Informed Decisions
Video Library

Considering working with us? Get a fuller sense of our insights,  experience, and style, with these virtual presentations, hot-seats, and audience Q&As.

Join our upcoming Informed Decisions Podcast

Get the pulse of topical issues and hear practical solutions in our monthly small group webinars for leaders.
Format: 15-20 minute presentation followed by your Q&A (no cost, just bring your questions).

Get the invites to our monthly webinars. Send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll put you on the VIP invite list.
See all our upcoming monthly events.

Driving Change, Impact, 
and Growth in Your Organization 

Tuesday, October 8 at 12 noon ET

Your organization has grown, but it seems more chaotic than ever.

Or there has been a major “shock” to the organization (tough economy, M&A, new competitor, new systems, new tech - eg AI), and there is a significant amount of uncertainty or stress.

Or maybe there is a new leadership team, who wants to do things… very differently.

In all three cases, change is necessary, and alignment even more so. But how?
•  “How can we drive impact throughout the organization?”
• “How can we create an aligned and “thinking” organization?”
• “How can we cultivate the “new” desired culture?”

Yes, traditional change management has its place, but in this session, we will go beyond, and explore a number of additional concepts.

Conference Planning: 
Bums in Seats and Minds Engaged

Tuesday, October 15 at 12 noon ET

You are planning a conference and you want it to be as successful as possible. In today’s Informed Decisions Q&A session, we’ll offer some fresh ideas and insider perspective to help you create a truly memorable conference.

Join Randall Craig, Hall of Fame speaker, who has presented at and attended 500+ events, to explore topics such as:

•  Effective event marketing strategies, without breaking the bank.
•  No more PowerPoints! New formats that can improve attendee engagement.  
•  Speaker selection strategies: Speaker types, and the tough questions you should ask anyone presenting to your audience to ensure value and fit.
•  From knowledge to action: Translating event attendance to tangible change and much more to learn in this bonus episode!

NEW! Weekly Focus Hours!

Weekly on Wednesdays at 1 pm ET and Fridays at 9 am ET!

Leaders, you are invited: Join the Braintrust Focus Hours 

Looking for a powerful way to get things done?

This summer, join other leaders at the Braintrust Professional Institute Focus Hours. 

We’ll meet as a group on Zoom, plow through our to-do lists, and then continue on with our day.

Limited to 12 participants.  (no cost, and still slots left!)

Working Wednesday Focus Hour session cover with Ronja smiling
Friday Focus Hour session cover with Randall explaining

Praise for Informed Decisions

"Really insightful. There are things I hadn't considered. I though it was great and I appreciate it." – Darla Wright

"I want to thank you very much Randall, and Ronja for your facilitating. A lot of stuff percolating over here so I really appreciate it." – Randall Ettinger

"I was incredibly impressed how you made the whole thing a constant learning process – so valuable." – Jason Croft

"Great guidance on what's important." – John DiBenedetto

"Brilliant insights, thank you!" – Donald Cooper

"Thank you for the ideas and tips!" – Kayce Halstead

"Great session!" – Nicole Blankenship


“ I really enjoy it. I find it really high value. I love the interaction between Ronja and Randall, and I had a lot of questions answered – thank you so much!“ – Geralyn Ochab

“[Randall and Ronja] do a g-r-e-a-t job to make learning sessions successful.   I like how Ronja has prepared questions, and also welcomes the group's input.  Randall is brilliant at anything on which he opines – truly helpful. Well done. Thank you.” – Lyn McDonell

"I've enjoyed the discussion, this was good, thank you." – Jerry Cukier

"Thank you, good information." – David Barned

“Very helpful – thank you very much!” – Leona Wilson

“Many good questions from Ronja and great discussion.” – Scott Sugden


Replay Informed Decisions Presentations and Q&As

Leadership: Building Leadership Capacity

Driving your leadership performance podcast cover with Randall smiling
In this session we explore high-performance leadership.As a leader, you motivate and set expectations for everyone within your organization… But what about..
•  For yourself?
•  For your partners?
•  And for your leadership team? Let's talk about it.
Getting the Most from an Advisory Board podcast cover with Randall explaining
Advisory boards are huge in private companies, but many still don’t have one in place. 
Some leaders are unclear on how to set one up, but recognize there is a need for on-demand advice. What then?
Here is an insightful hour on how to leverage an advisory board to take your company’s growth to new heights. 
Executive Presence podcast cover with Randall explaining
This topic is for leaders in their role as mentors and role models.
•  How important is executive presence, and how much should it play into your hiring process?
•  Your succession planning? Or management training, Branding, Marketing, and HR considerations?
•  And for you as a leader, are there things that you can do to improve – or update your executive presence?
Business Growth Coaching: Worth it? Or Waste of Time? podcast cover with Randall explaining
It seems that everywhere you turn, everyone is a coach. 
In this session, we aim to demystify the coaching industry: 
•  How do you find the right coach for you? 
•  How do you get the best results? 
•  What is the difference between a consultant and a coach and where does pricing fit in? 
Delegation Skills, Leadership and Business Growth podcast cover with Randall explaining
This session will address delegation as a lever for business growth, and why it holds the key to being more effective in an age of hybrid work and rapid growth. Concepts discussed:
•  Proper way of delegating,
•  Obstacles and flip side of delegation,
•  Impact of delegating to managers and employees,
•  Setting boundaries and expectations, and much more.
Expert, Expertise, Thought Leader podcast cover with Randall smiling
As a leader, you are already an expert, and surely have expertise. But what about “Thought Leadership”?
Being a “thought leader” is a separate differentiator – and in today’s world, more strategic than ever. 
In this episode, Randall Craig – who is often referred to as a thought leader – will share ideas on how to get there.

