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What if your software teams operated like a special operations unit—small, focused, and relentless about the mission? That’s the lens Ben Johnson brings to the table as a serial technical co‑founder and CEO of Particle 41, where he’s helped launch 94 products and build elite, outcome‑driven teams across software, data, and cloud.

We dive into the turning points that shaped his leadership: learning to lead people rather than tasks, aligning cross‑functional teams to a single business outcome, and using radical visibility to dissolve silos. Ben breaks down why maximum capacity beats minimum standards and how to set smart boundaries that prevent burnout while accelerating delivery. He shares a practical framework for managing resistance during automation and AI rollouts, using the seven primal questions to address fear and designing incentives around total output so experts become quality stewards, not casualties of change.

You’ll also hear how open source habits inside the enterprise—transparent architecture, discoverable repos, fast code reviews—unlock autonomy and speed to trust. We talk about decision paralysis in middle management, why “own the outcome” beats “own the function,” and the Be–Do–Have identity shift that turns elite performance into a habit. Along the way, Ben opens up about faith, purpose, and the kind of legacy that lasts: families that thrive, teams that grow, and systems that keep compounding long after handoff.

If you’re navigating AI, RPA, or just need a cleaner path from idea to impact, this conversation is a playbook. Subscribe for more candid, practical episodes, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest bottleneck—we’ll tackle it on a future show.

Thanks for listening. Please check out our website at www.forsauk.com to hear great conversations on topics that need to be talked about. In these times of intense polarization we all need to find time to expand our Frame of Reference.

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A massive heart attack at 2 a.m., a choice to stay, and a vow to be useful—John Stewart Hill turned a brush with death into a movement that protects homeowners and celebrates great tradespeople. I sat down with John, founder and chief ambassador of The Good Contractors List, to unpack how a third-party guarantee and serious vetting can transform an anxious, two-way agreement into a safer, more respectful partnership.

John walks us through the early days—selling coupons, carrying a yellow legal pad, and pitching a radical promise: we’ll separate the good from the bad, and if the job goes wrong, we’ll pay up to $25,000 to make it right. That pledge forced rigor: FBI-level background checks, pattern-spotting across business entities, and zero tolerance for rudeness or bait-and-switch tactics. We get real about why “buck in a truck” shops often lack resources to fix issues, how mega contractors can over-incentivize upsells, and why the competency-rich middle is where value, safety, and honesty meet.

What makes this model stick is community. Contractors refer fellow pros they trust, hold each other accountable, and create local “safe contractor communities” that homeowners return to for roofing, plumbing, HVAC, and beyond. The result is collective authority: a network built on behavior, not hype, where the guarantee and mediation keep projects on track when delays or surprises appear. In a post-COVID, AI-noise world, verifiable action beats loud claims—and this platform’s small out-of-pocket history across billions in backed work speaks for itself.

If you’re a homeowner who wants peace of mind or a contractor who runs on integrity, this conversation shows how to raise the bar and rebuild trust where it matters most: at home. Explore the network, refer a contractor, or join the community at thegoodcontractorslist.com. Enjoyed the story? Follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help more people find trustworthy help.

Thanks for listening. Please check out our website at www.forsauk.com to hear great conversations on topics that need to be talked about. In these times of intense polarization we all need to find time to expand our Frame of Reference.

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A rifle on a rooftop isn’t a movie moment—it’s a profound responsibility. We sit with retired Canadian Army sniper Barry Nisbet and author and former U.S. Army Ranger Mir Bahmanyar to unpack what snipers really do when deployed to places like Bosnia and Afghanistan and why their new book, Send It, pushes past the myths of their missions and duties. Barry brings the ground truth from five operational tours and a rare first for a Canadian corporal at U.S. Army Ranger School. Mir adds the historian’s eye and a Ranger’s respect for standards, sharing why he pulled real practitioners into the manuscript to keep the record straight.

We walk through the job as it is lived: building a sniper from disciplined infantry roots, the strict rules of engagement that govern every trigger press, and the invisible victories of overwatch that keep patrols alive. Barry breaks down night insertions, fragile hides, the exposure that comes with calling in artillery or air, and the nerve it takes to exfiltrate when the sun rises and the enemy knows you’re there. The conversation lingers where most war stories don’t—accepting risk without bravado, carrying loss without turning it into spectacle, and holding fast to the internal standards that separate professionals from pose.

Mir challenges the hype that flattens soldiers into slogans and war into entertainment. He argues for honest military history that preserves detail, context and consequence, and he credits Canadian sniper teams with a level of professionalism and restraint too often missing in popular narratives. Along the way we touch on leadership that actually protects people, the mental skills forged in stalking lanes and fieldcraft, and the quiet rituals—dogs, long walks, small places far from crowds—that help recalibrate after hard tours.

If you care about modern military history, leadership under pressure, or how precision and patience save lives, this one will stick with you. Listen, then pick up Send It for the full story told by the people who were there. If the conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with someone who values honest storytelling, and leave a review so more listeners can find it.

Thanks for listening. Please check out our website at www.forsauk.com to hear great conversations on topics that need to be talked about. In these times of intense polarization we all need to find time to expand our Frame of Reference.