The Business Emergency Room Podcast

Maartje van Krieken
  • 5.0 (5)
  • EMPRENDIMIENTO
  • CADA SEMANA

Scaling a business isn’t just about strategy—it’s about navigating chaos, making fast but sound decisions, and keeping teams aligned under pressure. The Business Emergency Room helps leaders, founders, and decision-makers sharpen their decision-making mechanics, master people dynamics, and build resilience in uncertain markets. Host Maartje van Krieken shares battle-tested frameworks to eliminate bottlenecks, avoid analysis paralysis, and turn turbulence into traction. Tune in weekly for real-world insights to lead with confidence and thrive in turmoil. For leaders facing: High-stakes decisions, VUCA market conditions, crisis management, and rapid business growth pains.

  1. Scaling Through Experience, Not Just Sales; Disney Magic for B2B

    HACE 4 DÍAS

    Scaling Through Experience, Not Just Sales; Disney Magic for B2B

    What if your business could create the kind of loyalty people feel for Disney? Maartje van Krieken talks with former Disney leader and customer experience strategist Vance Morris about what truly sets unforgettable brands apart. He shares the Disney lessons that every company, whether in service, retail, or B2B growth, can use to turn everyday interactions into memorable moments that keep clients coming back. How do you move from transactions to genuine relationships? What does it take to design a client experience that people can’t stop talking about? Vance draws from his own story of rebuilding a career and transforming ordinary businesses into standout experiences. From the small details that shape perception to the systems that sustain consistency, this conversation invites you to think differently about how you serve, lead, and grow. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Power Of Client Experience 00:53 Disney Lessons For Client Experience 03:09 Turn A Commodity Into An Experience: Oil Change Case Study 08:00 Turn Waiting Into Experience: Disney Line Entertainment For B2B 10:54 Acquisition Cost vs Retention Profit 12:24 Disney’s 80/20 Return Customer Model 17:09 Know Your Real Business: Memories, Happiness, Mission 23:21 Consistency Through Systems: Document What Delivers 24:28 Tenacity And Trusted Advisors In Leadership 29:58 How To Learn More From Vance Morris Connect with Vance Morris: Visit Vance’s website Download your FREE hot sheet of 52 Ways to WOW Your Customers Vance Morris is a former Disney leader turned entrepreneur who now helps businesses bring the magic of Disney-level experiences into their own client journey. His unconventional path—from security guard at a birth control factory to Disney leadership, bankruptcy, carpet cleaning, and finally thriving business ownership—has given him a rare perspective on resilience, reinvention, and what truly creates loyalty. Today, Vance teaches companies how to “Disnify” their business by adapting Disney’s customer experience and pricing strategies to any industry. Through his keynotes, workshops, and coaching, he shows teams how to create extraordinary experiences that lead to extraordinary engagement, referrals, and profits. Vance leads The Alliance Mastermind, a community of veteran entrepreneurs supporting each other’s success. He also offers both group and private coaching programs that include weekly sessions, masterclasses, and his signature Xperience Report. As a speaker and author of Systematic Magic: 7 Magic Keys to Disnify Your Business and Tales From the Customer Service Crypt, Vance combines humor, storytelling, and real-world tactics to inspire businesses to transform the ordinary into the unforgettable. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and

    31 min
  2. Ears on the Track: Actionable Measurement for Real Growth

    29 OCT

    Ears on the Track: Actionable Measurement for Real Growth

    Many leaders rely on goals and KPIs to measure success, yet how often do those numbers reveal what’s actually working? In this episode, Maartje van Krieken talks with Radhika Dutt, the author of Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter, about why so many organizations get caught chasing business growth metrics that don’t always translate into real progress. Radhika shares how “product diseases” like obsessive sales disorder, strategic swelling, and hypermetricemia quietly take root when teams lose sight of their vision and let measurement drive decisions instead of insight. She unpacks the tension between OKRs vs puzzle solving, introducing a model of actionable measurement that helps leaders replace rigid goal-setting with thoughtful reflection. How clear is your company’s vision? Do your metrics inspire smarter choices or just more activity? This conversation invites a deeper look at what it means to lead with clarity and curiosity, turning purpose into something that guides decisions instead of decorating a mission statement. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Diagnosing Product Diseases in Business 02:02 Meet Radhika Dutt and Radical Product Thinking 07:45 Why a Clear Vision Matters More Than Metrics 11:37 The Problem with OKRs and Traditional Goal Setting 17:07 Puzzle Setting: A New Approach to Business Growth 23:03 Actionable Measurement and the Three Key Questions 25:21 Turning Insight into Real Progress Connect with Radhika Dutt: Connect with Radhika on LinkedIn Visit Radhika’s website Explore Radical Product Thinking Get the free OHLs toolkit Radhika Dutt is the author of Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter, a book translated into Chinese and Japanese and adopted in more than 40 countries. An entrepreneur, speaker, and product leader, she has built products across industries including media, telecom, consumer apps, robotics, and government, and has been part of five acquisitions—two from companies she founded. Radhika currently serves as Advisor on Product Thinking to the Monetary Authority of Singapore and works with organizations worldwide to help them create products that drive meaningful change. A graduate of MIT with degrees in Electrical Engineering, she speaks nine languages and is now writing her second book on why goals and targets backfire—and what actually works instead. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn Visit The Chaos Games Consulting website Visit The Business Emergency Room website Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in...