Strategy: Strategic inputs and new concepts

Pivoting Your Organization: When and How to Change Directions podcast cover with Randall smiling
After many years of success, things are not working the way they used to. Or… You’re a start-up looking for product-market fit. Or… an opportunity presents itself, and you need to decide whether to stay the course – or jump on the opportunity. 
These situations all have to do with “The Pivot”. In this Leadership Insight episode, we’ll explore:
 Why, When, and How to make the high-stakes pivot decision, and insights into doing it successfully.
Recession-Proofing Your Organization podcast cover with Randall explaining
In this session we’ll share some very different strategies and non-traditional approaches that leaders can use to recession-proof their business. (And to preserve cash.) The question is one of cash:
•  What can you do to preserve it? 
•  How do you cut your burn rate, while still investing in critical areas? 
•  And when things are very tight, what things can you do, right now, to “find” needed cashflow? 
AI Risks and Opportunities podcast cover with Randall smiling
The opportunities offered by generative AI (i.e., ChatGPT) are extraordinary.
We see leaders experimenting with (free) AI tools in order to (mostly) save time on writing or editing.
But as a leader, do you feel you’ve cracked the nut on leveraging it to actually grow your organization?
Sounds reasonable, certainly — but can you use it to fundamentally change your business? And what about protecting your business from the risks?
Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze: Business Efficiency podcast cover with Randall smiling
This session aims to provide new perspectives on how to incorporate greater efficiencies into your operations and processes so that your growth will be smoother – and faster. Topics include:
•  Business management processes,
•  Improving productivity,
•  Getting the right people in the right seats and much more shared by Randall in this episode!
Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze: Business Efficiency podcast cover with Randall smiling
This session aims to provide new perspectives on how to incorporate greater efficiencies into your operations and processes so that your growth will be smoother – and faster. Topics include:
•  Business management processes,
•  Improving productivity,
•  Getting the right people in the right seats and much more shared by Randall in this episode!

Marketing: Efficiency, engagement, and growth

Digital Strategy and Inbound Marketing podcast cover with Randall explaining
One of the biggest drivers of business growth is Digital Strategy.
Yes, you may already have a website, email, social media, marketing automation, and a CRM. 
The fundamental question is whether your digital investments are yielding the results that you expect... Is there a better way?
Listen in to hear how we approach our digital strategy and inbound marketing.
Marketing and Competitive Advantage odcast cover with Randall smiling
Marketing takes time, costs money, and it doesn’t exist in a vacuum: your competition is ALSO doing it.
The marketplace is confused: where should they place their time, attention, and money?
In this episode, we are with Randall Craig, who is discussing a new marketing approach that CAN build competitive differentiation for your organization.
Listen to Randall's thoughts on gaining a competitive edge in the market!

People: Getting the most from your team, personal development

Creating a High-Performance Team and Work Culture podcast cover with Randall smiling
Learn practical tools and strategies to turn your corporate culture into one that retains and attracts talent, drives your business, and improves the quality of your deliverables.
•  How “good” is your corporate culture? Is it high-performing? 
•  Is it fully in sync with your external brand? 
•  No matter where your culture is now, is there a way to do better?
Developing Your Culture with Work-from-Home Teams podcast cover with Randall explaining
For many organizations, hybrid and work-from-home are here to stay, but how can leaders build a strong culture, and ensure that team members are accountable when they're not in the office?
Part of this is developing new standards for communication, collaboration, and engagement. Most of it is sharing with managers new tools and techniques to do their job: management.
Listen in to learn more, and pick up some practical tips that can help.
Upskilling Your Team: Designing Your Continuing Professional Development Strategy podcast cover with Randall smiling
This session discusses alternative CPD/CE delivery methods.
•  Learn about the pros and cons of various training options, when you should offer training altogether, and new ideas on generating alignment while upskilling your team.
•  Have you considered the impact if everyone had access to all of the training, throughout the year?  
•  And have you considered moving from a “random webinar” approach, to a more integrated offering?
Getting the Most from Your Learning and Development Budget podcast cover with Randall smiling
Learn about the pros and cons of various training options, when you should offer training altogether, and new ideas on generating alignment while upskilling your team.
•  Does your training investment really generate results and is it aligned with your strategy?
•  Does the training reinforced throughout the organization, or is it a disconnected “one-and-done” exercise?
In this episode, we are talking about Peer Masterminds. Here at the Braintrust Professional Institute, we are coaches, trainers, and facilitators. We work one-on-one coaching leaders, deliver management training to teams, and share our knowledge as keynote speakers. 
However, there is one mode of learning that many leaders have not had experience with a peer mastermind group.
Randall Craig is here today to offer insights on how to leverage a peer mastermind group.

Business Development

Business Development for Firms podcast cover with Randall explaining
Topics include:
•  Growing your firm through thought leadership.
•  Navigating the time investment required to create thought leadership vs the pressures of billable hours.
•  The shared responsibilities of Marketing, HR, and IT in the bus dev process, and
•  Business development training opportunities for professional services.
What Can You do in December for a More Successful Q1? podcast cover with Randall smiling
Topics include:
•  As you close up Q4, are there specific things that you can do to ramp up business growth for next year?
•  Are you open to new ideas that can make the difference between real success?
•  And are there important market changes that you can capitalize on moving forward?
•  How can you set the tone for a productive December?

Curious? Questions? Interested in exploring the possibilities?

Copyright © 2024, Braintrust Professional Institute and Pinetree Advisors Inc., all rights reserved.