Ed Forteau

EdForteau.com

No More Cringe is not just a book; it's a movement. Are you tired of aggressive, pushy sales tactics that feel inauthentic and make interactions awkward and uncomfortable? It's time to join the Genuine Connections Revolution.

As a business consultant, I'm dedicated to helping professionals build genuine, impactful relationships on LinkedIn. My book, No More Cringe, introduces The Strategic Ally Method, a revolutionary system that transforms cringe-worthy interactions into empowering, authentic connections.

▶ 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤?

👔	Professional Service Providers: Consultants, coaches, advisors, and freelancers seeking deeper client connections.
💡	Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners: Those yearning for a more human, effective client acquisition approach.
📊	Sales and Marketing Professionals: Tired of high rejection rates and low ROI.
🕒	Busy Professionals: Juggling demanding careers and personal lives, needing strategies that resonate with their values.
🤝	Socially Conscious Individuals: Valuing sincerity and professionalism, craving authentic engagement.

▶ 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝:

🔄	The relentless struggle with inconsistent client acquisition.
😣	Gut-wrenching frustration and anxiety from traditional marketing strategies.
⚡	Overwhelming pressure from ineffective outreach techniques.

▶ 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮:

⚖️	Aligns with Your Values: Integrity, professionalism, and work-life balance.
💆	Addresses Emotional Pain Points: Relieves stress, builds confidence, and banishes hopelessness.
🛤️	Offers a Clear Path to Success: Practical, step-by-step guidance to transform LinkedIn outreach.

Say goodbye to cringe and hello to real impact. Your journey to transforming LinkedIn outreach starts here. Purchase No More Cringe on Amazon for only $2.99 and start building genuine connections that lead to lasting success.

Join the Genuine Connections Revolution today!

Author of "No More Cringe: How to Transform LinkedIn Outreach from Awkward to Real Impact"

EdForteau.com, a division of Win/Win Professional Marketing and Sales Association, is a Digital Marketing Agency that helps local small businesses compete, and win, against their larger regional and national competitors who have big budgets and in-house marketing departments.

We provide unique, yet simple, solutions for local businesses in the complex and rapidly changing world of digital marketing.

Digital Marketing is complex and confusing. We make it simple and profitable.

Email Marketing Coaching/Consulting & Digital Marketing Coaching/Consulting

Email Open Rate Optimization

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑:
• Any business that uses email to communicate with prospects, clients, or customers that have experienced their emails going to spam, or not getting delivered
• Any business that wants their email accounts set up properly to ensure high deliverability
Why? Nothing has a greater/more immediate impact on your bottom line than fixing email deliverability issues

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎:
• Fix any types of email deliverability problems so more of your emails are delivered, seen, opened, and clicked
• Setup your email infrastructure so your emails land in your recipient's primary inbox
• Setup email reporting and monitoring to catch problems early, to avoid lost revenue
• Provide advice on the right email marketing platform to use to meet your objectives

▶ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐗:
We provide the peace of mind that you are receiving the maximum ROI from emails, because all forms of your emails are delivered. This includes:
• Cold Emails
• Subscription Emails
• Support Ticket Emails
• Proposal Emails
• Contracts via Email
• Invoice/billing Emails
• Transactional Emails
• Marketing Emails
• Contact Us Forms

▶ 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒:
• Email Deliverability Audit - Identifies the source of 90% of email deliverability issues
• DMARC Reporting/Monitoring - Monitors the health of your email accounts and pinpoints the issues that happen infrequently
• Domain Reputation Recovery - Our proprietary method of improving the reputation of a damaged domain in under 30 days
• Email Infrastructure Setup - Ensures maximum email deliverability and protects your domain reputation
• Email Deliverability Repair - Our team has a combined 28+ years in fixing email deliverability issues

▶ 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒:
• 95%+ email deliverability rate
• An immediate increase in email open and click-through rates
• On average, a 200-400% increase in email-related revenue

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐘:
• See our LinkedIn Service Reviews

EMAIL DELIVERABILITY EXPERT - Get More Of Your Emails Delivered, Seen, Opened, Read, and Clicked

The most common email deliverability questions we answer in regards to email infrastructure.

