May 12, 2021 • 26 mins
In this week's episode we welcome Stacey St. John to the podcast. We start out by diving into how Podio's flexibility has meant their business processes could be mapped and managed effectively (better than any tool out there) and bookend the conversation by talking about how we have helped them externalise their amazing data from Podio into client facing dashboards and reporting tools.
This is a wonderful chance to hear from someone who has driven the Podio implementation throughout her business and how she has managed to leverage the power and flexibility of Podio to help them grow their business internationally. It's a great insight into both the process of building Podio and the opportunities that present to you once you are truly Powered by Podio!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Narrator (00:00):
Welcome to powered by podio automation is everything.
supercharge your business withpodio. Get ready for another
episode of supercharged withJordan Samuel Fleming your
weekly dive into the awesomeimpact workflow and automation
you can have on your businesswhen it's powered by podio. Join
(00:22):
us each week as we learn fromthe top podio partners in the
world as we investigate systemintegrations and add ons and
hear from real business ownerswho have implemented podio into
their business. Now, join yourhost Jordan Samuel Fleming, CEO
of game changers for this week'sepisode.
Jordan Fleming (00:46):
Hey, everybody, and welcome to this week's
episode of supercharge. I'm yourhost, Jordan Samuel Fleming here
to talk all about the power ofworkflow and automation, when
your business is powered bypodio. Now, this week, I'm
delighted to welcome an oldfriend Stacy, St. JOHN, Stacy
and her company MRI serviceshave been clients of game
changes for quite a while now.
And we sort of book in thisconversation, we start with
(01:08):
really a discussion around someof the complexities of their
business process, which podiobeing so flexible, allowed us to
build into their system and, andthat they can continue to
develop and change and upgradeand iterate on to and and really
how podio structure helps thatout. And we On the flip side, we
(01:31):
talk a little about one of ournewest projects, which them,
which is about taking the datathat they have in podio, this
amazing resource of businessprocess, lead data and
externalising that, of taking itfrom podio. And showing it to
clients in graphical forms,reporting forms, giving the
(01:51):
clients the ability to filterand sort and view and all these
sorts of things, really shows,you know, two sides of podio as
it can interact with yourbusiness, you know, that ability
to control quite a complexprocess, which is what podio I
think does want, you know, oneof the best things in the world.
But also then, to let the righthorse be for the right course,
(02:16):
you know, don't try and forcethings into being in podio.
When, for instance, you can takethe data that works so well as a
process inside podio andexternalise that into for
instance, what we've built,which is a a client dashboard
and reporting tool, really funconversation. Great to hear
their journey in podio, and howthey're continuing to evolve it.
(02:38):
And we started up just catchingup a bit on where we are and
having been at home for the lastlittle while because of the
pandemic. Let's drop in.
Absolutely. Well. Welcome to thepodcast. So we'll obviously the
first thing we're gonna do is,since not everybody in the world
(03:02):
knows who you are yet, I knowit's a shock. So why don't you
just introduce yourself alittle, and, and the company?
Sure. So
Stacey St.John (03:13):
my name is Stacy St. JOHN, and I'm the director
of client success for Mr. Ray.
And MRI is a global advertisingproduction consulting firm. So
we work with major advertisersall around the globe, to help
them maximise the value of theirproduction spending. So any out
of pocket costs when it comesto, you know, creating their
(03:38):
marketing assets. We help driveout, you know, any extraneous
incremental spending only, youknow, having them focus their
dollars on where they're gonnaget the maximum benefit from
them. So
Jordan Fleming (03:55):
yeah, and you guys work all over the world.
Unknown (03:59):
All over the world.
Stacey St.John (04:00):
We do, you know, and it's funny that you say that
because we have actively been,you know, expanding our, our
reach globally. And we tried totake a really strategic approach
and the way that we have lookedat globalising, and we focus on
(04:24):
putting boots on the groundwhere our clients need them. And
so it allows us to really have alaser focused model when it
comes to recruiting top talentin in local markets and
retaining top talent as well.
So, anyway,
Jordan Fleming (04:42):
well and the the purpose of the podcast primary
purpose is to talk podio so youguys, you guys are using podio
for a while.
Stacey St.John (04:55):
This podio journey started if I'm not
mistaken back then. 2018 so Ithink it's, yeah, little three
years ish.
Jordan Fleming (05:06):
I was gonna say I'm the I should really not be
the host of a podcast. Cuz mymemory, like, I know you guys
podio has been around for awhile. But so you guys now, how
did you initially find out aboutpodio? Because not, that's
always an interesting thing,because, you know, it is still a
(05:27):
niche product comparatively?
