Summary:

This episode features a "Too Long, Didn't Listen" (TL;DL) summary of my conversation with Brian Calvert, owner of Business Health Market. After 20 years in shopping center management, Brian pivoted when the Amazon effect hit Buffalo. He shares three key insights: building a business through growth acquisition rather than grinding sales, transforming transactional insurance into relationship-driven service, and knowing when empathy requires tough love conversations.

Chapters:

01:42 Takeaway #1: Build a Business, Not a Job

02:59 Takeaway #2: Sales Through Empathy

04:26 Takeaway #3: The Double-Edged Sword of Empathy

Episode Links:

LinkedIn: Brian Calvert - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-calvert-31aa3a49/

Website: Business Health Market - https://businesshealthmarket.com/

Book Mentioned: Quit by Annie Duke - https://www.amazon.com/Quit-Power-Knowing-When-Walk/dp/0593422996

Summary:

In this episode of The Corvus Effect, I sit down with Brian Calvert, owner of Business Health Market, who discovered his true calling through disruption. After 20 years managing shopping centers across New York and Massachusetts, Brian pivoted to health insurance brokerage when the Amazon effect reduced Buffalo's malls from five to two. He now leads a team of over 20 agents nationwide and freely admits he's a better manager than a salesperson, which allows him to run a business rather than have a job.

Brian shares his three-phase approach to building a business from day one, his philosophy of treating clients like family in a transactional industry, and the three critical questions he asks anyone considering a career pivot. He also opens up about watching his son go from horrible first-year golfer to number one in high school, and how that challenged his own assumptions about the path to success.

Chapters:

00:32 Guest Introduction

02:24 Seeing the Amazon Effect Coming

04:18 Helping Mom and Pop Businesses

06:01 Build a Business, Not a Job

07:56 Sales Through Empathy

11:15 Balancing Empathy and Tough Love

19:47 Redefining Success

23:00 Three Questions Before You Pivot

27:09 Growth Through Acquisition

Summary:

This episode features a "Too Long, Didn't Listen" (TLDL) summary of my conversation with Peter Jude Ricciardi and Jeff Litcofsky, the dynamic duo behind Brandartica. Peter brings 15 years of Disney creative direction while Jeff provides the operational brilliance that makes their magic scalable. We distill three key insights: why safe marketing is now completely ineffective in a world of digital noise, how the Brandartica methodology mirrors great music by balancing creative hooks with strategic theory, and why embracing the mess is essential to finding the magic. Together, Peter and Jeff prove that complementary partnership and the courage to be different are the keys to authentic brand differentiation.

Episode Chapters:

00:32 Guest Introduction

01:35 Takeaway #1: Safe Marketing is Ineffective

03:17 Takeaway #2 Creativity and Strategy in Harmony

04:39 Takeaway #3: The Mess That Makes the Magic

06:19 Final Thoughts

Episode Links:

Brandartica - https://brandartica.com

LinkedIn: Peter Jude Ricciardi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjudericciardi/

LinkedIn: Jeff Litcofsky - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlitcofsky/

Where the Dogs of Society Howl - https://www.linkedin.com/company/where-the-dogs-of-society-howl/

Free eBooks: Make Weird Work & The Mess That Makes the Magic - https://brandartica.agency/ebook-download/

Summary:

In this episode of The Corvus Effect, I welcome Peter Jude Ricciardi and Jeff Litcofsky, the dynamic duo behind Brandartica. Peter brings 15 years of Disney creative direction while Jeff provides operational brilliance from 23 years at Boston Acoustics and his own web development business. They explore why safe marketing no longer sells in a world of digital noise, how their complementary partnership mirrors the structure of great music, and why embracing chaos is essential to the creative journey. Peter and Jeff share insights on breaking clients out of their comfort zones, the role of AI as a creative accelerant, and what true success looks like when you prioritize life integration over corporate climbing.