Email Infrastructure - Consists of the moving parts that ensure your marketing and transactional emails are delivered to your recipient. They consist of your Sender IP(s), Domain Reputation, Proper Email Authentication, Feedback Loops, Reporting and Management Tools, etc.

Email Authentication - DKIM, SPF, and DMARC - Mailbox providers are tightening their security protocols, making email authentication more important. Proper authentication of DKIM and SPF is a must. Setting your DMARC policy to "Quarantine" or "Reject" shows the mailbox providers you are serious about protecting your email from phishing and spoofing attacks.

Sender IP - Two types: Shared IPs & Dedicated IPs. Sender IPs are the location from which your emails are sent, and play a big role in where mailbox providers place your emails. If your Sender IP Reputation is high, you will have good email deliverability. If it is poor, your emails are most likely to end up in spam or blocked. The quality of the Sender IPs you are assigned is the luck of the draw. ESPs are unlikely to change them, once they are assigned. If you are sending a high volume of emails, and following best email practices, we advise purchasing a Dedicated IP.

Domain Reputation - Similar to the IP address, the sending domain carries a reputation that affects deliverability. To protect your mail domain, we advise setting up subdomains for different email functions. For example, support.store.com for customer service requests and transactional emails, info.store.com for marketing emails. This way if your subdomain for marketing emails gets compromised (low engagement, spam complaints, etc.) it will not affect your transactional emails.

Periodically run your Sender IPs and Sender Domain through a blacklist checker, such as MX Toolbox, to make sure that they are not flagged for spam or other complaints that would lead to blacklisting.

Email Deliverability Consultant | Email Authentication | Sender IP | Domain Reputation

The most common email deliverability questions we answer in regard to email engagement and list segmentation.

Sender History - Your email history plays a role in where your emails will be placed. How your subscribers have engaged with your emails. If your Domain and Sender IPs have been on any Blacklists. If you have a history of Spam Complaints. The age of your Domain.

Engagement - Mailbox providers' algorithms track the user engagement of your emails. If subscribers don't open your emails, or repeatedly delete your emails without opening them, that may cause the mailbox provider to filter your emails into a subfolder. Excessive complaints and unsubscribes could cause the mailbox provider from accepting any emails from your company. High email engagement (such as users opening, clicking, and replying) positively impact email deliverability.

Email Volume - The lower your email volume, the less recourses are required by the mailbox providers to process your emails. The mailbox providers are more likely to treat your emails favorably, resulting in high email deliverability.

Email Regularly - Have a regular schedule for sending emails to your list. This is especially important if you mainly send email blasts. Ideally, send emails on a regular day and time. The best days and times to send it are Tues 9:00-11:00 AM, and then Thurs. 9:00-11:00 AM.

List Segmentation - Use email automation to segment your list and send emails based on subscriber behavior. Doing this will increase subscriber engagement. As well, send emails out in much smaller batches, which puts less strain on the mailbox provider's resources, resulting in higher email deliverability.

▶︎ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐘:
See our LinkedIn Service Reviews

We post new articles on email deliverability regularly on our LinkedIn Business Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/email-open-rate-optimization/

Email Engagement | List Segmentation

The most common email deliverability questions we answer in regard to why emails go into spam because of email copy/content.

List Quality - Add subscribers to your list that want to hear from you. Use double opt-in vs. single opt-in. Move unengaged subscribers to a re-engagement list after 60 days, and remove them after 120 days.

Content - Spammy/salesy copy is more likely to get your emails placed in the promotional folder than the spam folder. But today, email code is more closely scrutinized. Mailbox providers want to see clean code in your emails. Avoid potentially malicious code, such as <embed> tags or JavaScript. Ensure the code from any third-party apps you are using has clean code. Check the domain reputation of any links in your body copy. Do not use link shorteners.

Bounces and Spam Traps - Verify all emails before you start emailing them to ensure there aren't any spam traps. Remove emails that frequently bounce.

Spam Complaints - Keep your spam complaints low (under 0.1%). If you make it difficult for subscribers to unsubscribe, they will mark your email as spam. Place your unsubscribe link(s) in places that are easy to see. Remove inactive subscribers from your main list after 60 days of inactivity. Subscribe to Google Postmaster Tools. 