Stacey St.John (05:29):
Yes. So we had previous to finding podio, we
had implemented ShareFile as ourmain server, we have multiple
locations, again, all around theworld. And so ShareFile allowed
us away to connect, you know,and store documents as a
(05:53):
document hub, if you will. And,you know, the thing that we also
appreciated about ShareFile isit's awesome security. And, you
know, that's something that wasvery important for us to have
for our clients. So when we,when I recognise the need that,
whoa, we really need a system toallow our departments and our
(06:19):
geographies to talk to eachother and automate workflows and
streamline ways of working. Igot on Google and started
Googling systems that wouldintegrate with ShareFile. And
that's how I found podio.
Jordan Fleming (06:37):
Wow, that that you mean maybe one of the that's
a that's a that's a small usecase there. Comparatively well,
Citrix will be delighted Ishould pass this test. Oh, wow.
So So you were ShareFile first,and then I get so so then you
reached out? Did you reach outtransit Citrix?
Stacey St.John (06:59):
Yes, I reached out to Citrix and told them what
I was looking for. I hadchickened out. I mean, I was
travelling for work. And I was Iremember I was in a hotel room.
And I took out a trial accountof podio. And I got in there.
And I was like, well, this lookscool. But I have no idea how to
set it up. So I reached out toCitrix and of course, they were
(07:24):
the ones that connected me toyou guys. So
Jordan Fleming (07:27):
Wow. So and then. So you know, podio,
obviously for, I guess, threeyears you've been using and I
think they're to me knowing yoursystem. relatively well.
Although I wouldn't say I knowthe best in our company.
Certainly, I there are twothings that really interested me
(07:47):
about your journey and podio.
Number one, is the way youtranslated the business process
into podio. And I want to touchon that. And I want to hear a
bit about that. Because you guyshave quite a involved process
with a lot of moving parts and alot of elements to it. So that's
one bit and then I'm veryinterested in finding out
(08:10):
obviously without naming anynames unless that you are able
to name them and I so I won'tname any. But you've recently
started to take the data frompodio, and externalise it. And I
think that brings some reallyinteresting use cases that you
have specifically. So I'd reallylike to book end our chat around
those two things. Because Ithink they're fascinating. And I
(08:32):
think they they will resonatewith people. So can we start
maybe with the, you know, thethe bringing, you know, the
bringing of the business processinto podio. what that was like
the pain the good, the bad,because there's good, there's
bad, there's legalese. There'sfun. What was it like from your
end?
Stacey St.John (08:52):
You can't see the grey hairs because I do
colour my first spoke. No, inall seriousness, you know, one
of the things that makesEmirates unique is we have a
very flexible, agile way ofworking again, we work with very
large clients all around theworld, and all have really
(09:13):
unique needs. And we do our bestto serve those unique needs in
the most efficient way. Right.
But what that means is there'snot one way of doing things
within our own operation. And sowhen I, I remember Jordan, we
started drawing out the processon lucid chart, if I'm not
(09:38):
mistaken, and that turned intoone big old massive workflow
chart. But I really tried to goto each department within our
company and say, just walk methrough day to day What happens
(09:58):
who communicates with you? Whendoes that communication occur?
How is it occurring today?
Right, I kind of knew how itwas, how it was occurring, but
what the timing looks like, andwhat did they need, in order to
do their jobs better, moreefficiently, you know, and
(10:19):
streamline that communicationbetween departments. So I spent
a fair amount of time just doingresearch internally within our
organisation, and tried to mapthat out. Okay. Um, and before I
actually got the sign off, tomove forward with podio, I
(10:40):
presented to our executiveleadership team and said, here's
the vision, right? Um, and lookat all the efficiencies, we
could drive by automating thisset of workflows. And, you know,
as you might imagine, that'sevolved quite a bit, as you
know, over the last three years,so it's kind of like, once you
(11:04):
dip your toe in the water, andyou, you know, you understand
how great it is to have things,you know, move at the speed of
lightning, and not have to findsomething in your inbox. Or you
can pull up a document, youknow, with the click of a
button, new ideas start toformulate to so I think that
(11:26):
initial process design, gettingit into podio was documenting it
after, you know, having a lot ofinternal research, but then also
sharing that out with you andwith Andrew, and you helped me
really vet that process. Right.
And, and brought up well, whatif this happens? And what about
(11:48):
this scenario, right? So we hadto kind of think through what
was on the paper and look atadditional ways that situations
might arise and how we wouldhandle those. Because
Jordan Fleming (12:06):
you guys, you guys have what I would class as
a relatively, like you, you werenot you were coming to it with a
relatively large process need,even if it wasn't, as you say,
fully documented, or, you know,like, and I don't mean that like
it wasn't a but you're not andnot, most companies don't just
(12:28):
have really, really welldesigned processes that are
written out. I mean, that's justunless you're an engineering
firm. It's just not, you know,and it's like something business
like life critical. You justdon't tend to do that. So you
guys had a relatively large, andI would sing as you find it
flexible process, like, yeah,this, but in this case, that and
(12:51):
well, you know, I used to saylike, Okay, if the moon's full,
we're gonna do this. But if it'sa Tuesday, then it you know, and
that's but the the I think funthing about your process in
podio, has been the relativeability within some constraints,
because you, you need constraintfor things to work, or you're
(13:12):
just, you're out, you're gone.
