Systems Simplified

Adi Klevit
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  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated twice weekly

This is the Systems Simplified podcast where we feature top leaders who share stories on how to successfully systematize a business.

  1. 16 hr ago

    Why Strong Systems Matter More Than Business Goals With Brad Poulos

    In This Episode A great idea doesn't build a successful business. The systems for testing, executing, delegating, and improving that idea are what turn it into one. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Brad Poulos, entrepreneur, educator, consultant, and author, about some of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make as they start and grow their companies. Brad begins with a lesson from his own experience launching DirecPC, when he raised $2 million before ever speaking with a customer. Today, he advocates a very different approach: start with a problem, develop hypotheses, talk to potential customers, run small experiments, and validate demand before investing heavily in the solution. Adi and Brad then move into what happens once the business begins to grow. Founders have to learn to step out of day-to-day decision-making and give capable people the autonomy to solve problems themselves. Brad shares a simple technique he used when employees brought him decisions they could make on their own: he would ask what they would have done if he hadn't been available. Over time, that approach helped develop stronger, more independent team members while allowing him to spend more time working on the business. The conversation ultimately comes back to systems. Brad explains that customers don't pay businesses for their goals. They pay for the systems that produce the results those goals represent. From SOPs and team development to financing and strategic planning, entrepreneurs need repeatable ways to turn intentions into execution. Adi and Brad also discuss why critical operational knowledge needs to be captured in a living playbook so it can be transferred, maintained, and improved as the company grows.

  2. 2 days ago

    How to Prepare Your Business for AI Search With Bruno Gavino

    In This Episode AI isn't simply changing how businesses create content. It is changing how customers find businesses in the first place. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Bruno Gavino, Founder and CEO of CodeDesign, about the transition from traditional SEO to generative engine optimization and what companies need to do to remain visible as AI-powered search grows. Bruno explains that visibility can no longer depend on publishing blog posts and accumulating backlinks. AI models can evaluate a much broader digital footprint, including how a company is discussed, reviewed, referenced, and connected to other credible sources across the internet. Adi and Bruno get practical about what businesses can do now. Bruno recommends making online content easier for AI models to consume, using structured information, question-and-answer formats, summaries, transcripts, case studies, and firsthand client experiences. He also explains why authority matters. A company's expertise needs to appear consistently across its website, social channels, interviews, articles, and other digital touchpoints so AI models have enough context to understand what the company actually knows and does. The conversation then moves beyond marketing into a larger discussion about AI implementation. Adi and Bruno agree that adding AI to a disorganized business won't automatically make the organization better. Businesses first need to understand and define their workflows so they know what should be optimized or automated. Bruno points out that individual employees adopting different AI tools without an overall blueprint can actually create more fragmentation. The opportunity is to combine AI with clearly defined processes, allowing technology to improve the organization rather than simply accelerating existing disorder.

  3. 6 days ago

    Building a Business That Runs Without You With Tonya Thomas

    In This Episode Delegation isn't simply handing someone a task. Done well, it's a system that gives business owners back their time while empowering someone else to take ownership. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Tonya Thomas, Founder and CEO of Team Delegate, about what it takes for entrepreneurs to successfully delegate to an executive assistant. Tonya explains that trust is often the first obstacle, particularly for founders who built their businesses themselves or previously had a bad delegation experience. Rather than handing over everything immediately, she recommends starting with lower-risk, behind-the-scenes responsibilities and gradually expanding the assistant's role as trust develops. Adi and Tonya also explore why effective delegation is a skill that business owners need to learn. Leaders must understand what they're trying to accomplish, identify the right responsibilities to delegate, communicate expectations, and create checkpoints without slipping into micromanagement. Documented processes make this significantly easier because they allow leaders to see the workflow clearly, determine which responsibilities require their involvement, and transfer the remaining work with greater confidence. The conversation also tackles the changing role of executive assistants in the age of AI. Tonya explains that AI can accelerate administrative work, but tools still require people who can think critically, create effective prompts, evaluate outputs, and preserve the leader's authentic voice. The most effective approach is not choosing between AI and an executive assistant. It is creating a system where a capable assistant uses AI intelligently, follows documented processes, and manages the details so the entrepreneur can stay focused on higher-value work.

  4. 18 Aug

    How Structure Creates More Freedom and Creativity With Cam Lawson

    In This Episode The best systems don't make businesses less human. When designed correctly, they give people more freedom to actually be human. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Cam Lawson, entrepreneur and communication strategist, about the powerful relationship between structure, people, and communication. Cam explains how systems and frameworks influence human behavior inside organizations, while the people using those systems continually reinforce, challenge, and improve them. The goal isn't structure for structure's sake. It's creating an environment where people can focus their energy on the work they do best. Adi and Cam also explore human-centered communication in the age of AI. Using social media as an example, Cam explains why meaningful comments, curiosity, and genuine contributions can create stronger business relationships than immediately sending a cold sales message. While AI can save time and handle valuable behind-the-scenes work, Cam emphasizes that leaders should protect what makes their communication distinctive: their individual perspectives, experiences, and personalities. The conversation brings these ideas directly back to process implementation. Adi and Cam discuss why documenting a process isn't enough; employees need to understand why the process exists and how it makes their work easier. That requires communication, feedback, regular meetings, and opportunities to improve systems as they're being used. When structure and communication work together, processes can provide consistency without suppressing creativity, ultimately giving leaders and employees greater freedom to focus on meaningful work.