Using All CAP (subject line or body copy) - Using all CAPs or excessive punctuation in the subject line or body of your emails raises a red flag and can get your emails placed in the promotional folder (at best) or the spam folder (at worst), and possibly blocked.

Subject Lines - 47% of email recipients open their emails solely based on the subject line alone, while 69% of recipients report spam emails based on the subject line. (Source: Grammarly)

▶︎ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐘:
See our LinkedIn Service Reviews

We post new articles on email deliverability regularly on our LinkedIn Business Page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/email-open-rate-optimization/

Email Copy | Subject Lines | List Quality | Spam Complaints

Business Rainmakers

Founder

Exit Success Lab

Exit Success Lab is a transformative community dedicated to guiding CEOs and entrepreneurs in enhancing the value of their businesses and ensuring more lucrative options upon exit.

It achieves this by bringing together vetted professional B2B service providers with successful entrepreneurs to create a think tank for solving challenging business problems. There are monthly trainings, office hours, and networking meetings.

As a faculty member who specializes in Database Equity Marketing, my role is to equip Exit Success Lab members with tailored strategies to optimize their databases (including client lists, prospect lists, and email databases). By leveraging database equity, members can amplify their business's appeal, streamline client acquisition processes, and foster sustained growth.

With a focus on cultivating a culture of continuous improvement and mastery of business strategy, Exit Success Lab empowers entrepreneurs to strengthen their business value and pave the way for a prosperous future.

Faculty Member - Database Equity Architect

Business Rainmaker

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑:
• Businesses where email is a critical part of their sales process
• Entrepreneurs who want to achieve a higher ROI with their email campaigns
• B2B Marketers looking for more cost-efficient options to paid ads for client acquisition
➣ We are the best fit for result-oriented entrepreneurs who want to maximize the performance of email in all of their marketing activities.

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐃𝐎:
• Fix underperforming email marketing campaigns
• Implement strategies to improve the quality of your list (prospect list or subscriber list)
• Advise on the most effective email marketing strategies and tactics, and customize them for your situation
➣ Create a framework for consistent and predictable results utilizing the latest behavioral email marketing automation methods

▶ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐌𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐗:
• email campaigns
• email open rates
• email click-through rates
• email engagement
• email sales conversion
• email list management
• email infrastructure
• poor email deliverability
• scaling email marketing campaigns

▶ 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊𝐒:
1. Evaluate your current email marketing campaigns
2. Provide a detailed execution plan for improvement
3. Work with you, and/or your team, to implement the plan
➣ We see email marketing strategy and consulting as a collaborative effort between us. We act as your guide to ensure all of your email communication is delivered and seen by the right people, at the right time, so you achieve your marketing and sales goals.

▶ 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒:
• Increased email open and click-through rates (typically 2X higher than the industry average)
• 200 - 400% average revenue increase from email marketing campaigns

▶ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐒𝐀𝐘:
"Truly an amazing experience working with EORO. They're professional and incredibly knowledgeable in all things email. Will certainly continue working together."
~ Joel Waldenbäck, Co-Founder på Zutobi

Email Marketing Strategy | Email Marketing Specialist | Email Automation

Wandering Media Group

Wandering Media Group provides email marketing services to the travel market. Services include:
Email Deliverability
Email Automation
Email List Management

B2B Email Marketing | Email Copywriting | Email List Management

Win/Win Professional Marketing & Sales Association

For over 28 years, Win/Win Professional Marketing & Sales Association has advised small to medium-sized businesses to implement sales and marketing systems that increase revenue.

Growth Marketing Specialist | Digital Marketing Specialist | Public Speaker & Trainer

OneGuide

Providing 1:1 Email marketing strategy, including email deliverability and email automation coaching through OneGuide, an expertise platform that connects high-growth B2B software companies with experienced advisors.

Link: https://askoneguide.com/authors/ed-forteau/

Advisor

Leader of the Genuine Connections Revolution | Helping Service Providers, Entrepreneurs, and Sales Professionals Build Authentic Relationships | Author of "No More Cringe” | Changing the Way We do Business on LinkedIn

I’m Ed Forteau, Business Growth Strategist, Community Builder, and Creator of The Strategic Ally Method.

I help relationship-driven entrepreneurs attract high-value clients…without chasing, cold pitching, or playing the content hamster wheel game.