    29 min
  3. The Cost of Silence: Five Tough Talks Your Business Keeps Dodging

    22 OCT

    The Cost of Silence: Five Tough Talks Your Business Keeps Dodging

    Most businesses don’t crumble from bad strategy but from the hard conversations their leaders never have. Maartje van Krieken takes an honest look at why conflict avoidance shows up in leadership communication and how it quietly eats away at trust, focus, and performance. Why do so many leaders hesitate to speak up when something feels off? What happens when tension is ignored for months or even years? Through her experience guiding organizations through chaos, Maartje shares how avoiding difficult conversations can cost teams more than money - it costs them momentum and morale. Maartje breaks down the five places where silence does the most damage: personal conflicts that never get addressed, hierarchy barriers that stop honest feedback, deals that no longer make sense, long-time employees who have outgrown their roles, and a lack of accountability at the very top. Each one offers a mirror for leaders who want to see where communication has gone quiet. From there, Maartje offers an invitation: have the conversation now. She walks through how to create space for honesty, speak with clarity, and end every discussion with decisions that move people forward. This episode challenges leaders to rethink what courage looks like at work and to see difficult conversations as the starting point of real leadership, not the obstacle to it. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Why Businesses Fail in Silence 01:29 The Cost of Avoiding Difficult Conversations 04:04 Signs Your Team Is Avoiding Hard Conversations 07:01 The Five Conversations Leaders Avoid Most 18:34 Why We Avoid Difficult Conversations 20:31 How to Have Difficult Conversations Effectively 26:31 Courageous Communication in Leadership Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn The Chaos Games Consulting The Business Emergency Room Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction.  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    29 min
  4. Beyond the Books: Diagnostics That Save Companies

    15 OCT

    Beyond the Books: Diagnostics That Save Companies

    When a business starts to stumble, the real problem usually isn’t hidden—it’s just misread. Maartje van Krieken talks with Elisabeth Vealey, founder of Sophius LLC, about how business diagnostics reveal what’s really happening inside a struggling company. With decades of experience in accounting, CFO leadership, and turnaround strategies, Elisabeth explains how following the cash flow exposes not just financial issues but the inefficiencies, blind spots, and miscommunication that quietly drain performance. They discuss how financial data reflects overall financial and operational health, why leaders wait too long to ask for help, and how to build a culture that values clarity over blame. Elisabeth shares insights from her Sophius Method for “chasing the cash” to find what’s blocking growth, while Maartje connects those lessons to the operational side—where process, people, and profit intersect. This conversation offers a clear, grounded look at how to spot early warning signs, restore trust, and bring a company back to health before problems turn into full-blown emergencies. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 The Power of Business Diagnostics 00:38 Meet Elisabeth Vealey, Founder of Sophius LLC 05:00 The Sophius Method and Turnaround Strategies 07:50 When to Bring in Outside Help 10:30 Beyond the Numbers: People, Process, and Performance 14:20 Breaking the Blame Cycle and Rebuilding Trust 17:10 Leadership Blind Spots and Honest Feedback Loops 21:30 Board Dynamics and Shared Accountability 22:20 Restoring Team Trust and Removing Emotion from Problem-Solving 25:40 Finance and Operations: The Power of Partnership 29:20 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Elisabeth Vealey Connect with Elisabeth Vealey: To learn more, visit Sophius LLC to download the Sophius Method whitepaper or to schedule an exploratory call. Elisabeth Vealey is the founder of Sophius LLC and the architect of The Sophius Method, a proven plug and play framework that takes organizations from distress to sustainable growth. Known as a trusted strategist for business turnarounds, she bridges finance, operations, technology, and leadership to help organizations stabilize under pressure, build high-performing teams, and redirect energy towards mission and lasting growth. Elisabeth holds an MBA and is a CPA with more than 20 years of experience in finance, sales, wealth management, mergers and acquisitions and executive coaching. Today, she advises CEOs, boards, and high-net-worth families with business and leadership strategy creating impact that lasts with authenticity, vision, and fire. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn The Chaos Games Consulting The Business Emergency Room Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision....

