Most people dread meetings. I get it. They’re often too long, poorly run, and end without anything getting done.
But there’s one meeting I’ve kept for over two decades—rain or shine, remote or in-person. It’s quick. It’s focused. And it’s the most underrated thing on my calendar:
Our daily huddle.
What it is (and isn’t): It’s not a status meeting. It’s not a brainstorming session. And it definitely doesn’t involve PowerPoint. Our huddle is 15 minutes, same time every day, built to keep everyone aligned, accountable, and connected.
Here’s how it works: Each person quickly shares:
Big updates from last 24 hours
Stuck items where help is needed
That’s it. No tangents. No deep dives. If something needs more discussion, we take it offline. The goal is to keep things moving—and surface blockers fast.
Why it works:
It creates clarity. Everyone knows what’s happening and who’s doing what. No guessing.
It builds trust. When people show up and consistently do what they say, credibility grows.
It keeps teams connected. Especially in remote settings, that daily touchpoint is a glue.
What it’s replaced: Longer, less frequent check-ins that often felt like overkill, or came too late. With our huddle, we solve minor problems before they snowball or “slay monsters” while they are little. We stay nimble. And we never waste time wondering what’s going on.
Final thought: Not every meeting is worth protecting. But this one is. The daily huddle keeps our team focused, our projects on track, and our culture strong.
If you want more on how we run it (and how you can too), I break it down further on my website and in my book The 100: Building Blocks for Business Leadership.
In consulting, trust isn’t a buzzword—it’s the whole game. You can have the best tech stack, the sharpest team, and the flashiest slide deck in the room… but if the client doesn’t trust you, none of it matters.
After over 30 years in the business, here’s what I’ve learned about how trust is built (and lost).
1. Trust is consistency over time It’s not about one impressive meeting or a great kickoff call. It’s about showing up, following through, and doing what you said you’d do—over and over again. Trust builds slowly and silently. Then, one broken promise can blow it up.
2. You earn it faster by telling the truth sooner Bad news doesn’t get better with time. When something goes sideways—and it will—clients want honesty, not spin. I’ve found that the faster we admit a misstep and share how we’re fixing it, the more credibility we build. It’s counterintuitive but true.
3. Being technically right isn’t always enough You can win the argument and still lose the room. Trust isn’t just intellectual—it’s emotional. Clients trust people who listen, who meet them where they are, and who understand their pressure (not just their project scope).
4. Trust is built between meetings, not just in them It’s the quick update when nothing’s changed. The extra question that shows you’re thinking ahead. The quiet follow-up that signals, “We’ve got you.” These moments don’t get logged in JIRA or tracked in a spreadsheet—but they’re noticed.
5. Trust is fragile—and portable People remember how you made them feel. If you’ve built trust with a client, they’ll take you with them when they move companies. If you’ve burned it, same deal. In this business, your reputation travels faster than you do.
The longer I’ve led teams and worked with clients, the more I’ve realized: we’re not just in the software business. We’re in the trust business.
And like anything worth building, it takes time, intention, and care.
When you’re starting a business, you say yes to everything. Every prospect, every project, every “maybe” that could lead to a win. I’ve done it. Most founders have.
But after years of consulting work, here’s the truth: Some clients just aren’t a good fit—and saying “yes” to the wrong ones costs more than you think.
Today, we’re more intentional. Not because we’re arrogant. Because we’re focused. Here are three types of clients we politely decline—and why it’s better for everyone when we do.
1. The “We Just Need Bodies” Client What they say: “We just need a few developers to crank out code.” Why we say no: We’re not a temp agency. If a client only wants hands on a keyboard with no strategy, collaboration, or architecture involved, we’re not adding the value we’re built for. We help solve problems, not just fill seats.
2. The “Everything’s on Fire” Client What they say: “Can you take over this broken project… yesterday?” Why we say no: Sometimes urgency is real. But other times, it’s the result of poor planning, shifting priorities, or internal dysfunction. If we’re stepping into chaos without clear leadership or direction, success becomes a moving target—and both sides lose.
3. The “Budget Mystery” Client What they say: “We don’t really have a set budget. Just give us a ballpark.” Why we say no: No budget = no clarity. Good partnerships require transparency from both sides. If we’re forced to guess what they can spend, we’re already misaligned. We value trust and candor, and that starts on day one.
Here’s what we do look for:
Clients who want true collaboration
A clear business challenge with measurable impact
Openness to our process—not just our people
Saying no isn’t easy. But saying yes for the wrong reasons? That’s how you drain your team, dilute your value, and damage your reputation.
We’ve learned it’s better to walk away early than to regret staying too long.
Take a walk through any office, wait online for others to join a Teams or Zoom call, or bump into an old co-worker at Starbucks——you’ll hear the same concern:
“Is AI going to take my job?”
It’s a fair question. Unless you’re in a profession that involves fixing plumbing, laying concrete, or replacing brake pads, it’s hard not to feel like the digital tidal wave of AI might wash you out of relevance.
