Episodes

Interview with Justin Lake
June 7, 2019

Interview with Justin Lake

Originally recorded with the idea that this would be a Bonus Episode for their Patreon listeners only, Ron and Ed were so enraptured with the conversation with Justin Lake, that they decided to release it as a regular episode...
Free-Rider Friday, May 2019
May 31, 2019

Free-Rider Friday, May 2019

In the glorious tradition of afternoon naps and Taco Tuesday, we are fast approaching the last Friday of the month which can only mean one thing…Free-Rider Friday! As many know, our typical show is “topic” driven. We dive dee...
Team Member Compensation
May 24, 2019

Team Member Compensation

Join Ed and Ron as they discuss the thorny issue of team member compensation. The tradeoff between creating an incentive for firm-wide profit and contributing discretionary effort, and engaging in politics to move up the ladd...
Prices, Profits, and Fairness
May 17, 2019

Prices, Profits, and Fairness

Why is an oil or pharmaceutical company condemned for earning windfall profits when market conditions change, while an individual homeowner who realizes a tidy profit off of a hot real estate market is applauded? Popular movi...
Lessons Learned From Our Subscription Economy Workshop
May 10, 2019

Lessons Learned From Our Subscription Economy Workshop

On April 30th and May 1st, Ed and Ron taught their first workshop in Chicago on the Subscription Economy Business Model. The advantages of this model are many, including: Predictable revenue; not selling services, but creatin...
Interview with Economist Tyler Cowen
May 3, 2019

Interview with Economist Tyler Cowen

Ed and Ron are honored to interview Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University, blogger at Marginal Revolution, and author of many books. Tyler’s podcast, Conversations with Tyler, is one of our favorites....
FRF: Millionaires, Marxists, and Minimum Wage
April 26, 2019

FRF: Millionaires, Marxists, and Minimum Wage

In the glorious tradition of afternoon naps and Taco Tuesday, we are fast approaching the last Friday of the month which can only mean one thing…Free-Rider Friday! As many know, our typical show is “topic” driven. We dive dee...
The Million-Dollar TIP: Using a TIP Clause
April 19, 2019

The Million-Dollar TIP: Using a TIP Clause

One of the most innovative pricing strategies that should be in every firm’s pricing stack is the TIP clause. Most feedback that firms receive on pricing is negative (“Your price was too high”). Or it is ambivalent: “Your pri...
Interview with ADP's Chief Behavioral Economist Jordan Birnbaum
April 12, 2019

Interview with ADP's Chief Behavioral Economist Jordan Birnbaum

Ed and Ron are honored to interview Jordan Birnbaum, VP and Chief Behavioral Economist with ADP. Ron met Jordan recently and heard him speak on some of the behavioral economic ideas that guide how we make decisions. Join us f...
ET HORA LIBELLUM DELENDA EST
April 5, 2019

ET HORA LIBELLUM DELENDA EST

In ancient Rome, during the Punic Wars, Cato the Elder is said to have ended every speech he delivered before the Roman Senate with the phrase, “ET CARTHAGO DELENDA EST” (and Carthage must be destroyed!). He did this without ...
Free-Rider Friday, March 2019
March 29, 2019

Free-Rider Friday, March 2019

In the glorious tradition of afternoon naps and Taco Tuesday, we are fast approaching the last Friday of the month which can only mean one thing…Free-Rider Friday! As many know, our typical show is “topic” driven. We dive dee...
How to Fire a Customer
March 22, 2019

How to Fire a Customer

What happens when your firm becomes filled with too many “C,” “D,” and “F” customers? How should you fire a customer? There are many strategies, some more effective than others. Join Ed and Ron as they discuss essential strat...
Pricing at Starbucks
March 15, 2019

Pricing at Starbucks

Ed and Ron will discuss a blog post by Kent Hendricks, 6 psychological tactics behind the Starbucks menu. If you're interested in behavioral economics and how it intersects with pricing choices, you don't want to miss this sh...
Free-rider Friday - February 2019
March 8, 2019

Free-rider Friday - February 2019

In the glorious tradition of afternoon naps and Taco Tuesday, we are fast approaching the last Friday of the month which can only mean one thing…Free-Rider Friday! As many know, our typical show is “topic” driven. We dive dee...
LIVE from the Meeting of the Minds
March 1, 2019

LIVE from the Meeting of the Minds

Ron and Ed are jazzed to be doing the show live from the 90 Minds annual conference, The Meeting of the Minds in San Diego. The Meeting of The Minds brings our membership of consultants, resellers, and software providers toge...
Interview with Tien Tzuo
Feb. 22, 2019

Interview with Tien Tzuo

Ron and Ed are honored to have Tien Tzuo as a Guest on the program. Tien currently serves as CEO of Zuora (NYSE:ZUO), a company he co-founded in 2007 and took public in 2018. Under Tien's leadership, Zuora has emerged as the ...
Incumbents Hate Competition But Customers Love It
Feb. 15, 2019

Incumbents Hate Competition But Customers Love It

All business people live the ultimate contradiction. They pray at night for supernormal profits and spend their days driving down those profits by competitively supplying customers with more of what they want. As the economis...
Memorable Mentors: Richard Feynman
Feb. 8, 2019

Memorable Mentors: Richard Feynman

According to Wikipedia, Richard Feynman [May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988] was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics...
Free-Rider Friday, January 2019
Feb. 1, 2019

Free-Rider Friday, January 2019

The last Friday of every month Ed and Ron will do “Free-Rider Friday.” Most of our shows are “topic” driven, where we dive deep into one subject. Free-Rider Fridays are designed to be “event” driven, whatever issues are in th...
A Priest and a Rabbi
Jan. 25, 2019

A Priest and a Rabbi

Ed and Ron are honored to have back on the show for the third time, and at the same time, Father Robert Sirico and Rabbi Daniel Lapin. Join us for another fascinating conversation with these two mentors, covering issues from ...
The Real Monopolies: Occupational Licensure
Jan. 18, 2019

The Real Monopolies: Occupational Licensure

Customers are best served and protected when they have many competitive alternatives. We don't like self-serving monopolies. Of course, as sellers we all want to be monopolies, with little competition, ability to charge high ...
The Best Books We Read in 2018
Jan. 11, 2019

The Best Books We Read in 2018

Thousands of books are published each year. Some are worthless, fewer still have lasting value, but a handful possess the ability to transform your business (and possibly, your life). Yet with today’s busy and demanding sched...
2018: Year in Review
Jan. 4, 2019

2018: Year in Review

Ed and Ron will discuss some of their favorite shows and guests from 2018, comment on the notable people we lost, as well as some other topics.
Free-Rider Friday, December 2018
Dec. 28, 2018

Free-Rider Friday, December 2018

The last Friday of every month Ed and Ron will do “Free-Rider Friday.” Most of our shows are “topic” driven, where we dive deep into one subject. Free-Rider Fridays are designed to be “event” driven, whatever issues are in th...