If you’re great at what you do, but feel like sales turns you into someone you’re not, you're not broken.

You’ve just been sold the wrong playbook.

Most of my clients come to me feeling stuck.

They’re burned out from outreach that goes nowhere.

They hate the pressure to perform on social media.

And they’re tired of trying to be “everywhere” just to get noticed.

What I teach flips the script:

✅ Start warm, low-pressure conversations that naturally lead to business

✅ Tap into the trust you’ve already earned to unlock hidden opportunities

✅ Show up as a Strategic Ally, not another sales person or content clone

✅ Build “quiet authority” without shouting for attention

✅ Use simple, human systems that work even when you’re not online

Here’s a story I hear all the time:

A client spent months tweaking cold email campaigns.

They saw early wins…until everything stopped working.

Low replies. Spam folder black holes. Endless fixing.

They tried my method. DMed just ten warm messages to mutual connections of people they knew.
Two booked calls. One became a client.

Then came momentum.

They told me, “This just feels…different. Lighter.”

I said, “It’s less work than trying to save a sinking ship.”

That’s the shift:

From pushing and persuading to connecting and converting.

From guessing what strangers want to showing up where you’re already trusted.

You don’t need to become someone else to grow your business.

You just need a better way.

That’s why I created The Genuine Connection Alliance. It’s a private community for relationship-first entrepreneurs.

Inside, you’ll learn my frameworks, build a powerful support system, and attract clients through trust, not tactics.

It’s where my best clients come from, because they experience the method before they ever hire me.

If you believe business can be built through conversations, connection, and real value, let’s talk.

Or better yet, let’s start a conversation that leads to something real.

💬 DM me the word “Alliance” and I’ll send you the Genuine Connection Alliance overview doc. It might be the missing piece you’ve been looking for.

Confoe

General management of SaaS/Services/Smartsheet/Consulting firm.  Manage P&L and strategic business planning. Oversee product development and partner programs.

President & COO |  Consultant | GM |  Sales | PMO | Semiconductor

Established Confoe's consulting practice.  Developed/continuously evolved the product portfolio.  Ran Confoe Sales, Operations, and Service. Established software partner/re-seller/system integrator relationships with key technology partners: Software AG, Progress Software, Savvion, ServiceMax, Smartsheet

GM | COO | Consultant | Field Service/Supply Chain/Operations | Fortune 50 to SMB

Directly led client programs as (contract) VP of PMO/Project Director/Project Manager.
Clients include:  Dell, Intel, AMAT, Whole Foods Market, McKesson, Tokyo Electron America, KLA-Tencor, ASM, Novellus, Lam Research, Spansion

COO |  CIO | Software/Construction/Supply Chain | Fortune 50 to SMB

Smarter Operations

Host of the Smarter Operations blog and YouTube channel.
Sharing my passion for Smartsheet and the business results it brings. 

Business savvy, independent best practices delivered via webinars, live streams, video posts, templates, and training.

Smartsheet Evangelist | Smartsheet Solutions Consultant

Forbes Business Development Council

Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for senior-level sales and
business development executives.

I've appeared 80+ times as a contributor to Forbes Expert Panels

Forbes Contributor-Forbes Expert Panel: Business Development | Sales | COO | Consultant

Sevan Multi-Site Solutions

Confoe contract to develop an open-source document-sharing solution to support multi-site construction projects.  Technologies included: Windows Server, VMWare, Alfresco, Apache Tomcat, FTP. PMIS Components: Smartsheet, MS Project, MS Office 365; SharePoint, TeamViewer

Director Of Information Technology | IT PMO |

Progress

I became a channel partner with Progress Software after they acquired Savvion to create their new Responsive Process Management (RPM) Solution. I joined the Progress Sales team to sell RPM to Confoe clients, selling and winning a $5M+ software and services deal (beating incumbent Oracle).  

I then led an agile team to develop and deploy the RPM Solution (on premise ERP). This RPM suite combined Savvion Business Process Management, Apama Business Event Processing, Actional Business Transaction Management, Sonic Responsive Business Integration to provide transaction assurance to a global service business.

