Why Your Hiring & Onboarding Process is Broken – Christina Brady on Fixing It
Release Date: 02/27/2025
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DeShawn Wynn is a veteran event strategist, entrepreneur, and transformational retreat leader. With nearly 30 years of event planning experience and 15 years as the founder of Winning Touch Event Design, she blends logistics and heart-centered transformation. Her mission? To help people pause, ask deeper questions, and reconnect with the why behind their actions. “An event is supposed to cause change — people should leave different than when they came in.” “Don’t wait for a tragedy to be your catalyst. Let a luxurious retreat be your wake-up call.” “Value means putting...
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Ravi Rajani is a master of impactful communication, storytelling, and leadership development. He is the author of Relationship Currency and helps professionals unlock their influence through the power of intentional storytelling. From theater and investment banking to keynote stages and coaching rooms, Ravi's journey is a testament to finding alignment and embracing authenticity. "Charisma is an innate superpower we all possess, which allows others to feel significant in our presence." "Your daughters will marry your example. Your sons will follow it." "The more you do the inner...
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DevLearn Prep - with Brent and Mike
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Custom-Fit with Author Kate Morgan
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Kate Morgan is the author of Custom-Fit, and the founder of BostonHCP. She is a no-nonsense, passionate voice in the world of HR, culture, and team development. With a background in scaling teams, Kate focuses on helping small business owners build thriving organizations from the inside out. She’s a Forbes-published author, EO Accelerator Chair, and a firm believer in people as the ultimate competitive advantage. “A core value isn't a value unless you can say…you'll be fired if you don't live up to it.” “Execution rests with your people. Get that right and you're going to be head...
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From Parks to Boardrooms: Leadership Lessons from Nature with Donald Forgione and Mike Simmons
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Donald Forgione — Former Director of 175 Florida State Parks, with 40+ years in ecotourism, leadership, and public service. Now a business owner, speaker, and coach, Donald connects leadership lessons from nature to business. Mike Simmons — Founder of Find My Catalyst, leadership coach, and sales strategist, helping people identify and act on their catalyst for change. Three Key Quotes Donald Forgione: “Trust is the key to absolutely everything… If they’re not feeling what I’m saying, I might as well throw it out the window.” Mike Simmons: “A revenue challenge is often a...
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Fidel Cache Flow on Anonymity, Job Stacking, and Leadership in Tech Sales
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Why Accurate Sales Forecasts Are Overrated with Bill Kantor
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Bill Kantor is the co-founder of Funnelcast, a forecasting platform designed to help businesses understand, optimize, and act on their sales pipelines. With decades of experience in sales operations and revenue analytics, Bill is on a mission to shift how companies use forecasting — from chasing accuracy to driving meaningful change. 💬 3 Key Quotes from Bill Kantor: "The job of the forecast is to tell you what to change in order to make the outcome better." "People think the job of the forecast is to tell you what you're going to close. But your sales are not like the weather. You...
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Selling to Farmers & Leading with Empathy: Lessons in Rural Sales from Sinjin Cramer
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St. John “Sinjin” Cramer is a dynamic sales strategist, keynote speaker, and host of the Rural Sales Success podcast. A UK native now based in New Zealand, Sinjin helps businesses understand how to sell with empathy, especially in high-stakes, rural environments. His philosophy? Stop selling. Start serving. “If you don't like where you are—move. Even a small shift can be a catalyst for growth.” “Don’t sell to farmers—or anyone. Help them make informed decisions.” “Be a buyer’s assistant. If you're not helping people feel safe in a purchase, you're not...
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Skip the Rookie Mistakes - Podcast Mastery Tips from Seth Goldstein
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Seth Goldstein is a 15-year podcast pro, coach, and former journalist. He runs “Podcast Mastery” and helps new hosts skip common mistakes. Seth’s big message: have a simple plan, keep the show real, and hit record—because action is the true catalyst. “If you have a plan and a cadence, it works. When you don’t, it usually doesn’t.” “Your first ten episodes are practice—most people won’t even know they exist.” “People listen because they want to feel part of the conversation.” Seth Goldstein and host Mike Simmons swap straight-talk tips on starting and growing...
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The ADHD Boss: Clear Communication and Why Coaching Matters
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Mike Simmons, founder of Catalyst and host of the “Find Your Catalyst” podcast, returns for a solo Q&A session. In this episode, he explores how ADHD shows up in leadership, strategies for clear communication, and why coaching is an essential part of personal and business growth. Mike shares personal experiences and systems that help him and others focus, execute, and lead effectively. 💬 3 Key Quotes "Don't diagnose people—understand behaviors and build systems that reduce chaos." "There are things that are said, things that are heard, and things that are remembered—and rarely...
info_outlineChristina Brady is a sales leader, entrepreneur, and the CEO of Luster.ai, a company dedicated to measuring and improving sales proficiency through AI. With 18 years of experience in sales, she is passionate about fixing broken hiring and onboarding processes and enabling professionals to succeed. Christina is also the Chicago Chapter Head of Pavilion and serves on the executive team at Women in Sales.
Three Key Quotes from Christina Brady
- “If you don’t measure proficiency, you don’t know who you’re hiring, how to up-level them, or why they struggle.”
- “AI isn’t here to replace you—it’s here to make you better at what you do.”
- “Founders have ‘magic’ because they know the mistakes that have been made and the risks they’re willing to take. You can’t expect a new hire to replicate that.”
In this insightful conversation, Christina Brady discusses why hiring and onboarding in sales are fundamentally broken and how AI can transform proficiency measurement. She also breaks down the “founder magic” that makes transitioning from founder-led to AE-led sales so difficult. This episode is a must-listen for leaders looking to scale effectively.
5 Key Takeaways on Finding Your Catalyst
1. The Hiring Process is Fundamentally Broken
- Companies often hire without a clear understanding of what makes a candidate successful.
- The interview process is subjective, leading to mismatches between candidates and roles.
- Relying on past success (e.g., quota attainment at another company) does not predict future success.
2. Onboarding Needs to Be Personalized and Continuous
- Most onboarding programs are generic and fail to address individual deficiencies.
- Employees are often left confused after onboarding, with no clear roadmap for success.
- The best organizations move from "onboarding" to "everboarding," offering continuous training and development.
3. Measuring Proficiency is the Key to Success
- Companies struggle because they don’t objectively measure proficiency at the skill level.
- AI tools can now map skills, identify deficiencies, and predict performance gaps before they become issues.
- Without measurement, companies rely on subjective “gut feelings,” leading to inefficiencies and lost talent.
4. AI is a Tool for Enablement, Not Replacement
- AI should be used to enhance human capability, not replace it.
- The right AI tools help sales teams avoid revenue-impacting mistakes before they happen.
- Leaders must shift their mindset from fear to experimentation when adopting AI.
5. Founder-Led Sales is a Different Game
- Founders have “magic” because they understand the product deeply and can flexibly adjust deals.
- Expecting an AE to replicate a founder’s selling process is unrealistic.
- The transition from founder-led to AE-led sales requires a structured process, proper tooling, and realistic expectations.
Final Thought
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