But here’s the thing: AI isn’t just a threat. It’s a tool. One that’s already helping most of us—whether we realize it or not.
Like right now. You’re reading something that was written by a human (me) and shaped by an AI assistant. I still had to think, edit, and guide it. But it helped me get here faster—and better. It’s not a replacement. It’s a force multiplier.
Fear is normal. Staying afraid is optional. The worst thing to do with AI is nothing. To bury your head and hope this all blows over. Spoiler: it won’t.
The second worst thing? To become a doomsday narrator in your own story.
The better option is this: get curious. Learn how to use it. Let it help you. Because once you stop seeing AI as a rival and start using it like an ally, everything changes. Along with helping you, look how it can help those who work with or for you. At Intertech, everyone, including the admin is reading a book or attending a course on AI for their job.
Here’s how to stay relevant—and even thrive—with AI:
1. Become a “human-AI hybrid.” The people who succeed in the next decade won’t be the ones who avoid AI. They’ll be the ones who use it daily—and pair it with judgment, emotional intelligence, and common sense. Think you + AI = amplified value. For my software application development firm, like mine, AI represents the challenge that AI will reduce our billable hours. This is the reality of the future. Either we embrace it, or others will surpass what we can deliver.
2. Use it to eliminate the junk work. AI is great at first drafts, summaries, idea generation, and repetitive tasks. Let it take care of the shallow work so you can focus on the deep stuff—strategy, creativity, relationships, leadership.
3. Focus on what AI can’t do (yet). Things like building trust, mentoring a junior colleague, closing a deal with nuance, or navigating politics inside a client’s organization. That’s still very much human territory. Strengthen your relationships with clients, employees, partners, or others.
4. Stop waiting for perfect. Start experimenting. Use ChatGPT, CoPilot, or others. Not sure where to start? Tell AI about your job and ask for feedback. Try an AI meeting note taker. Let AI generate a first pass on a report. You don’t have to be an expert. You just have to start. Every new skill starts with awkwardness.
5. Ask AI to help you with AI. Open up to AI and share what you’re about, what you do, your goals, and where you have questions and want answers. Have it be a dialogue not a one-and-done question. Guide the AI on the journey not vice versa. Expect to be surprised. The more you interact with your AI, the more it learns about you and will guess what you want next. And, finally, a good thing about AI is to think how often it calls in sick, gets tired of you asking it to answer the same question, or doubts what it’s saying… zero.
Bottom line? Yes, I will change work. It already is. But it’s not coming to replace the people who adapt—it’s coming to help them outperform everyone else.
So the question isn’t “Will AI take my job?”
It’s “Am I willing to evolve with it?”
And if you’re already using AI to draft blogs, answer emails, and prep for meetings… congratulations. You’re not behind. You’re ahead.
Long before I was running a company or mentoring teams, I was wearing a singlet and sparring in a gi. I wrestled in high school—captain senior year—and studied two styles of karate, earning belts in both. At the time, I thought I was just getting stronger. Turns out, I was also learning how to lead.
Here are a few things those sports drilled into me—literally and figuratively—that still shape how I lead today.
1. You’re on your own—but never alone In wrestling, when you’re on the mat, it’s just you and your opponent. No one’s coming to save you. Same in karate. You can’t fake readiness—you either trained, or you didn’t.
Leadership is like that. At the end of the day, the decisions are yours. The accountability is yours. But behind the scenes? A team, mentors, training, and support make all the difference. You do the work alone—but you’re backed by others.
2. Pain is a great teacher (if you listen to it) A bad takedown or lazy block in karate doesn’t go unnoticed. You learn—fast. The feedback is immediate and usually lands somewhere between “ouch” and “lesson learned.”
In business, mistakes hurt too—missed sales, bad hires, lost clients. Leaders who ignore those signals keep making the same mistakes. The best ones learn quickly, adapt, and come back stronger.
3. Discipline > motivation There were plenty of mornings I didn’t feel like cutting weight, drilling techniques, or getting punched (lightly) in the face. But I showed up anyway.
That’s what leadership requires. You won’t always feel inspired. You won’t always have clarity. But if you’ve built discipline—habits, routines, and standards—you can push through.
4. Respect is earned, not assumed In martial arts, you bow to your opponent. In wrestling, you shake hands before and after every match. You respect the work, the grind, and the person across from you.
Good leaders don’t demand respect—they earn it. Through consistency, fairness, and effort. And they give it, even when it’s not reciprocated.
5. Control what you can Wrestling teaches you how to use leverage, not brute strength. Karate emphasizes control, not chaos. You don’t win by panicking—you win by staying focused, calm, and in control of your breathing and your mindset.
That’s leadership. You can’t control the market, the economy, or client decisions. But you can control how you respond. How you show up. How you lead.
I didn’t know it at the time, but wrestling and karate were less about fighting and more about focus. Less about toughness and more about resilience.
Turns out, those early lessons still apply—whether you’re on the mat or in the boardroom.
