The Outliers Inn

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About the Podcast

The Outliers Inn: "Where Do We Go From Here?" A Summary for People Who Were There and Still Aren't Sure What Happened

The Gang Attempts Slam Poetry (With Mixed Results)
JP and Mule kicked things off by doing what any serious business podcast does: planning to perform slam poetry inspired by WKRP in Cincinnati and The Partridge Family. JP fresh off delivering a keynote (and surviving the pregame), proposed dividing the poetry into paragraphs for maximum efficiency — because if you're going to be absurd, you might as well be organized about it.

Zoom Does What Zoom Does
Technical difficulties ensued, as is tradition. Cameras were adjusted, recording settings were interrogated, and Stephane eventually materialized on screen like a man who had fought through the digital ether to be there. Mule lightened the mood with a song reference from The Dukes of Hazzard, which is exactly the kind of pivot that makes this podcast what it is.

AI: Everyone's Doing It, Nobody Knows Why
The group turned to the pressing matter of artificial intelligence, where JP delivered the earth-shattering observation that companies are throwing AI at problems like confetti without any idea what parade they're throwing it for. Mule, ever the pragmatist, shared actual real-world wins — using ChatGPT for inventory control and routing — proving that some people have it figured out. Stephane's sensible suggestion: just give everyone access to the tools and let productivity sort itself out. Revolutionary.

The Lights Are On (But For How Long?)
The conversation took an existential turn when JP raised the uncomfortable question of where all the electricity for our AI-powered future is actually going to come from. The group surveyed the landscape — nuclear, wind, fusion, batteries — with the energy of people who absolutely cannot solve this problem but feel strongly that someone should.

Life Updates Nobody Asked For (But Everyone Appreciated)
Don "The Beer Man" revealed his end-of-year plans involving "marketing meetings" (wink-wink, nudge, nudge) and possibly a new role. Stephane has a performance review coming up, which feels brave to mention on a recorded podcast. Steve had just returned from Santa Barbara, where the weather was apparently not cooperating. Relatable content all around.

Until Next Time
The recording probably worked. Holiday wishes were exchanged. Travel logistics were debated. Past interactions were fondly referenced. The future remains uncertain, but The Outliers Inn will be there to discuss it — possibly in slam poetry form.

Video Version

About the Podcast

Welcome to The Outliers Inn: Where Failure Is a Launchpad and Redundancy Is a "Plot Twist!"

Greetings, fellow misfits and spreadsheet-scarred consultants! Welcome to another delightfully dysfunctional episode of The Outliers Inn, the podcast where career detours are not only expected—they're celebrated.

This episode's theme? "Falling Up"—because sometimes, getting fired, downsized, or reorganized out of existence is just what the career doctor ordered. Around here, we call that "promotion by ejection."

Host JP kicks things off by revealing that nearly everyone who's ever left his business has ended up in a better job—with one unfortunate exception who found a career in "advanced bottle studies." The rest? Gainfully employed, often far away from JP's watchful eye. Coincidence? Hmm.

Co-host Mule joins in with tales of career exits both glorious and absurd, usually triggered by someone with fewer qualifications and more PowerPoint slides. Together, they reflect on their podcast's redundant recording setup—because once you lose a great episode to the digital void, you get paranoid. (Yes, they hit "record" this time. Probably.)

Naturally, things veer wildly into failure analysis, and Boeing takes center stage. JP points to the company's shift from engineers to "spreadsheet heads" as the beginning of the end. If you wear a tie and carry Excel but not a wrench, you might be the problem. Mule highlights Boeing's outsourcing of 80% of the 777 project to Japan, likening it to an IKEA plane kit: "Some assembly required."

Then the conversation shifts from corporate crashes to personal pivots.

Andy from the UK has turned redundancy into a career strategy, popping out of companies and back into employment with enviable ease. His superpower? Optimism and a short memory. Pete, whose resume reads like a consultant-themed game of Mad Libs, has "fallen up" so often it's practically his brand.

Stephane, meanwhile, pivoted 180 degrees from managing people to influencing them—less stress, fewer spreadsheets, more sanity. When asked if he's ever helped someone else fall up (say, by firing them so hard they landed in a better job), he pleads the fifth, politely.

Talk turns to salary compression. JP's laments about "Why is the newbie making the same as the ten-year vet who hasn't cried in six months?" Mule warns this is how companies hemorrhage talent. Pete adds that self-worth can't be printed on a paycheck alone, especially when HR still treats you like you need a hall pass to be valuable.

Then comes the elephant in the room: education. Back in the '80s, guidance counselors only had one suggestion: college. Trade schools? Actual job skills? Not a whisper. Andy discusses the fallout from the UK's push to send half the country to university, resulting in massive debt and degrees in "Unicorn Philosophy."

Pete talks about mentoring youth in the health service, helping them believe in themselves despite HR's paper-based skepticism. Mule shares his own parenting split: one child in college, another thriving in a trade. His takeaway? Success isn't one-size-fits-all. It's whatever fits you.

As the pub doors begin to creak closed (though let's be honest, The Outliers Inn rarely ends so much as wanders off), JP reflects on his father's final "falling up"—into retirement, where golf clubs and afternoon naps await. Not bad, really.

Mule, ever the realist, closes with sage advice: Leadership matters, failure teaches, and decisions—like Band-Aids—are best ripped off quickly.

JP wraps with a thank-you, a wink, and the empty promise that next time they'll stay on topic (as if). So pour a pint, pull up a virtual stool, and remember: getting let go might just be life's way of letting you level up.

And yes, they hit record. Probably.

Give a listen!

Video Version

About the Podcast

The conversation took off like the flyover of the Thunderbirds at Super Bowl LIV, bouncing between the thrilling game's overtime drama and what got into Kelce's shorts; ending with Mule and JP diving into the excitement of the game and pondering how the new rules could shake things up.