But the relative flexibility ofpodio to accommodate these
different things,
Stacey St.John (13:19):
is that jive with salutely? I mean, that's
actually one of my favouriteparts about podio. Because I've
worked in, you know, buildingout other systems with other
developers. And the thing that Ilove about podio. And what you
guys help me implement is thatflexibility, right? So someone
(13:45):
has a need, or a certaindepartment has a need, or a
client has a need. And I knowthat I can go to you and say,
here's what I'm trying toaccomplish. Here's an idea.
Here's my idea of how I think wecan use podio to do it. What do
you think? Right? Um, what doesAndrew think? And we again, we
(14:06):
kind of flush that out beforeputting that into action. But I
think having a system that hasthat modularity and flexibility.
I mean, hands down, it's been acomplete game changer.
Unknown (14:21):
Oh, my gosh, I've
Stacey St.John (14:27):
said it, and I'm like, Hey,
Jordan Fleming (14:29):
I'll take it.
I'll take it. I'll take it. Iknow, I can't ever change the
name of a company, but you cannever change it. And just, I
mean, I think one of theinteresting things about your
guy's business as well, is thatyou do have a sort of very
defined, set, a team set almostlike these are the people who do
(14:52):
this role. These are the peopledo this role, and these people
don't need to see what thesepeople are doing and these
people don't need to do it. Butthis bed. And I think that's one
of the things that podio hasbeen able that podio. And what
we have built around podio hasbeen able to achieve in a way
that gives everyone the best of,or at least hopefully, the web,
(15:14):
if not the best of all worlds. Avery, very strong without the
need for extraneous effort.
Stacey St.John (15:23):
Yeah, I would say, you know, podio is the core
product, right, but the rapper,what's that
Jordan Fleming (15:34):
the hub,
Stacey St.John (15:35):
the hub, there you go. And then the wraparound
that we've been able to dothrough like, our consultant
portals, you know, so we havedifferent consultants, again,
located all around the world,and different consultants are
allowed to see different thingsbased on, you know, the
(15:56):
particular client that theyserve, because, again, that data
security is critical for ourclients, right. So we have a lot
of organisations within the samecategory that we serve. So
again, having a best practicemodel to really segment and
allow people to only see whatthey're allowed to, was
(16:17):
critical, right. So I wouldconsider outside of that hub
that wrap around product anddeveloping something around
podio. To allow us to do thathas been, you know, really,
really important for us. Andit's allowed us to scale our
business more easily andefficiently because of that,
Jordan Fleming (16:40):
right. And the newest project we've just
completed and again, obviouslynot naming any names, but what I
find fascinating, or what Ithink is really gonna be
interesting for people is you soyou guys are a company that
holds a lot of data, you youhold a lot of information. And a
(17:01):
lot of information that we wehave within podio a lot of just
like caught like imagine I'mbeing as as, as kind of open as
I am. But so you guys deliverprojects for all these big
clients, you have a lot of dataaround those projects. And one
of the things that we've donevery recently is give you the
opportunity to give your clientsthis data in a very manageable
(17:26):
graphic, and and a searchable,filterable way. That is
something that's going toresonate with a lot of people,
can you tell me a little bit howthat has gone? What that's
brought you how it's working?
Stacey St.John (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, sure. So we did have a very
specific need for a veryspecific client, they were
looking for the ability to, asyou said, within a moment's
notice, look at all the datathat from the projects that we
have supported. And so, again,when I started thinking about
(18:03):
Okay, well, what's the best wayfor us to deliver on that, of
course, you know, podio was wasright there in the forefront.
And so we've built a clientportal that allows them again, a
tonne of flexibility to searchfor projects in a myriad of
(18:26):
ways. And the thing that I loveabout that client portal is it
allows them to see things fromdifferent perspectives. So not
only filter the projects in theway that they want, but then
when they get their results,they can look at a list of
projects and they can sort themin different ways. They can
(18:49):
download the, the metadata fromthose projects into a CSV and go
and slice and dice however theywant. They can also look at data
visualisations from those searchresults, literally with the
click of a button. And even beable to, you know, on the fly,
(19:13):
look at currency conversions.
And again, because we do havethat global need, that was
something that was reallyimportant to us to be able to
help our clients see data indifferent currencies very
easily. So again, you know, it'sall about identifying the, the
(19:34):
solution we're trying toaccomplish, and then having the
right resources like you andAndrew and your team to be able
to implement it, but I thinkit's also we wouldn't have been
able to do any of that if wedidn't have the right hub.