My responsibilities included:
• Program Management Services and Consulting
• Program governance and coordination across end client global organization and software provider global organization.
• Change management services
• Business Analyst Services
• Training development and delivery
• Project management of the 10-person development team
• Coordination with client IT department and business
• Agile Model-Simulate-Integrate development approach using 60-day build cycles

Project Results:  Program execution highly benchmarked.  It met time and budget in record setting time for the client.  Contract ended with Progress divestment of RPM.

VP of PMO/VP of Channel Sales | ERP Sales | ERP Implementation

Alamo SolarPV

I became the Fractional Chief Operating Officer of two early-stage clean energy start-up companies (Texas and Arizona) combining solar PV module assembly factories with utility scale solar power plants. 

I led Program Management Office (PMO) and operations to develop the start-up business structure, processes, and documentation including:
-Business plan, investor documents (pitch deck, Private Placement Memo, etc.)
-Talent acquisition, staffing, and HR management plan
-Built initial supply chain/negotiated with suppliers
-Channel partner development including customization of a Project Management and Savvion BPM software-based collaboration system for partners
-Created application submissions for Federal incentives through IRS 48C Program and E1B visa program
-Negotiated with local governments in Arizona and Texas for site selection and incentives

Technology leveraged: Savvion BPM, Primavera P6, MS Project, MS Office

After analyzing the competitive pressures from Chinese C-Si panel producers we closed the companies.  

I was cited in several clean energy industry publications including the Energy Economist, Sun & Wind Energy, and Renewable Energy World.

COO/VP of PMO | Clean Energy Start Up | Manufacturing |

Savvion

Partnered with SAAS start-up as Confoe VP of Channel Sales.  Savvion then acquired by Progress Software

VP of PMO | VP of Channel Sales | SAAS BPMS Start-Up

Intel Corporation

Confoe  Contract to support Intel to support tool re-use to China fab
•	Established PMO to Provide Program Manager, Scheduler, and Coordinator services 
•	Established a SAAS based enterprise-wide project management system
•	Coordinated the work of 26 suppliers with multiple internal departments across 300+ projects
•	Coordination and facilitation of supplier planning meetings
 PMIS Components: Primavera, MS Project, SharePoint, MS Office

Project Director | Fortune 50 Tech Company | Tool Re-Use/Supplier Management

HelioVolt PMO

Supported the Ramp of HelioVolt's first  Production Fab as Confoe VP of PMO
•	Established a Virtual Enterprise Program Management Office 
•	Provided Program Manager, Scheduler, and Engineering services
•	Coordinated the work of 15 suppliers with multiple internal departments across 45 capital projects
•	Provided engineering design and trades management services
•	Daily updates on information gathering, design and construction activity progress
•	Weekly Milestone Progress and Risk Reports

VP of PMO | Funded Solar Start-Up

Established Confoe's consulting practice. Developed/continuously evolved the product portfolio. Ran Confoe Sales, Operations, and Service.
Established software partner/re-seller/system integrator relationships with key technology partners: Software AG, Progress Software, Savvion, ServiceMax, Smartsheet
Profiled in Manager's Crossing for the Semiconductor industry.

VP of Sales/Product Development

With over 25 years of experience as a Senior Service, Sales, and Operations Executive and Technology Consultant, I have consistently delivered exceptional results for leading companies across industries worldwide.

Consulting Highlights:
As a trusted Technology Consultant, I specialize in solving complex business problems with simple, effective solutions. My consulting engagements have generated significant ROI and value creation for clients, including:

$250M+ in economic value delivered across 50+ engagements across industries. Clients include Intel, AMD, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron, Lam Research, Nikon, KLA-Tencor, Dell, McKesson, National Instruments, Brooks, and Whole Foods.

I leverage tools like Smartsheet (a favorite for 10+ years) and my broad expertise to streamline operations, drive efficiency, and enable transformational success.

Executive Highlights:
Throughout my career, I have driven substantial growth and profitability:

Global Field Operations: Led a $1.6B service business with 3,000+ engineers across 13 countries, achieving a $120M+ Gross Margin improvement through a global lean transformation.

General Manager: Managed a $50M training business with 160 staff in 8 facilities across 6 countries, delivering a $32M+ Gross Margin in 3 years. 

Also, I led a $40M service business with 100 engineers in 3 countries, generating $56M+ in gross margin over 3 years.

