In this episode, we're revisiting the moments that have defined our journey over the past year. From the evolving landscape of newspapers to the unexpected intersections of technology and comedy, we've had the privilege of delving into the cutting edge of various industries.
Whether you've been with us from the beginning or just joined the ride, this episode is our way of saying THANK YOU for being a part of our community.
Happy listening, and see you in the next episode!
In this episode, we're revisiting the moments that have defined our journey over the past year. From the evolving landscape of newspapers to the unexpected intersections of technology and comedy, we've had the privilege of delving into the cutting edge of various industries.
Whether you've been with us from the beginning or just joined the ride, this episode is our way of saying THANK YOU for being a part of our community.
Happy listening, and see you in the next episode!
Matt 0:09
Welcome to Making change the CPA podcast that has nothing to do with accounting, and everything to do with innovation. I'm your host, Matt Satorious. And today, we're revisiting the moments that have defined our journey over the past year. From the evolving landscape of newspapers to the unexpected intersections of technology and comedy. We've had the privilege of delving into the cutting edge of various industries. Our first episode delve into the future of the newspaper industry, exploring how they navigate the digital era to meet the evolving demands of the modern day consumer. What is the Seattle Times for a similar paper look like? And in 2030, or 2040? How different are things going to be?
Episode 1 0:59
When you look at the Scarborough report, so we do analysis, and you know, we look at every 10 years, it's really interesting, our reach is still about the same, you know, between 59 and 66%, if you look at 25, to 3535, to 45, and so on down the line. So that means that, you know, we still have a lot of influence there. So it depends upon how how they look, what we, what we noticed is, you know, the physical newspapers, resources becoming a little bit less a little bit less. You know, it's hard to gauge that because we can't track when somebody puts their fingerprints on the newspaper versus the digital. And we track the digital engagement of far more. But sitting there, we do note that in our surveys, and like I said, working through Scarborough, that the millennials still enjoy the Sunday edition. I think that's a little bit different. And so when I look at the future, I see a newspaper group. And if you think about what's different on Sunday or a weekend, we're actually experimenting with Weekend Edition. What's different? Well, people on Saturday said that they have time off, right, you know, people tend to work Monday through Friday, so they have more time, they have more time to sit down and look at a physical newspaper. That's a different experience for them. So that's where I see it, I see the newspaper industry becoming less physical, but I think some form of a physical newspaper will come out. I think a Sunday edition, or what I would call a weekend edition will probably be with us for a very, very long time.
I think there's something at least I find this to be true. It's very aesthetically pleasing to sit on a Sunday with a cup of coffee and an actual newspaper. Whereas during the week, when I'm working, I do just want to see what's going on and go in on my phone or going online and looking at it digitally is fine. But I like the aesthetics and the vibe of holding a paper on a Sunday. It's just pleasant.
Matt 2:54
Episode Two took us on a journey through innovation and change management highlighting the dynamic strategies businesses employ to stay competitive, and achieve long term success.
Episode 2 3:06
Do you have any advice for organizations who've attempted innovative efforts before and find themselves snared up, you know, analysis paralysis in the process, and the group can't get anything done any any advice for how to move the meter and get things started.
