I’m Out of the Valley of Death

In our latest 21 Hats Podcast, Jennifer Kerhin tells us that she’s gotten a lot of tasks off her plate. The big one that remains is writing and pricing proposals. Couldn’t AI help with that?

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:

• As it’s gotten harder to raise prices, more businesses—even local retailers—are trying dynamic pricing.

• More than a hundred business groups have united to urge President Trump to eliminate regulations.

• The founder of an AI startup believes that pretty much any product or process can be improved by AI—even pizza.

• In Washington, D.C., Empower is trying a different business model to compete with Uber and Lyft.

THE 21 HATS PODCAST

I’m Out of the Valley of Death: This week, Shawn Busse, Jennifer Kerhin, and Jaci Russo talk about how their businesses did this year and what they’re planning for 2025. Jaci and Shawn have been surprised by a surge of new clients in December, which they say never happens. And Jennifer is excited because she’s confident that in the first quarter she will finally exit the Valley of Death—that transitional period growing companies experience when the people and processes that made them successful stop working (AKA No Man’s Land). Along the way, the owners discuss the relative merits of promoting from within vs. hiring from without, how long it should take to onboard senior-level hires, whether it’s better to err on the side of budgeting for too little growth or too much, how they’re training employees to use artificial intelligence, and what Jennifer can do to stop spending so much time writing and pricing proposals.

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