Diverse Leadership Background:
My career began with over ten years of military service, including leadership roles as Company Commander and aide-de-camp to a Commanding General. These experiences honed my strategic mindset, adaptability, and ability to excel in high-pressure environments.

Expertise and Projects:
I’ve successfully managed and delivered a wide range of projects, including:

PMO Establishment and Optimization
Custom Training Solution
Smartsheet Solutions
Lean Transformations
ERP Implementations
Field Service Optimization

I also share insights through writing and speaking engagements. I have over 120 media appearances, including CIO, Inc., Fast Company, Forbes, Renewable Energy World, NTD Television, Univision, and Energy Economist,

Feel free to reach out at mike@michaelfritsch.com or TEXT: 512-328-8001.
If I can’t help you, I know someone who can! 😎

Michael (Mike) Fritsch

I’m happy to share that I’ve obtained a new certification: Smartsheet Aligned Certified Sales Professional from Smartsheet!

🚀 Smartsheet + AI Systems for Sales, Operations, & Project Management Leadership | West Point Grad | Army Vet | “Old Dog, New Tricks, Big Results” | Semiconductors, Manufacturing & Field Service

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.  An Austin tradition, the 35th Anniversary Turkey Trot...

Two Weeks, Two Events, One Big Shift: Smartsheet’s AI-Powered Future of Work

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. It started at Smartsheet ENGAGE, where Day 1 unveiled one of the most significant shifts in modern work execution. It ended at the Project Management Institute Global Summit, where I grabbed a seat for "The Rise of the AI-Powered PMO" session by Tyson Brown of Smartsheet.

Together, these bookends tell a clear story: AI isn’t just a buzzword—it’s redefining how we plan, execute, and scale work.

Smartsheet is stepping fully into Intelligent Work Management, uniting people, data, and AI to eliminate silos and help organizations operate at the velocity of change.

AI That Works With You: A Unified, AI-First Platform
🔹 Smart Assist — create workspaces and automations from a simple outline
🔹 Smart Flows — natural-language, multi-step automated workflows
🔹 Smart Columns — AI that categorizes, labels, summarizes, and translates data
🔹 Smart Agents — digital coworkers that monitor progress, flag risk, and recommend improvements
All powered by the Smartsheet Knowledge Graph, delivering contextual, personalized guidance across the platform.

Building for Unified Work: Enterprise-Grade Scale Capabilities
🔹 Scenario Planning — explore “what-if” options safely without touching production
🔹 Portfolios — standardized, scalable project creation and portfolio reporting
🔹 Dynamic Dropdowns — consistent, connected data at scale
🔹 Security Score — measure and improve your security posture
🔹 Multi-Factor Authentication — stronger baseline login security for every user

These additions strengthen what enterprises need most: speed, governance, trust, and alignment between strategy and execution.

👉 Which of these innovations would make the biggest impact in your organization?

#smartsheetengage #pmiglobalsummit #AI #IntelligentWorkManagement
Follow me for more industry insight: https://buff.ly/3RIECRl

🚨 Friday Funny 🚨
 “Apparently, the software has been bullying him.”
Some tools really do feel like they’re judging you. Miss one update and suddenly it’s sending passive-aggressive reminders, flashing red cells, and acting like you’re the problem. 😅

But Smartsheet’s new Intelligent Work Management approach?
That’s a whole different story — because the AI actually helps instead of harassing you.

What we learned at Smartsheet Engage this month:
✅ Smart Assist — creates workspaces and projects from a simple outline, helps you activate automations, and answers project questions in real time. (No guilt-tripping included.)
✅ Smart Agents — continually monitor progress, keep teams on task, and proactively flag and prioritize risks… without sounding like your old software overlord.
✅ Smart Flows — streamline multi-step workflows with natural-language prompts, eliminating manual work that slows teams. (Goodbye busywork!)

When your tools support you instead of bullying you, work actually feels lighter — and your software stops needing its own therapist.

Want to learn more about Intelligent Work Management? Want to see more Friday Funnies?