We used to have a very strong mantra at PDC, when I was trying to move things quickly in a very large organization. And the mantra was very much, there's no worse decision than indecision, we can pretty much always unwind something if it goes wrong, or pivots on it. But if we sit and think about it for too long, then the move momentum and the movement might have gone now, there is a time and a place to take longer and analyze further what decision we're trying to make. But a lot of the time making the decision and moving on is probably better than standing still for too long. The other real nugget of wisdom that I picked up over over my years is more of a way to approach innovation and transformation as a four step process. And whenever you're looking at something, the first area that you should focus on is elimination. Other things that you're doing that you could remove completely and there would be absolutely no impact. And on the face of it, you might think well, that sounds a bit silly. It's surprising when you look at any process or any piece of work, how much stuff is done purely because that's always how it's being done. And when you look at it and go, What would happen if we didn't do that particular activity? Nothing. Let's stop doing it. And that's the easiest innovation you can make anywhere anytime. Just stop doing something that you are doing and you don't need to. The second step of the process was around simplification. A lot of the time you might be doing something but doing it in law. lots of different ways are, it's overly complicated. And, you know, we're using 20 words to describe something that could be described in for all, we've got far more steps in this process than we really need to. So look at how to simplify the process. Third area was standardization. So when you've got to a process that you've taken out the stuff that you don't need to do, and you've simplified the steps involved in it, look at standardizing that. So as they're consistent, you don't have that variability. You don't have the volatility that might be in that. Because when you get to a standardized process that's simpler and taken out the steps, you don't need to that's then primed for automation. All too often, when we look at innovation, we jump to the automation step, and go how can we automate this process? You go? Well, we can't really because the process is completely different, overly complicated, and it involves too many steps. So actually thinking about it in those four progressions of how to get to automation, rather than thinking about how to apply automation to something was somewhat kind of groundbreaking in our in our methodology that we used to use around process transformation. And I think it's a really simple way to think about things as you kind of own pick a particular process, a way that you are operating as a finance function or the operations of a business. Think about those four steps and think about, well, what improvements could I make in those four boxes, I think then that gives you a much clearer methodology to work through. And that certainly would be my recommendation to anyone thinking about this and how to kind of demystify innovation. That's a really good area of methodology to apply. So
elimination, simplification, standardization, and then automation in that order. And don't skip any steps didn't go to the more interesting sexier one at the end, because it's not gonna work as well. It's
very difficult to automate 1000 different ways of doing the same process, it's a heck of a lot easier for you to try and do it when it's all the same process.
Matt 7:06
In episode three, we explored the future of talent acquisition, uncovering the latest trends and technologies shaping the way companies identify and acquire top talent.
Episode 3 7:19
What are some of the more innovative ways you're seeing companies approach hiring and retention these days?
You know, I gave this question a lot of thought. And I was continually getting hung up on the word innovative. And the reason that I was getting hung up on it is, as you heard me say earlier, successful recruiting is about consistency. So when I think about what are people doing differently, that may be getting different results. One is I'm seeing a lot of organizations tie their customer marketing to employee or recruitment, marketing, no longer separating the two, we started to see this last year in the Superbowl, you saw a couple of organizations do fantastic creative commercials, and they've somehow tied the employee experience to that. So it was it was almost like a twofer, one, which tells me that employers are starting to recognize that we do need to market to potential employees. The other thing that I think we'll continue to build is social media with real employee experiences, sharing it in ways that people like you and I can relate to something that's believable, something that feels real and achievable. I think the other thing that I'm hoping will stick around is that some of the barriers have been removed to the application process. An easy one, just to address is a cover letter. Cover letters are a barrier to people applying, especially individuals that have a day job, so to say, could you imagine tonight at 930, after you wrap up all of your personal responsibilities and professional obligations, and you decide you have to sit down and write a cover letter before you can apply for this job. It's a barrier. That doesn't mean I'm not a believer in that you may need some sort of writing sample for certain jobs. But let's get that later once candidates are engaged. It's also a barrier in the sense of not everyone has the same access to be able to apply for that job. So super pleased to see some of those barriers, changing mobile applications, shorter applications, really anything to help get individuals into that funnel a little earlier on just kind of on the cusp, I'm starting to hear about internships for those returning to the workforce, you know, whether people want to admit it or not, there is definitely bias around individuals that have taken time off work. So I think if we can do anything to address some of that bias out there and provide internships or anything to that nature to help make it easier for individuals to come back to the workforce, that could be great.
Matt 9:48
Cybersecurity took center stage and episode four, where we delved into the ever evolving landscape of digital threats and the measures being taken to safeguard organizations in an interconnected World
Episode 4 10:01
is this stuff happening all the time, it feels like every week I'm getting an email from a bank or somewhere I shop that says your information has been compromised in some way, to the point where you mentally I kind of set it all aside and forget about it, assuming it's gonna be okay. But our business is constantly under threat from this. And is that is that increased a lot lately?