Right. So
Jordan Fleming (19:54):
when I think what's really fascinating about
this, what, for me, you know,there's so many companies out
there that look Like podio isbrilliant, obviously at being
that hub and building theprocess driven bits of your, of
your hub and, and doing that,and it is an amazing data
repository. But that ability toexternalise in a way that is
(20:19):
palatable and frictionless toother people, like clients, or
suppliers or whatever, or yourconsultants, you know, who, who
may not be who if you tried toget them into podio, it would be
friction, and it would bepainful.
Unknown (20:36):
I know,
Jordan Fleming (20:37):
right? Well, yeah. So that ability to say,
right, let's let podio do thisamazing bit of work. And let's
on top of the place this great,seamless sync between the data
that we're showing it, to me,that's something that resonates
across almost every businesstype, because it is almost
always a need to be like, Oh,you're your supplier, and I need
(20:58):
to show you the orders. You're aclient, and I need you to show
you what we've executed. Andyours is a great example of
that, I think.
Stacey St.John (21:04):
Yeah, I agree. I think it has application,
regardless of any business typeor business structure. Again, I
think the agility and theflexibility that podio brings
has, you know, enabled us to dothings that we never envisioned
when we started out three yearsago, right. And that's the cool
(21:25):
thing is that continues toevolve and grow. And and now,
you know, I have my colleaguescalling me saying, Hey, can we
track this in podio? You know,so I know fielding requests,
which is awesome, you know, andat the same time, it's, it's
(21:49):
constantly again, shifting,evolving, living, breathing
thing. Um,
Jordan Fleming (21:55):
well, I, I haven't worked with you guys,
for so long. I, you know, one ofmy bucket list things is, and
again, without naming any namesis to phase out a certain system
that you guys use, that I willnot name. And, and I think
actually the work that's gone onwith your client portal, and
with the field consultant,portal, potentially gives us a
(22:16):
model for how, because it'salways it was always the user
interface of podio, where thatother system was just, it was
just, it was gonna cause a lotof friction. Whereas I think
when you start to see theseother things, and how they push
and pull data from podio, Ithink there's potentially a
model there and and that, youknow, I think there's a real
(22:39):
power in understanding thatpodio can do brilliant things.
And then when you combine itwith an externalised resource
where you're visualising anddisplay, whether it's via logins
or whatever, right, you know,you suddenly get even more
power.
Stacey St.John (22:54):
Yeah, absolutely. And, again, I I look
at new things that are new needson our side, but new ways that
we can leverage the flexibilitythat podio brings is actually
importing data, as well as, inaddition to exporting, because I
(23:18):
won't bore your listeners withthis, you know, specifics of it.
But it is something that, youknow, again, just having that
agility to be able to getinformation into the system with
a click of a button or getinformation out of the system
with a click of a button. Itmakes everyone's lives so much
(23:42):
easier. And it also saves atonne of time, right, because
now there's one centralisedplace where people know that
they can get the informationfrom, you know, absolutely,
Jordan Fleming (23:56):
absolutely. And I think, you know, just to round
off the discussion and bring itback to ShareFile I think one of
the things as well that thatpeople don't necessarily
understand is, you know,ShareFile for those who've never
used it is, is obviously it'sit's a secure file management
system, akin to a Google Driveor a Dropbox. It's an online
(24:20):
cloud based file managementsystem with some added security
bells and whistles for businessright and, and but because of
the API connectivity in yoursystem and and others we've done
we have that ability to drag youknow to bring automatically
bring over direct one clicklinks to folders, so that you
(24:41):
can also if you are building ayou know, client portal, and you
want people to be able to see afolder of information. You don't
need to make it a frictionprocess. You can be like, hey,
click here to see the folder.
Yeah. And that's, that's huge.
Yeah, that's a really big thing.
Stacey St.John (24:59):
The other thing To again for repeatable project
types, having the ability tocreate those folder templates
that are automatically again,integrated with the projects
based on the project type hasbeen immensely helpful, for
sure.
Jordan Fleming (25:17):
Absolutely.
Well, Stacey, thanks so much forcoming on today. I think it's a
really interesting case studyaround both implementing as a
rigorous and flexible businessprocess but also how we can
externalise data. Just as afinal little bit. I will post
your link to your website.
Obviously on the podcast, Iwould encourage everyone to
(25:40):
check it out if you are doingthe things that MRI or managing
if you are managing bigadvertising budgets. hop on over
there. Oh, Stacy, Stacy, andStacy. It's been fantastic to
see you. Thanks so much forbeing here. Hey, no
Stacey St.John (25:54):
problem.