Episode Chapters:

00:32 Guest Introduction

02:33 Branding Without the Agency Bullshit

04:42 From Shipping Department to Global Director

07:11 Creative Solutionists

08:40 Creativity and Strategy: A Beautiful Symphony

10:15 Safe Doesn't Sell Anymore

13:19 Trust Meets Function

15:07 The Mess That Makes the Magic

17:04 Where the Dogs of Society Howl

18:10 Breaking Clients Out of Safe

20:33 Voice of Reason

24:42 Creativity is Not Linear

26:20 AI as Creative Accelerant

29:34 Life Integration and True Success

32:15 Choosing Your Tribe

35:20 Advice for Next Generation Brand Builders

38:57 Final Thoughts

Summary:

This episode features a "Too Long, Didn't Listen" (TLDL) summary of my conversation with Perry Sheraw, managing partner of Duma Marketing. Perry shares how her journalism background shaped her philosophy that marketing success comes from remembering you are talking to actual humans. She explains why tying marketing metrics to revenue attribution is what separates good campaigns from great ones. Most importantly, she reveals how letting go of perfectionism and separating her identity from execution allowed her to build a thriving remote business from St. Croix while supporting her daughter's international sailing career.

Show Notes:

01:42 It's About the Conversation

02:45 Tie It to Revenue

03:48 Identity Beyond the Send Button

05:20 Final Thoughts

Episode Links:

Perry Sheraw - https://perrysheraw.com/

Duma Marketing - https://www.dumacx.com/

LinkedIn: Perry Sheraw - https://www.linkedin.com/in/perrysheraw/

Summary:

In this episode of The Corvus Effect, I welcome Perry Sheraw, managing partner of Duma Marketing and a digital marketing pioneer with roots in print journalism at the Cincinnati Enquirer. Perry shares how her foundational philosophy of treating every email as a real conversation has driven 20 years of success helping Fortune 500 companies and startups alike. She reveals why tying marketing metrics to revenue attribution separates good campaigns from great ones, and how customer journey mapping can transform results. Perry also opens up about her journey from perfectionist to operationally independent business owner, allowing her to run her company from St. Croix while supporting her daughter's international sailing career.

Show Notes:

00:32 Guest Introduction

02:36 One of the Only People with Email

04:54 Too Cold for Cincinnati

06:30 Where There's a Will

08:57 The Swiftness of the Cheetah

10:11 You're Talking to Someone

13:59 The Jackson Pollock Customer Journey

15:37 Start with Your Baselines

17:35 Permission to Think Differently

20:52 Identity and the Send Button

23:32 Take a Two Week Vacation

29:43 Legacy for Young Marketers

32:25 Final Thoughts

Summary:

This episode features a "Too Long, Didn't Listen" (TLDL) summary of my conversation with Mark Jehning, founder and CEO of Acuity Dynamics. With over 35 years bringing Fortune 500 level business process optimization to organizations of all sizes, Mark helps founders see the forest from the trees so they can reclaim their freedom while building more profitable, efficient operations. Scott breaks down Mark's key insights on systems thinking, his metric-driven framework focused on leading indicators, and how to release the tribal knowledge dependency that keeps so many organizations stuck.

Show Notes:

01:30 Foundational Insight: The Bigger Picture

02:32 Metric-Driven Framework

03:40 Releasing Tribal Knowledge Dependency

05:12 Final Thoughts

Episode Links:

LinkedIn: Mark Jehning - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-jehning-mba-a397851a1

Acuity Dynamics - www.acuitydynamics.com

Book: Blue Ocean Strategy - https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com

The Connective - https://www.theconnective.me

Summary:

In this episode of The Corvus Effect, I sit down with Mark Jehning, founder and CEO of Acuity Dynamics. With over 35 years of experience spanning aerospace and defense at McDonnell Douglas to Fortune 500 consulting at Arthur Andersen and Applied Materials, Mark brings a unique perspective on business process optimization. He shares his metric-driven framework that quickly identifies the constraints inhibiting order to cash and product development, his performance-based engagement model where he bets on results rather than billable hours, and why most organizations are buried in tribal knowledge they have never documented. Mark explains the difference between leading and lagging indicators, what founders should see on their Monday morning dashboard, and how to help organizations see the forest from the trees.

Show Notes:

00:32 Meet Mark Jehning

02:07 Lessons from Aerospace and Defense

03:16 Seeing the Bigger Picture

05:52 Performance-Based Engagement

07:23 Measuring Process Differently

08:38 Operational Assessment and Tribal Knowledge

09:39 The Monday Morning Dashboard

12:06 Change Management

14:10 The Applied Materials Story

16:18 You Can't Fix What You Can't See

21:49 Leading vs. Lagging Indicators

24:29 Advice for Small Businesses

30:29 Legacy and Final Thoughts