  5. 15 Aug

    How to Avoid the Profit Traps of Business Growth With Bill Blaser

    In This Episode Growth can look impressive from the outside while quietly creating serious problems inside the business. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Bill Blaser about what it really takes to grow a profitable, scalable company. Bill shares his experience growing a wheelchair van business from $2.5 million to $25 million and admits that the rapid expansion initially created a mess. Without the right financial understanding, planning, and systems, growth increased the pressure on the organization rather than making the business stronger. Adi and Bill explore why profitability must be understood before pursuing aggressive growth. Bill explains how companies can enter a "valley of death" when new employees, management layers, locations, benefits, and other overhead expenses increase faster than gross margin. They also discuss pricing as a major profit driver, including the importance of understanding industry benchmarks, delivering enough value to justify your pricing, training the sales team to confidently communicate that value, and aligning sales compensation with profitability. The conversation ultimately comes back to systems. Bill describes how introducing documented processes, KPIs, clear job descriptions, accountability, planning, and forecasting completely changed his own company. What once required 14-hour days eventually became a 65-employee, four-location operation that Bill could oversee through a management meeting requiring roughly 45 minutes a week. His experience demonstrates why profitability and process documentation shouldn't be postponed until a business gets bigger. They are the infrastructure that makes healthy growth possible.

  6. 12 Aug

    From Innovation to Economic Opportunity With Chaitra Vedullapalli

    In This Episode Technology can create an opportunity, but without a system for accessing that opportunity, many talented entrepreneurs are still left on the sidelines. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Chaitra Vedullapalli, President and Co-founder of Women in Cloud, about entrepreneurship, technology, leadership, and the systems required to create economic access at scale. Chaitra shares her remarkable journey from coming to the United States as an immigrant and staying home for several years to building a technology career that included Oracle and Microsoft. She describes reinvention as one of her core competencies and explains how watching the evolution of technology taught her an important lesson: innovation moves quickly, but economic opportunity does not always move with it. Adi and Chaitra explore the infrastructure required to close that gap. Chaitra defines economic access as the ability to meaningfully participate in opportunity creation and wealth generation, including access to customers, capital, distribution channels, skills, influential networks, and decision-makers. She explains how Women in Cloud built programs around workforce readiness, marketplace acceleration, strategic partnerships, and leadership to create a repeatable pathway into opportunities that founders may otherwise struggle to reach. The conversation then turns to FoundHer World, an ambitious campaign built around collective action. Chaitra explains how spotlighting founders, creating go-to-market opportunities, connecting companies with major technology and enterprise ecosystems, and producing research can collectively unlock greater economic impact. Her message is closely aligned with the power of systems: big outcomes become more achievable when leaders clearly define the problem, build the right infrastructure, create repeatable pathways, and bring the right people together around a shared purpose.

  7. 7 Aug

    Building Mentorship Systems That Create Stronger Leaders With Deneen Spaniol

    In This Episode A successful mentorship program isn't built by simply matching two people. It starts by identifying a problem and designing a system that helps people solve it together. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Deneen Spaniol, Founder and Chief Growth Strategist of Off the Block, about the systems behind effective mentorship and leadership development. Deneen shares lessons from her 35-year corporate career in logistics and supply chain, where she experienced highly process-driven environments and eventually became deeply involved in developing leadership and mentorship initiatives. Adi and Deneen explore why mentorship programs need a defined purpose before they need participants. Deneen explains her approach of starting with the problem an organization wants to solve, identifying topics that address it, and then creating cohorts where participants can safely share experiences and learn from one another. Rather than relying exclusively on a traditional senior-to-junior mentor model, peer mentorship creates opportunities for people across functions and levels to contribute knowledge and normalize shared challenges. The conversation also turns to the internal barriers that can prevent talented entrepreneurs and leaders from reaching their potential. Deneen shares her personal experience with imposter syndrome and discusses topics such as finding your voice and escaping the "likability trap." Ultimately, mentorship works best when it is intentional and structured. By creating the right process, organizations can turn individual experiences into shared learning that strengthens confidence, leadership, and long-term growth.

  8. 6 Aug

    Creating Stronger Teams Through Fair Leadership With Hanna Hasl-Kelchner

    In This Episode Great leadership isn't just about building systems—it's about creating an environment where people believe they're treated fairly. In this episode, Adi Klevit interviews Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, attorney, leadership strategist, and author of Seeking Fairness at Work, about the often-overlooked role fairness plays in organizational success. Hanna explains that many workplace conflicts, communication breakdowns, and even legal disputes stem from employees feeling unheard, undervalued, or treated unfairly—not necessarily because leaders intended to create those experiences. Adi and Hanna discuss how leadership behaviors shape workplace culture in subtle but powerful ways. Small actions such as body language, tone of voice, availability, and everyday interactions communicate messages that either build or erode trust. Hanna emphasizes that leaders often focus on operational systems while overlooking the unwritten behavioral systems that employees experience every day. The conversation also explores the relationship between documented processes and employee expectations. Adi highlights how clearly documented procedures reduce confusion and frustration by helping employees understand what success looks like. Hanna builds on this by explaining that communication, coaching, and emotional intelligence must work alongside documented systems to create a healthy workplace where employees feel supported and respected. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that fairness is not simply about policies—it's about leadership behavior. Organizations that intentionally communicate, listen, coach, and create opportunities for employees to succeed build stronger cultures, experience less conflict, and create environments where people are motivated to contribute their best work.

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About

This is the Systems Simplified podcast where we feature top leaders who share stories on how to successfully systematize a business.

Information

  • Creator
    Adi Klevit
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    491
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Systems Simplified

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