    31 min
  5. Hollywood Flow Hacks for Distributed Teams with Steven Puri

    8 OCT

    Hollywood Flow Hacks for Distributed Teams with Steven Puri

    Remote leadership works best when people have the space to enter flow states that spark ideas and move projects forward. In this episode, Maartje van Krieken talks with Academy Award winner and entrepreneur Steven Puri about what it really takes to lead distributed teams with purpose. How do you build trust when you can’t walk the halls together? What makes the difference between a team that only trades emails and a team that shows up with insights that shift the direction of a company? Steven shares lessons from his years in Hollywood and tech, showing how vision, culture, and the right conditions allow people to do their best work no matter where they are. The conversation explores why leaders should pay attention to chronotypes, how simple practices like timeboxing and deep work hours create space for breakthroughs, and why creativity often comes from unexpected places. If distributed teams are your reality, this episode offers a thoughtful look at how remote leadership can help people thrive rather than just get by. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction to Remote Work and Flow States 00:44 Steven Puri’s Background in Film and Startups 03:29 How Leaders Create Flow in Distributed Teams 07:10 Conditions That Unlock Peak Performance 14:22 Chronotypes and Protecting Deep Work 20:25 Misconceptions About Remote Leadership 21:16 Timeboxing as a Strategy for Productivity 23:25 The Real Source of Creativity 29:47 AI, Communication, and the Future of Work 33:06 Final Thoughts and Where to Find Steven Puri Connect with Steven Puri: The Sukha Company Email Steven Steven Puri is the Founder and CEO of The Sukha Company, a focus app designed to help people achieve more while maintaining a healthy work life. His career began as a youth news show host in the DC/Baltimore market and later as a Thomas J. Watson Scholar at IBM before moving into film production, where he produced Academy Award–winning visual effects for Independence Day and 14 other films. At 28, he sold his first tech company, Centropolis Effects, to Das Werk and went on to hold senior roles at 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks, working on franchises like Die Hard, Wolverine, Star Trek, and Transformers. Today, he combines his experience in film and tech to build tools that support focus and productivity. Steven lives in Austin, TX. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn The Chaos Games Consulting The Business Emergency Room Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction.  Podcast...

    36 min
  6. The Value Triage Tool: Prioritize What to Fix First

    1 OCT

    The Value Triage Tool: Prioritize What to Fix First

    Business valuation is more than a price tag at exit. It’s a running assessment of your company’s health, credibility, and resilience. Maartje van Krieken shows how valuation can serve as a practical management tool for everyday decision-making. Drawing on lessons from mergers and acquisitions, she explains why external perceptions matter just as much as internal metrics and how they shape financing terms, customer trust, and even employee morale. Using ten lenses, Maartje unpacks the questions outsiders bring to the table: Are people loyal to the business or just its leaders? Is culture sustainable beyond a founder’s presence? Do the numbers hold up under scrutiny? Would evidence convince a skeptic? This is operational due diligence turned inward, helping leaders stress-test their assumptions and identify the gaps that weaken long-term value. Framed as risk-based prioritization, the process reveals not just what’s broken but where the biggest opportunities lie. A quarterly review through these lenses creates a roadmap for practical improvements that strengthen operations, safeguard against risk, and build value worth defending, whether or not a sale is ever on the horizon. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Business Valuation as a Daily Tool   02:18 Why External Evaluations Matter   06:03 Risk, Evidence, and Defensibility   09:55 The 10 Lenses of Operational Due Diligence   28:06 Risk-Based Prioritization for Strategy Reviews   Connect with Maartje van Krieken: The Chaos Games Consulting The Business Emergency Room LinkedIn Substack YouTube Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction.  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    32 min
  7. When the Quietest Voice Saves the Company

