Austin, John, and Amer discuss their Christmas plans and the importance of work-life balance. Austin is looking forward to a work trip in January where he can catch up on sleep, while Amer and John share their perspectives on maintaining healthy boundaries and avoiding burnout.

The group explores Amer's tendencies to be slow to respond to messages and calls, and the impact this has on his relationships. They discuss strategies for Amer to be more responsive and transparent, while acknowledging the challenges of balancing multiple priorities.

Amer shares that his business has made significant progress in developing a more effective sales process, including training closers, implementing a coaching-based approach, and creating systems to better track and follow up with leads. This has led to improved closing rates and operational efficiency.

Despite a temporary dip in sales, Amer has invested in building out the business infrastructure, including hiring new roles, improving marketing and lead generation, and reducing his direct involvement in coaching. He believes these changes will drive long-term scalability and profitability.

The group discusses Austin's son Henry, who is significantly larger and more physically imposing than John's son, leading to speculation about their future athletic potential and genetic differences.

• Rydel is overhauling its coaching model from a siloed, meeting-heavy structure to a single-coach model, freeing up franchisee time and focusing support on their weakest areas.

• The new model combines generalist coaches with on-demand Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for deep expertise, using a "traffic light" KPI dashboard to quickly identify problem areas.

• The CEO's recent meeting demonstrated a powerful moderation technique: enforcing a strict agenda and no-slides rule to cut meeting time by ~50% while increasing critical discussion.

• A debate on franchising vs. corporate-owned growth highlighted the trade-off between rapid expansion (franchising) and higher profit margins (corporate), with the key differentiator being the owner-operator's long-term commitment.

• Austin owns two of Rydel's eight strategic initiatives:

  1. File Drive Cleanup:

     • Problem: An informal Google Drive system with incorrect permissions and redundant documents became unmanageable for the 80-person team.

     • Solution: Migrate all files to a new "Shared File Library" with G Suite-managed permission groups, creating a single source of truth and a virtual ops manual.

  2. Coaching Team Development:

     • Problem: The previous model of specialized coaches (sales, production, business) led to redundant meetings for high-performing franchisees and failed to focus support where it was most needed.

     • Solution: Implement a new model with a single, generalist coach per franchisee, supported by a pool of on-demand SMEs for deep expertise.

• Old Model:

  • Specialized coaches (sales, production, business) met with franchisees on a fixed schedule (e.g., 7 meetings/month).

  • This created redundancy for high-performers and didn't focus support on a franchisee's weakest areas.

• New Model:

  • One generalist coach per franchisee.

  • Coaches are cross-trained on all business pillars (sales, production, finance) for "whole thinking."

  • Coaches use a "traffic light" KPI dashboard to quickly identify red/yellow areas and prioritize support.

  • For deep expertise, coaches can deploy on-demand SMEs (e.g., a production manager) to provide targeted, hands-on help.

• John's Question: Why franchise, given the heavy support infrastructure, instead of growing with corporate-owned stores?

• Austin's Rationale:

  • Faster Growth: Franchising enables more rapid location expansion.

  • Owner-Operator Commitment: Franchisees have significant sunk costs (financing, 5-year minimum term), creating a stronger, longer-term commitment than an employee.

  • Entrepreneurial Profile: The model attracts owner-operators, not managers, who are willing to take on risk for greater reward.

• The CEO's meeting demonstrated a highly effective moderation technique:

  • Strict Agenda & No Slides: Enforced a firm end time and banned slide decks, forcing concise, critical discussion.

  • Efficient Moderation: Guided the conversation to stay on-topic, cutting meeting time by ~50% while increasing productivity.

  • Unique Ability: The skill to listen for what matters and remove signal from noise.

• Project Management: A Udemy course on project management.

• Hiring: Who by Geoff Smart.

• Integrity: A shared document defining integrity as:

  1. Keeping your word.

  2. Notifying all parties if you cannot keep your word.

  3. Cleaning up any resulting mess.

This Week on The Weekly Call
Co-host John Morgan III sits down with Scott Dedels, a respected crypto expert based in Kelowna, British Columbia, for a wide-ranging conversation on the realities behind digital assets.

Scott brings years of hands-on experience in cryptocurrency, blockchain fundamentals, and the evolving Web3 landscape. Known for his practical, no-hype approach, he breaks down complex topics like Bitcoin, altcoins, market cycles, and risk management in a way that’s accessible to both newcomers and seasoned investors.

In this episode, John and Scott discuss where crypto is today, common misconceptions, what people should actually be paying attention to, and how to think long-term in a fast-moving, often misunderstood industry.

Whether you’re crypto-curious or already deep in the space, this conversation delivers clear insights, grounded perspective, and real-world experience you won’t want to miss.