Narrator (25:56):
You've been listening to supercharged with Jordan
Samuel Fleming. Subscribe todayon iTunes, Google Play or
Spotify for your weekly diveinto how you can supercharge
your business by making itpowered by podio. Be sure to
check out our website we aregame changers.com where you can
learn more and arrange a 30minute call with Jordan daleview
(26:18):
understand how podiosupercharges you
Welcome to powered by podio automation is everything.
supercharge your business withpodio. Get ready for another
episode of supercharged withJordan Samuel Fleming your
weekly dive into the awesomeimpact workflow and automation
you can have on your businesswhen it's powered by podio. Join
(00:22):
us each week as we learn fromthe top podio partners in the
world as we investigate systemintegrations and add ons and
hear from real business ownerswho have implemented podio into
their business. Now, join yourhost Jordan Samuel Fleming, CEO
of game changers for this week'sepisode.
Jordan Fleming (00:46):
Hey, everybody, and welcome to this week's
episode of supercharge. I'm yourhost, Jordan Samuel Fleming here
to talk all about the power ofworkflow and automation, when
your business is powered bypodio. Now, this week, I'm
delighted to welcome an oldfriend Stacy, St. JOHN, Stacy
and her company MRI serviceshave been clients of game
changes for quite a while now.
And we sort of book in thisconversation, we start with
(01:08):
really a discussion around someof the complexities of their
business process, which podiobeing so flexible, allowed us to
build into their system and, andthat they can continue to
develop and change and upgradeand iterate on to and and really
how podio structure helps thatout. And we On the flip side, we
(01:31):
talk a little about one of ournewest projects, which them,
which is about taking the datathat they have in podio, this
amazing resource of businessprocess, lead data and
externalising that, of taking itfrom podio. And showing it to
clients in graphical forms,reporting forms, giving the
(01:51):
clients the ability to filterand sort and view and all these
sorts of things, really shows,you know, two sides of podio as
it can interact with yourbusiness, you know, that ability
to control quite a complexprocess, which is what podio I
think does want, you know, oneof the best things in the world.
But also then, to let the righthorse be for the right course,
(02:16):
you know, don't try and forcethings into being in podio.
When, for instance, you can takethe data that works so well as a
process inside podio andexternalise that into for
instance, what we've built,which is a a client dashboard
and reporting tool, really funconversation. Great to hear
their journey in podio, and howthey're continuing to evolve it.
(02:38):
And we started up just catchingup a bit on where we are and
having been at home for the lastlittle while because of the
pandemic. Let's drop in.
Absolutely. Well. Welcome to thepodcast. So we'll obviously the
first thing we're gonna do is,since not everybody in the world
(03:02):
knows who you are yet, I knowit's a shock. So why don't you
just introduce yourself alittle, and, and the company?
Sure. So
Stacey St.John (03:13):
my name is Stacy St. JOHN, and I'm the director
of client success for Mr. Ray.
And MRI is a global advertisingproduction consulting firm. So
we work with major advertisersall around the globe, to help
them maximise the value of theirproduction spending. So any out
of pocket costs when it comesto, you know, creating their
(03:38):
marketing assets. We help driveout, you know, any extraneous
incremental spending only, youknow, having them focus their
dollars on where they're gonnaget the maximum benefit from
them. So
Jordan Fleming (03:55):
yeah, and you guys work all over the world.
Unknown (03:59):
All over the world.
Stacey St.John (04:00):
We do, you know, and it's funny that you say that
because we have actively been,you know, expanding our, our
reach globally. And we tried totake a really strategic approach
and the way that we have lookedat globalising, and we focus on
(04:24):
putting boots on the groundwhere our clients need them. And
so it allows us to really have alaser focused model when it
comes to recruiting top talentin in local markets and
retaining top talent as well.
So, anyway,
Jordan Fleming (04:42):
well and the the purpose of the podcast primary
purpose is to talk podio so youguys, you guys are using podio
for a while.
Stacey St.John (04:55):
This podio journey started if I'm not
mistaken back then. 2018 so Ithink it's, yeah, little three
years ish.
Jordan Fleming (05:06):
I was gonna say I'm the I should really not be
the host of a podcast. Cuz mymemory, like, I know you guys
podio has been around for awhile. But so you guys now, how
did you initially find out aboutpodio? Because not, that's
always an interesting thing,because, you know, it is still a
(05:27):
niche product comparatively?
Stacey St.John (05:29):
Yes. So we had previous to finding podio, we
had implemented ShareFile as ourmain server, we have multiple
locations, again, all around theworld. And so ShareFile allowed
us away to connect, you know,and store documents as a
(05:53):
document hub, if you will. And,you know, the thing that we also
appreciated about ShareFile isit's awesome security. And, you
know, that's something that wasvery important for us to have
for our clients. So when we,when I recognise the need that,
whoa, we really need a system toallow our departments and our
(06:19):
geographies to talk to eachother and automate workflows and
streamline ways of working. Igot on Google and started
Googling systems that wouldintegrate with ShareFile. And
that's how I found podio.
