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Dawn talks with Mike Matalone, founder of the XP3 Talent System and author of “Hire, Train, Retain,” about creating a “people operating system” that improves hiring, onboarding/training, daily management, and retention so other business systems execute effectively. Mike argues many business problems presented as financial, marketing, or operations issues are often people issues in disguise, and success starts with defining roles granularly (clear results, KPIs, and timeframes) rather than vague job descriptions. He emphasizes hiring for culture using mission, vision, and values, testing coachability and fit through open-ended questions and follow-up assignments, and retaining talent by identifying candidate needs, creating clear career paths, and intentionally building workplace relationships. He shares a case study reducing 80% turnover to 23% and scaling profitably after adding leadership and finance infrastructure.

In this episode…

Who is Mike Matone and whom does he serve? (00:48)

Why People Need Systems (01:38)

People Problems Disguised (04:05)

Define Success Clearly (07:04)

Granular Job Requirements (08:22)

Roles Evolve Over Time(10:52)

Success Formula KPIs Timing (11:59)

Workforce Planning Backwards (13:40)

63M QuickBooks Cautionary Tale (15:36)

Owner Expertise Five Pillars (18:02)

Enjoyment Versus Skill Fit (23:04)

Consistency Formula (25:07)

Hiring for Culture (27:12)

Mission Vision Values (27:20)

Two-Way Interviews (29:49)

Values-Based Questions (32:19)

Retention Starts Hiring (34:20)

Career Path Planning (36:50)

Relationships Drive Retention (39:40)

Book and Contact Info (42:52)

Turnaround Success Story (45:09)

Mike Matalone’s Information:

Website: https://www.xp3talent.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-matalone-6029b87/

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Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources

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Dawn talks with James M. Powell, an expert on the science of intuition, about tapping into our intuition and using it to make better business decisions.

In this episode…

Who is James M. Powell and whom does he serve? (00:57).

In everything we learn about running a business, why don’t we learn about tapping into our intuition in business school? (2:26)

The meaning of “everyone is a spiritual being” (Cliff’s Notes Version). (4:12).

What is intuition, where does it come from, and why do we need to have it? (7:03).

How do we know we are getting into our intuition? (9:08).

Since we have intuition as children, why do we “grow out of” using it as adults to make decisions? (12:10).

To make better decisions, in what ways can we step back into our intuition? (15:23).

How can we differentiate between intellectualizing and being more intuitive? (19:16).

Feel it first, then think about it, then take action. (23:11).

James M. Powell's Information:

James’ Podcast Website- www.thespiritualitypodcast.com

Intuition Hacks- www.thespiritualitycoach.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com.james.m.powell

Entre Money Coach Website: https://entremoneycoach.com/

Links and Freebies- https://entremoneycoach.com/linktree/

What Clients Say About Working with Dawn- https://entremoneycoach.com/about-dawn/

In-Depth Information, Tips, and Strategies- https://entremoneycoach.com/blog/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/entremoneycoach

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entremoneycoach

Entre Pay Day Newsletter: Entre Pay Day | Entre Money Coach

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Support the show

Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe:

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For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com

Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/

Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources

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Dawn Kennedy talks with George Bakalov, a cybersecurity professional and virtual CISO, and founder of Executive Solutions USA. They talk about small business “information security,” emphasizing that risk extends beyond phishing to protecting all business assets, reputation, and expanding attack surfaces across devices, cloud, and email. George explains common scenarios such as criminals hijacking domains or infrastructure to run malicious campaigns, identity-based attacks that compromise user accounts to access third-party systems, and the high recurrence rate of breaches. He recommends requesting vendor security certifications, using company-wide password managers, enabling multi-factor authentication, and running measurable employee awareness training since most attacks use email. He stresses starting with a security assessment, asset inventory, and prioritized risk-reduction plan, noting cyber insurance is increasingly standard and AI is already enabling more sophisticated attacks.

In this episode….

Who is George Bakalov, and whom does he serve? (00:57)

What InfoSec Covers (02:11)

Universal Business Risk (04:13)

Real Breach Stories (07:24)

Third Parties and Identity (11:03)

Password Manager Basics (14:07)

MFA and Training (17:59)

Too Many Security Tools (21:42)

Incident Response Planning (25:03)

AI and Future Threats (29:35)

Where to Find George (32:52)

Final Takeaways (34:66)

George Bakalov's Information:

Website: https://executivesolutions.us/

10% off for initial security assessment with coupon: DAWN10

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebakalov/

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Thanks for listening. If you liked what you heard and want more, please visit and subscribe:

Subscribe to our Youtube Channel: https://youtube.com/@dawnkkennedyxo?si=DcRcjv7H0KN5_vFP

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For weekly in-depth articles, tips, and strategies: https://getinweredoingbusiness.substack.com

Dawn’s Website: https://dawnkkennedy.com/

Links and Freebies: https://dawnkkennedy.com/resources

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Order Dawn’s book, The Profit Accelerator for Small Business ...