    24 SEP

    When the Quietest Voice Saves the Company

    Leadership isn’t always loud, and sometimes the quietest voice in the room is the one that steadies the ship. Maartje van Krieken sits down with Greg Weinger, SVP of Product Management at SheerID and host of The Powerful Introvert Podcast, to rethink what leadership looks like when a company faces real pressure. Greg shares the story of an introverted CFO who stepped in during a crisis and rebuilt trust through calm, steady presence rather than charisma. Why do so many organizations still assume that the loudest voice is the most effective one? And how much strength gets overlooked when we discount quieter styles of leadership? Greg points to the qualities that actually help businesses scale: adaptability, honesty paired with kindness, and the discipline to face reality as it is. He explains how great leaders design meetings and team structures that bring out every perspective, especially from introverts who contribute most when given the space to prepare. Could your team be missing its sharpest ideas simply because the setup doesn’t make room for them? This conversation shows that resilience often comes from unexpected places, and that leadership worth following grows out of trust, clarity, and intention. Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Extrovert vs. Introvert Leadership Styles   02:55 Case Study: Introverted CFO Leading Through Crisis   06:54 Key Ingredients for Scaling a Business   08:07 Listening, Adaptability, and Avoiding Hubris   12:11 Balancing Brutal Honesty with Kindness   14:46 Creating Space for Every Team Member to Contribute   17:01 Structuring Meetings for Inclusivity   18:12 Why Mindfulness Matters for Leaders   Connect with Greg Weinger: Connect with Greg on LinkedIn Subscribe to The Powerful Introvert Podcast Greg Weinger has spent over 20 years proving that introverts and unconventional thinkers can thrive in leadership. A seasoned product and technology executive, he has helped scale startups 10X to $70M+ in revenue, leading teams that build market-leading digital products and drive business growth. A Stanford graduate, he studied English literature, creative writing, and software engineering—giving him a unique ability to blend technical expertise, storytelling, and strategic thinking to make complex ideas accessible and actionable. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn The Chaos Games Consulting The Business Emergency Room Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje...

    25 min
  8. Partnering Smarter With Your CFO: Financial Vital Signs

    17 SEP

    Partnering Smarter With Your CFO: Financial Vital Signs

    Most business emergencies don’t appear out of nowhere. They build slowly through overlooked financial red flags that leaders often miss until it’s too late. How do you know if your books are truly in order, or if the numbers you’re seeing are hiding deeper issues? In this episode, Maartje van Krieken talks with Ryan McGarghan, founder of Synergy Solutions, fractional CFO and certified exit planning advisor, about the habits and warning signs that reveal the real health of a company. Ryan explains why consistent bookkeeping and payment practices are non-negotiable, how to recognize when your finance team isn’t giving you straight answers, and why a clear money trail is essential for strong decision-making. He also shows how finance can play the “bad cop” role that protects vendor and customer relationships, and why exit planning belongs in everyday business continuity rather than at the last minute. With his perspective on the “five Ds” that trigger unexpected exits, Ryan points out how thoughtful planning protects value and gives leaders more choices when it matters most. What conversations about finance are you not having yet and what might they reveal? Episode Breakdown: 00:00 Introduction  02:13 Financial Emergency Example 06:10 Key Financial Red Flags Leaders Miss 09:35 Finance as the Bad Cop in Business 15:41 Exit Planning Essentials for Business Owners 20:37 Business Continuity and the 5 Ds of Exit Planning 22:20 Why Hire a Fractional CFO Connect with Ryan McGarghan: Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn Synergy Solutions Ryan McGarghan is the founder of Synergy Solutions, serving as a Fractional CFO and Certified Exit Planning Advisor with more than 25 years of experience helping small and mid-sized businesses strengthen their finances, grow profitably, and plan for long-term success. A Profit First Professional, speaker, and mentor, he specializes in guiding companies between $1M and $25M in revenue to build lasting value while giving entrepreneurs greater freedom, stability, and purpose. Connect with Maartje van Krieken: Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn The Chaos Games Consulting The Business Emergency Room Subscribe to The Business Emergency Room on YouTube Subscribe to Maartje’s Substack Host Maartje van Krieken is a crisis strategist and decision-making expert who thrives in high-stakes business environments. Combining disaster management training, hands-on experience in global industries, and leadership skills honed as a seasoned sailor, she helps businesses navigate chaos with precision. Whether tackling transformation, scaling challenges, or leadership bottlenecks, Maartje delivers actionable insights to turn turbulence into traction.  Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

    29 min
Ver todo (70)

Tráilers

Calificaciones y reseñas

5
de 5
5 calificaciones

Acerca de

Scaling a business isn’t just about strategy—it’s about navigating chaos, making fast but sound decisions, and keeping teams aligned under pressure. The Business Emergency Room helps leaders, founders, and decision-makers sharpen their decision-making mechanics, master people dynamics, and build resilience in uncertain markets. Host Maartje van Krieken shares battle-tested frameworks to eliminate bottlenecks, avoid analysis paralysis, and turn turbulence into traction. Tune in weekly for real-world insights to lead with confidence and thrive in turmoil. For leaders facing: High-stakes decisions, VUCA market conditions, crisis management, and rapid business growth pains.

Información

  • Creador
    Maartje van Krieken
  • Años de actividad
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodios
    70
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 Maartje van Krieken
  • Mostrar sitio web
    The Business Emergency Room Podcast