Follow: https://buff.ly/3RIECRl

#ProjectManagement #Smartsheet #IntelligentWorkManagement #IWM #AI #FutureOfWork #FridayFunny #SmartsheetEngage

🚨 Deploying AI? Start with people—not just tech.🚨

Whether you're using AI to support operations, sales, or service delivery, adoption only works when humans are part of the loop.
🤔 Have you rolled out AI in your team or business? What helped—or hurt—adoption?

In this Forbes Business Development Council Expert Panel, I shared the one factor that can make or break enterprise AI success:

👉 My Tip: Discover How AI Can Advance Business Strategy
 “Before deploying an AI agent, define how it advances your strategy and supports your people. AI should extend human capability, not just efficiency. Set clear guardrails, train teams to use the tool with purpose, and measure results. When AI is aligned with goals and grounded in trust, it elevates performance across the board.”
 — Michael (Mike) Fritsch, Confoe | Intelligent Work Management for Manufacturing & Field Service

📣 Great contributions from my Forbes Business Development Council colleagues, who provided great insights across the board!
✔️ Javier Fervienza ✔️ Ali Faizan Rizvi ✔️ Ashu Goel ✔️ Ruchir Nath  ✔️ Mustansir Paliwala  ✔️ Alexey Kachalov ✔️ Bryce Welker ✔️ Julie Thomas ✔️ Jani Hirvonen, NACD.DC® ✔️ Angelica Kopec ✔️ Rahul Saluja ✔️ Scotty Elliott ✔️ Doug Fuehne  ✔️ Matt Bartels

Six of my favorite insights from the article:
🧩 Train Teams To Clearly Understand AI Fundamentals
 If teams don’t trust the tool, adoption fails—start by removing friction, not replacing judgment.
 — Javier Fervienza, Accenture
🧠 Examine How AI Integration Enhances UX
 Tie AI deployment to ROI and how it complements human interaction and customer experience.
 — Karn Srivastava, Amdocs
👁️ Allow Humans To Guide The AI Decision-Making Process
 Keep a “human in the loop” to ensure quality, ethics, and context aren’t lost.
 — Doug Fuehne, Pricefx
📍 Define AI Roles, Boundaries And Handoffs
 Clarity about what AI automates and when it escalates is the key to trust.
 — Ashu Goel, WinWire
✅ Assess The AI Agent's Accuracy
 If AI is inaccurate, trust crumbles. Precision matters more than promises.
 — Ruchir Nath, Dell Technologies
🛡️ Build Psychological Safety Among Staff
 Before rollout, ensure your people feel safe using the tools—not judged by them.
 — Bryce Welker, The CPA Exam Guy

📍Read the full article on my Forbes Council profile (see first comment).

Have you rolled out AI in your team or business? What helped—or hurt—adoption? 👇 

#ForbesBusinessDevelopmentCouncil #IntelligentWorkManagement #AIAdoption #ChangeLeadership #HumanInTheLoop #DigitalTransformation #TrustBeforeTech #AIAugmentation

Getting ready for the opening keynote at Project Management Institute Global Summit 2025. Looking forward to hearing from Pierre Le Manh, President & CEO of PMI.
#pmiglobalsummit

Service profitability isn’t about working harder — it’s about seeing the right data. 📊(60-second video below and link to the Forbes Article in first comment)

In my latest Forbes Business Development Council article, I argue that internal bill rate is a far better foundation for profitability than utilization.

What do you use to measure performance — utilization, internal cost, or something else? 🤔
Tell me in the comments below 👇 

#serviceprofitability #fieldservice #operations #intelligentworkmanagement #ForbesBusinessDevelopmentCouncil

What a night at the Project Management Institute Awards Ceremony + Reception.

Big energy, great conversations, and a dance floor that refused to slow down as we wrapped up Day 2.

Huge congrats to all the PMI Award winners — incredible work and well-deserved recognition. Nights like this say a lot about this community. 

We handle the hard stuff during the day and still manage to fill a room, swap ideas, and have some fun along the way.

On to Day 3.

Follow me for more: https://buff.ly/3RIECRl

#PMIGlobalSummit #ProjectManagement #PMI #Leadership #Community #Operations #Events

Just grabbed my seat for The Rise of the AI Powered PMO session by Tyson Brown of Smartsheet .

I can't think of a better way to wrap up Friday at the Project Management Institute Global Summit!

#smartsheet #pmiglobalsummit #intelligentworkmanagement

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