Jordan Fleming (06:37):
Wow, that that you mean maybe one of the that's
a that's a that's a small usecase there. Comparatively well,
Citrix will be delighted Ishould pass this test. Oh, wow.
So So you were ShareFile first,and then I get so so then you
reached out? Did you reach outtransit Citrix?
Stacey St.John (06:59):
Yes, I reached out to Citrix and told them what
I was looking for. I hadchickened out. I mean, I was
travelling for work. And I was Iremember I was in a hotel room.
And I took out a trial accountof podio. And I got in there.
And I was like, well, this lookscool. But I have no idea how to
set it up. So I reached out toCitrix and of course, they were
(07:24):
the ones that connected me toyou guys. So
Jordan Fleming (07:27):
Wow. So and then. So you know, podio,
obviously for, I guess, threeyears you've been using and I
think they're to me knowing yoursystem. relatively well.
Although I wouldn't say I knowthe best in our company.
Certainly, I there are twothings that really interested me
(07:47):
about your journey and podio.
Number one, is the way youtranslated the business process
into podio. And I want to touchon that. And I want to hear a
bit about that. Because you guyshave quite a involved process
with a lot of moving parts and alot of elements to it. So that's
one bit and then I'm veryinterested in finding out
(08:10):
obviously without naming anynames unless that you are able
to name them and I so I won'tname any. But you've recently
started to take the data frompodio, and externalise it. And I
think that brings some reallyinteresting use cases that you
have specifically. So I'd reallylike to book end our chat around
those two things. Because Ithink they're fascinating. And I
(08:32):
think they they will resonatewith people. So can we start
maybe with the, you know, thethe bringing, you know, the
bringing of the business processinto podio. what that was like
the pain the good, the bad,because there's good, there's
bad, there's legalese. There'sfun. What was it like from your
end?
Stacey St.John (08:52):
You can't see the grey hairs because I do
colour my first spoke. No, inall seriousness, you know, one
of the things that makesEmirates unique is we have a
very flexible, agile way ofworking again, we work with very
large clients all around theworld, and all have really
(09:13):
unique needs. And we do our bestto serve those unique needs in
the most efficient way. Right.
But what that means is there'snot one way of doing things
within our own operation. And sowhen I, I remember Jordan, we
started drawing out the processon lucid chart, if I'm not
(09:38):
mistaken, and that turned intoone big old massive workflow
chart. But I really tried to goto each department within our
company and say, just walk methrough day to day What happens
(09:58):
who communicates with you? Whendoes that communication occur?
How is it occurring today?
Right, I kind of knew how itwas, how it was occurring, but
what the timing looks like, andwhat did they need, in order to
do their jobs better, moreefficiently, you know, and
(10:19):
streamline that communicationbetween departments. So I spent
a fair amount of time just doingresearch internally within our
organisation, and tried to mapthat out. Okay. Um, and before I
actually got the sign off, tomove forward with podio, I
(10:40):
presented to our executiveleadership team and said, here's
the vision, right? Um, and lookat all the efficiencies, we
could drive by automating thisset of workflows. And, you know,
as you might imagine, that'sevolved quite a bit, as you
know, over the last three years,so it's kind of like, once you
(11:04):
dip your toe in the water, andyou, you know, you understand
how great it is to have things,you know, move at the speed of
lightning, and not have to findsomething in your inbox. Or you
can pull up a document, youknow, with the click of a
button, new ideas start toformulate to so I think that
(11:26):
initial process design, gettingit into podio was documenting it
after, you know, having a lot ofinternal research, but then also
sharing that out with you andwith Andrew, and you helped me
really vet that process. Right.
And, and brought up well, whatif this happens? And what about
(11:48):
this scenario, right? So we hadto kind of think through what
was on the paper and look atadditional ways that situations
might arise and how we wouldhandle those. Because
Jordan Fleming (12:06):
you guys, you guys have what I would class as
a relatively, like you, you werenot you were coming to it with a
relatively large process need,even if it wasn't, as you say,
fully documented, or, you know,like, and I don't mean that like
it wasn't a but you're not andnot, most companies don't just
(12:28):
have really, really welldesigned processes that are
written out. I mean, that's justunless you're an engineering
firm. It's just not, you know,and it's like something business
like life critical. You justdon't tend to do that. So you
guys had a relatively large, andI would sing as you find it
flexible process, like, yeah,this, but in this case, that and
(12:51):
well, you know, I used to saylike, Okay, if the moon's full,
we're gonna do this. But if it'sa Tuesday, then it you know, and
that's but the the I think funthing about your process in
podio, has been the relativeability within some constraints,
because you, you need constraintfor things to work, or you're
(13:12):
just, you're out, you're gone.