I think it has. So, you know, with the tension between the US and Russia, and now the increasing tension between the US and China, you just have all these threat actors out there with effectively carte blanche from their host governments, right? Like, as long as they're not attacking someone within their country, then their country doesn't really care. And what we're up against fundamentally, is, you've got some kid, maybe he's got like a 145 IQ, he's in the middle of a dirt poor country. Well, with a dial up connection, and a couple of YouTube videos, that kid can make more money than every single ancestor of his combined in the space of like an hour. Right? So it's either that or go work in a factory go work in a mine. I mean, what do you think he can affect? Right? He's like, Oh, these guys have infinite money. And I don't. And I see that they have infinite money. And I want some of that. And is he ever gonna get caught? Probably not. Maybe there's no extradition treaty, maybe he's really good at what he does. Maybe we're just not going to go after the small bit players, because there's so many of them, that he's like, yeah, man, I'll play the odds. So it's, it's constant. It's never ending. I've probably dealt with something like two cyber events per week for the last four years. It never ends never ends.
Matt 11:56
Episode Five immerse us in the fascinating realm of artificial intelligence discussing its incredible potential ethical implications and the awe inspiring innovations that lie ahead.
Episode 5 12:12
How is this going to impact your creative people? What is the role of AI in the in the arts, music, the more creative fields where it like you mentioned, it is able to generate images and you go on dolly and you tell it make a picture in this style with these elements. And it does something super cool that I could never paint or create myself, how to create if people partner with this and make it part of what they use instead of a competitor. So many
interesting things here. I think a real artists plus AI is probably going to be better ultimately, then, like me plus AI doing art.
Yeah, mine were not very good.
I think it's it's a new medium. I think people said similar things about photography, right? Like, and if you look at art, before photography, it was all very, like fine art and realism. And then, you know, became more experimental or just different styles after that. And so I think he's changes things. But I wouldn't want to invalidate artists concerns like, one there's, there's just something about craft that probably shouldn't be lost. Right? And then there's also all of the valid concerns about copyright and attribution. You know, all that that's playing out. I think your question is also about how, you know, how can people partner with it? Yeah, I guess it's like, it's still an experimental phase. Yeah, you know, I saw something on the music side, which is a little bit behind, you know, images and videos. But there was this Drake AI cover or something that was fake, but it was very real, and it blew, and grime said that anyone. I don't know if how this played out, but she said anyone can go use her voice and her likeness and make music as long as you can get the royalties. It's
mind boggling to think about stuff like that. One of my favorite authors is Neil Stevenson. Yeah, he's in the headlines for tech stuff every couple of years because he coined the term the metaverse back in like 1990. And his more recent books, they've had the prominent deep fakes and clearly like aI generated things have happened in society, and people don't know how to respond to it. And I just wonder, Is that Is that what it's gonna be like? 15 years from now where you hear a new Drake song You don't you don't know if it's Drake, or if it's Grimes re mixing AI. It's crazy. I don't know that I can wrap my mind around it. Honestly, how much is the world's going to change? It feels like in a lot of ways, it'll just be baked into everything we do. cars will drive better, and there'll be less accidents and this stuff about business that isn't very much fun, will ideally largely be done by different computer programs like this. That all sounds pretty positive to me.
Matt 15:01
Our journey into the future of investing was the focus of episode six, we explored the fascinating world of impact investing, where finance meets social and environmental responsibility.
Episode 6 15:15
Do you feel like for for a lot of people, this type of investing will be an alternative to more traditional charitable endeavors, in addition to regular investing, because it kind of sounds like it could be,
yeah, 100%. And I think that's actually where the markets going like Fidelity, charitable, they're the biggest donor advised fund in the world does a lot of research around their particular investment base. And essentially, they said that like 50% 6% of millennials are believed impact investing has more of an impact in philanthropy. And that's like 43% for I think, Gen X. And then it's a lot smaller for baby boomers, because baby boomers usually have traditionally said, hey, my profit centers over here, my philanthropies over here, whereas Millennials are saying, actually, like, what if I can invest in something that's ultimately doing what I want it to do from a philanthropy perspective, but getting that, like return on my investment and being able to recycle that capital into other opportunities, which, you know, from a millennial perspective, just more efficient use of capital?
