explains during the episode:

The farther your role is from creating revenue or protecting margin, the harder it becomes to justify during restructuring.

About the Guest: Ron Hetrick

Ron Hetrick is a leading labor economist and Principal Economist at Lightcast. He previously worked at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and advises Fortune 100 companies, policymakers, and workforce strategists.

He is also the author of:

● Demographic Drought

● Who’s Going to Do the Work

● The Rising Storm (contributor)

● Fault Lines (co-author)

Ron is widely recognized for translating workforce data into practical strategic insight for organizations navigating talent shortages and economic change.

Connect with Ron on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronlhetrick/

Discussion Highlights

Some standout takeaways from this episode:

✔ Promotions are often used as retention tools rather than structural necessities

✔ Middle management roles expand fastest during economic growth cycles

✔ Overhiring during temporary demand spikes leads directly to layoffs later

✔ Organizations rarely forecast workforce demand accurately

✔ Execution roles are often undervalued compared to leadership titles

✔ Skilled experts need compensation parity with managers

✔ Career ladders must evolve beyond title based advancement

Our Panel

● Aaron Wolpoff – Host and Marketing panelist

● Melissa Eaton – Operations and C/X panelist

● Chino Nnadi – People, Talent and Culture panelist

● Ron Hetrick (Guest) - Labor economist and Principal Economist at Lightcast.

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

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Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

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If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be onstrued as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring.

By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Space exploration used to be reserved for governments and elite astronauts only. Today, commercial launches, private space stations, and civilian missions are raising questions about opening up space travel and making access more widely available.

In this episode, global space policy executive Christopher Hearsey joins the conversation to explore the future of commercial spaceflight, the role of private companies, and whether humanity is entering a new era where space truly becomes accessible to everyone.

From billionaire tourism headlines to satellite infrastructure that powers everyday life on Earth, this discussion separates myth from reality and explains what space tourism and space commercialization actually means for society.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why space is no longer just for astronauts and governments
• How private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are accelerating the push for space travel
• The legal reality behind the Outer Space Treaty and ownership in space
• The economics of space tourism and why costs are still high
• How satellites already power GPS, banking, communications, and security systems
• Whether governments or private companies should lead the next phase of exploration

About Christopher Hearsey

Christopher Hearsey is a global space executive and founder of OSA Consulting, specializing in commercial space policy and regulatory strategy.

He previously worked at the U.S. State Department and helped support implementation of the National Space Policy. He also co-founded the Space Court Foundation, which promotes global education around space law and governance.

Learn more:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hearsey/

Our Panel

• Aaron Wolpoff – Host and Marketing panelist
• Melissa Eaton – Operations and C/X panelist
• Chino Nnadi – People, Talent and Culture panelist
• Christopher Hearsey - Guest and global space executive
• 
  

Subscribe for more deep dives where we fix big business problems with fresh perspectives.

• Website – www.wefixeditpod.com

• Follow us on:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/wefixeditpod

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/wefixeditpod

YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@WeFixedItPod

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your friends!

Keep listening to find out how we fix companies and put them back better than we found them.

Disclaimer

A quick disclaimer. We are going into this somewhat cold and nothing we say should be construed as legal advice, financial advice or anything that would get us in trouble. These are our views and opinions. We're here to ask the kinds of questions everyone's thinking, have an engaging conversation and maybe come to some conclusions that we feel are worth exploring. By the end, if we fixed it, you're welcome. All trademarks, IP and brand elements discussed are property of their respective owners.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.