But the relative flexibility ofpodio to accommodate these
different things,
Stacey St.John (13:19):
is that jive with salutely? I mean, that's
actually one of my favouriteparts about podio. Because I've
worked in, you know, buildingout other systems with other
developers. And the thing that Ilove about podio. And what you
guys help me implement is thatflexibility, right? So someone
(13:45):
has a need, or a certaindepartment has a need, or a
client has a need. And I knowthat I can go to you and say,
here's what I'm trying toaccomplish. Here's an idea.
Here's my idea of how I think wecan use podio to do it. What do
you think? Right? Um, what doesAndrew think? And we again, we
(14:06):
kind of flush that out beforeputting that into action. But I
think having a system that hasthat modularity and flexibility.
I mean, hands down, it's been acomplete game changer.
Unknown (14:21):
Oh, my gosh, I've
Stacey St.John (14:27):
said it, and I'm like, Hey,
Jordan Fleming (14:29):
I'll take it.
I'll take it. I'll take it. Iknow, I can't ever change the
name of a company, but you cannever change it. And just, I
mean, I think one of theinteresting things about your
guy's business as well, is thatyou do have a sort of very
defined, set, a team set almostlike these are the people who do
(14:52):
this role. These are the peopledo this role, and these people
don't need to see what thesepeople are doing and these
people don't need to do it. Butthis bed. And I think that's one
of the things that podio hasbeen able that podio. And what
we have built around podio hasbeen able to achieve in a way
that gives everyone the best of,or at least hopefully, the web,
(15:14):
if not the best of all worlds. Avery, very strong without the
need for extraneous effort.
Stacey St.John (15:23):
Yeah, I would say, you know, podio is the core
product, right, but the rapper,what's that
Jordan Fleming (15:34):
the hub,
Stacey St.John (15:35):
the hub, there you go. And then the wraparound
that we've been able to dothrough like, our consultant
portals, you know, so we havedifferent consultants, again,
located all around the world,and different consultants are
allowed to see different thingsbased on, you know, the
(15:56):
particular client that theyserve, because, again, that data
security is critical for ourclients, right. So we have a lot
of organisations within the samecategory that we serve. So
again, having a best practicemodel to really segment and
allow people to only see whatthey're allowed to, was
(16:17):
critical, right. So I wouldconsider outside of that hub
that wrap around product anddeveloping something around
podio. To allow us to do thathas been, you know, really,
really important for us. Andit's allowed us to scale our
business more easily andefficiently because of that,
Jordan Fleming (16:40):
right. And the newest project we've just
completed and again, obviouslynot naming any names, but what I
find fascinating, or what Ithink is really gonna be
interesting for people is you soyou guys are a company that
holds a lot of data, you youhold a lot of information. And a
(17:01):
lot of information that we wehave within podio a lot of just
like caught like imagine I'mbeing as as, as kind of open as
I am. But so you guys deliverprojects for all these big
clients, you have a lot of dataaround those projects. And one
of the things that we've donevery recently is give you the
opportunity to give your clientsthis data in a very manageable
(17:26):
graphic, and and a searchable,filterable way. That is
something that's going toresonate with a lot of people,
can you tell me a little bit howthat has gone? What that's
brought you how it's working?
Stacey St.John (17:40):
Yeah, yeah, sure. So we did have a very
specific need for a veryspecific client, they were
looking for the ability to, asyou said, within a moment's
notice, look at all the datathat from the projects that we
have supported. And so, again,when I started thinking about
(18:03):
Okay, well, what's the best wayfor us to deliver on that, of
course, you know, podio was wasright there in the forefront.
And so we've built a clientportal that allows them again, a
tonne of flexibility to searchfor projects in a myriad of
(18:26):
ways. And the thing that I loveabout that client portal is it
allows them to see things fromdifferent perspectives. So not
only filter the projects in theway that they want, but then
when they get their results,they can look at a list of
projects and they can sort themin different ways. They can
(18:49):
download the, the metadata fromthose projects into a CSV and go
and slice and dice however theywant. They can also look at data
visualisations from those searchresults, literally with the
click of a button. And even beable to, you know, on the fly,
(19:13):
look at currency conversions.
And again, because we do havethat global need, that was
something that was reallyimportant to us to be able to
help our clients see data indifferent currencies very
easily. So again, you know, it'sall about identifying the, the
(19:34):
solution we're trying toaccomplish, and then having the
right resources like you andAndrew and your team to be able
to implement it, but I thinkit's also we wouldn't have been
able to do any of that if wedidn't have the right hub.