And you mentioned millennials, the generational shift of wealth is going to be pretty massive, from what I've read over the next couple of years to a decade or so. Is that going to really grow this idea of impact investing? And is this the shift culturally that's going to make this the thing that everybody does? Yeah,
no, I think so. And I think people underestimate how big that shift is. I mean, the numbers are there, it's real $84 trillion, is transferring from Baby Boomers to millennial and Gen X over the next two decades, it's the largest transfer of wealth in history, it's going to have massive implications across so many different parts of the market. These investors just want to invest completely differently than their parents. I mean, you know, Bank of America did a private wealth survey where it's essentially like, younger investors want three times the amount of alternatives in their portfolio and half the number of stocks. They also want, like more values alignment in their portfolio. And so you know, Morgan Stanley did a study that like 99% of millennials are interested in impact and sustainable investing. So it's really a huge mindset shift. There's a lot of millennials who just don't believe the same way in the stock market, as their parents did, and like the volatility of the stock market, and like that, they're actually doing good by investing in the stock market. So there's just a lot of things that will change within the industry. As a result of that.
It seems to me that the impact of this is going to be incredible, because there's only so much the government can do and charitable organizations can do. But if you get the power of the market, and people's actual money behind some of these ideas, it should generate a lot of movement in the next decade or so.
Matt 18:07
And who could forget Episode Seven, where we took a light hearted turn into the future of comedy? exploring how the online comedy experience differs from the traditional in person model, uncovering new possibilities in the virtual comedy world and discussing AI's impact on the industry?
Episode 7 18:29
I don't think I've had a conversation this year that hasn't involved AI in some way. What's the AI impact on Comedy gonna be I have yet to engage with any chatbot that is funny intentionally. So I don't know that that's a thing. But what's gonna happen there?
I'm a chat bot. I am not real. This is.
That's the twist of this podcast. Leah is not even a real person.
I mean, Scooby Doo you right now, this is an interesting question. And I think that there's the part of me that's like, as an artist, I don't think there's a way that AI can replace the person. But then there's a reality of Yes, I think that AI could replace the person. I think, like we see deep fakes we see. You know, how they created the I don't know, if you listen to the podcast during the writer strike of all the late night hosts. Yeah. And I think they took and they used AI and created a commercial using their fake voices. And they were all like, Oh, my God, like, how did this happen? So I think those things are possible. I know people are like, I use chat GTP to write a joke and it wasn't very funny. Serious yet, right? Because these models learn they get better and better and better as they go. So is it possible? Probably. That makes me sad as an artist, right? The other interesting thing as much as I'm a fan of technology, I mean, my goodness, I have a tech company. I think there's ways it can help us. But this goes back to like doing math, when we're, when we're in grade school, we have to learn to do math manually before we're allowed to use the calculator. And I feel like in comedy, even even years and years ago, when I was taking comedy classes and improv, we'd have to learn all the rules before we were allowed to break them. Right? It's kind of like an entrepreneurship, you have to understand your user and their problem before you can build the proper solution. And I think the same goes for AI is has to have a better understanding of what it's doing before it can properly solve it. But even the artists who may be trying to write jokes with it, or do things like that, that the same thing applies. In order to write a good joke, you have to know what a good joke is. And I think AI is a tool. Yeah, it'll
be It'll be weird to see what happens here. Because I know part of the actor's strike was about this very idea that, you know, I'm I'm 65 year old George Clooney. And now they can put 40 year old George Clooney in a show. And it sounds like me, and it looks like me. And that's weird. And how will I be paid for that? And what will my descendants think about it? It doesn't seem totally implausible that at some point in the future, build the 15 Minute Comedy Show and afterwards, someone will Scooby Doo and say, That was Microsoft's, whatever AI that just did that and everybody thought it was funny. I faced that with some anxiety, wondering when that will happen.
Matt 21:41
Thank you for joining us on this journey through the highlights of the making change podcast. Here's to another year of insightful conversations and a future filled with endless possibilities. Happy listening, and see you in the next episode.