The conversation quickly turned to the theme of the gathering; Artificial Intelligence (AI). JP wondered how it's possible to have Artificial Intelligence when we haven't mastered real intelligence. Even Ricky Gervais' jabs at the intelligence of the "average person on the street", where he makes the statement that the average person on the streets is stupid, so don't ask them.

Soon, all nonsense aside (well, most nonsense... some nonsense?) the subject which is the theme of this episode finally entrenched itself; from customs brokerage, content creation, and voice recognition. JP and Mule sparred over whether AI-generated content could truly hold its own, whether it's crafting web articles or sorting through customs forms. They even scratched their heads over the moral maze of AI; worrying about biases and fairness.

But wait, there's more! The talk then turned to AI's potential in saving lives and solving big scientific puzzles, like sniffing out cancer early and crunching through mountains of data. Of course, worries about AI taking over our jobs popped up, but everyone agreed: humans and AI can be a dream team if we play our cards right.

Then came the deep dive into how AI is shaking up industries like manufacturing and pharma, with automation creeping in but also bringing promises of supercharged productivity and smarter decisions.

Through it all, there was a healthy dose of doubt about AI's superhero status and plenty of talk about the ethics of it all. Everyone agreed: AI needs a good teacher, a pat on the back now and then, and a watchful human eye to keep it on the straight and narrow.

The chatter hammered home one big idea: AI and humanity are like dance partners, spinning through the world together. It's a tricky tango, but with the right moves, we can waltz into a future where AI makes life better for all of us.

Give a listen!

Video Version

About the Podcast

Welp, to start-off the year, JP pulled a major boner. We got together for this session on January 8th and it was a pretty good session; that is, until JP realized he forgot to hit the "record" button at the end of the session when he went to turn the recording off… DOH!

So, you will understand the much deserved razzing at the beginning of the session as everyone takes turns bustin' on JP.

Mule starts us off with a prediction that the robotics team that he coaches will crush all the other teams on their way to victory in the Chesapeake District. But his other prediction (albeit, a prediction that affects very few people) is the number of companies that are going to be scratching their heads over the changes in how research and development investments and expenses are treated.

Peter joins us and shares that he has had a poor go of it fishing for carp, they aren't biting. JP asks if he eats the carp, and Peter shares his recipe. You clean the carp and wrap it around an ash stick and bake it in the oven for an hour. Then you throw the fish away and eat the stick.

A real trooper, Don joins us all the way from China where he is commissioning a machine for a customer and visiting other vendors while there. His big prediction is it will be the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens in the Superbowl, and that it will end in a tie; a claim he refused to abandon even though the Superbowl could never end in a tie.

So that means we have guests who are from scattered places across the globe. There is Stephane in France (where it was 1800h), Peter from the United Kingdom (where it was 1700h), Donna and JP in New York, Mule in Virginia (all from 1200h), and Don in China (where it was 0100h, the next day) on this session.

Stephane predicts that every session at The Outliers Inn will start with everyone reminding JP to hit the "record" button. He also muses what will happen when AI meets quantum computing; and this sets the subject thread for the rest of the session; predictions regarding AI and sharing hopes and dreams as well as the good, the bad, and the ugly.

JP shares that he predicts copywriters will be challenged to remain gainfully employed. He is already using ChatGPT to create or refine webpages and other marketing collateral. But is not satisfied the capabilities can replace a writer who has established a writing style (he calls it a writer's "voice"). And, of course, he is always wary of "deep fakes" in an age where people already don't trust what they are seeing in the news.

The discussion gets as varied as it is deep; deep what, is the question. Give a listen.

Oh, and assuming everything in play proceeds on its present trajectory and nothing new or major is introduced, JP boldly predicts Donald Trump will be re-elected President.

Give a listen!

Video Version

About the Podcast

Welcome to another episode of The Outliers Inn

With it being near the end of another year the theme of this episode is endings and beginnings where we will speak with our guests about what might have ended for them this past year and what they look forward to beginning in the next.

We have a few new guests at The Outliers Inn; in addition to the regular irregular Stéphane from Belgium and your cohosts JP and Mule, Donna from upstate New York and Peter from the UK have joined us. Unfortunately Don the beer man is on assignment in Milwaukee and will not be able to join us today.

The episode starts with a technical challenge with Mule dropping from the session. But as they say in theater the show must go on. So, JP begins the episode without him only to have mule rejoin a few minutes into the program.

JP shares some wisdom which he gained while seated at Bryant park in New York City having a legal beverage and listening to the music. While sitting there minding his own business a bird dropped a turd on his table. The wisdom is to refrain from looking up.

Donna shares a rather bold decision in leaving the comfort and security of a regular paycheck as a senior executive and starting her own ventures; with all the emotions that went into making that decision. And Mule shares his making a similar decision some years prior. Unlike JP who started his business when he had nothing to lose, both Donna and Mule started their businesses when they were well into adulthood and when the decision carried considerable risk.

Stéphane shared that he has moved into a senior leadership position with his company and is learning how to navigate the changes that come along with it. And JP and Stéphane shared with the guests their recent meet up in Strasbourg at the Christmas market and what a pleasure it was; and the hunt for the Strasbourg Glühwein mug.

Peter, being the only retiree on the show, is having a random wonder for what the German phrase for "Charcuterie Board" might be (it's "Schneidebrett". When pressed why, he shares that he is having a plate of German meats and was just wondering. He also shares how he has taken up fishing as a hobby and that he's getting more involved in the Boy Scouts. It keeps him busy and out of trouble.

All in, an enjoyable and fun conversation.

Give a listen!