Right. So
Jordan Fleming (19:54):
when I think what's really fascinating about
this, what, for me, you know,there's so many companies out
there that look Like podio isbrilliant, obviously at being
that hub and building theprocess driven bits of your, of
your hub and, and doing that,and it is an amazing data
repository. But that ability toexternalise in a way that is
(20:19):
palatable and frictionless toother people, like clients, or
suppliers or whatever, or yourconsultants, you know, who, who
may not be who if you tried toget them into podio, it would be
friction, and it would bepainful.
Unknown (20:36):
I know,
Jordan Fleming (20:37):
right? Well, yeah. So that ability to say,
right, let's let podio do thisamazing bit of work. And let's
on top of the place this great,seamless sync between the data
that we're showing it, to me,that's something that resonates
across almost every businesstype, because it is almost
always a need to be like, Oh,you're your supplier, and I need
(20:58):
to show you the orders. You're aclient, and I need you to show
you what we've executed. Andyours is a great example of
that, I think.
Stacey St.John (21:04):
Yeah, I agree. I think it has application,
regardless of any business typeor business structure. Again, I
think the agility and theflexibility that podio brings
has, you know, enabled us to dothings that we never envisioned
when we started out three yearsago, right. And that's the cool
(21:25):
thing is that continues toevolve and grow. And and now,
you know, I have my colleaguescalling me saying, Hey, can we
track this in podio? You know,so I know fielding requests,
which is awesome, you know, andat the same time, it's, it's
(21:49):
constantly again, shifting,evolving, living, breathing
thing. Um,
Jordan Fleming (21:55):
well, I, I haven't worked with you guys,
for so long. I, you know, one ofmy bucket list things is, and
again, without naming any namesis to phase out a certain system
that you guys use, that I willnot name. And, and I think
actually the work that's gone onwith your client portal, and
with the field consultant,portal, potentially gives us a
(22:16):
model for how, because it'salways it was always the user
interface of podio, where thatother system was just, it was
just, it was gonna cause a lotof friction. Whereas I think
when you start to see theseother things, and how they push
and pull data from podio, Ithink there's potentially a
model there and and that, youknow, I think there's a real
(22:39):
power in understanding thatpodio can do brilliant things.
And then when you combine itwith an externalised resource
where you're visualising anddisplay, whether it's via logins
or whatever, right, you know,you suddenly get even more
power.
Stacey St.John (22:54):
Yeah, absolutely. And, again, I I look
at new things that are new needson our side, but new ways that
we can leverage the flexibilitythat podio brings is actually
importing data, as well as, inaddition to exporting, because I
(23:18):
won't bore your listeners withthis, you know, specifics of it.
But it is something that, youknow, again, just having that
agility to be able to getinformation into the system with
a click of a button or getinformation out of the system
with a click of a button. Itmakes everyone's lives so much
(23:42):
easier. And it also saves atonne of time, right, because
now there's one centralisedplace where people know that
they can get the informationfrom, you know, absolutely,
Jordan Fleming (23:56):
absolutely. And I think, you know, just to round
off the discussion and bring itback to ShareFile I think one of
the things as well that thatpeople don't necessarily
understand is, you know,ShareFile for those who've never
used it is, is obviously it'sit's a secure file management
system, akin to a Google Driveor a Dropbox. It's an online
(24:20):
cloud based file managementsystem with some added security
bells and whistles for businessright and, and but because of
the API connectivity in yoursystem and and others we've done
we have that ability to drag youknow to bring automatically
bring over direct one clicklinks to folders, so that you
(24:41):
can also if you are building ayou know, client portal, and you
want people to be able to see afolder of information. You don't
need to make it a frictionprocess. You can be like, hey,
click here to see the folder.
Yeah. And that's, that's huge.
Yeah, that's a really big thing.
Stacey St.John (24:59):
The other thing To again for repeatable project
types, having the ability tocreate those folder templates
that are automatically again,integrated with the projects
based on the project type hasbeen immensely helpful, for
sure.
Jordan Fleming (25:17):
Absolutely.
Well, Stacey, thanks so much forcoming on today. I think it's a
really interesting case studyaround both implementing as a
rigorous and flexible businessprocess but also how we can
externalise data. Just as afinal little bit. I will post
your link to your website.
Obviously on the podcast, Iwould encourage everyone to
(25:40):
check it out if you are doingthe things that MRI or managing
if you are managing bigadvertising budgets. hop on over
there. Oh, Stacy, Stacy, andStacy. It's been fantastic to
see you. Thanks so much forbeing here. Hey, no
Stacey St.John (25:54):
problem.
Narrator (25:56):
You've been listening to supercharged with Jordan
Samuel Fleming. Subscribe todayon iTunes, Google Play or
Spotify for your weekly diveinto how you can supercharge
your business by making itpowered by podio. Be sure to
check out our website we aregame changers.com where you can
learn more and arrange a 30minute call with Jordan daleview
(26:18):
understand how podiosupercharges you
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