David Salerno

David Salerno — Founder & President, Solpak Packaging Solutions | Founder, Entrepreneur Sherpa | Vice-Chair, Montreal Economic Institute

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

"Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. When you have had enough, rent a good comedy and enjoy. Beats the health system anyday. #health #laugh #laughteristhebestmedicine

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

"Patience and time do more than strength or passion. Think water on rocks...

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

If you are a business owner and feel a little trapped in your own business, I share a bit of my story on how I became an entrepreneur that owns and is not owned anymore .

Thanks to @ForbesBizCncl publishing it:-)

[Forbes Business Council @ForbesBizCncl]

How To Own Your Business Instead Of Letting It Own You https://t.co/uTsGoorF2h Written by @david_salerno of Solpak inc

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

The observation on engineers roles is smack on.

[Aaron Levie @levie]

Another week on the road meeting with a couple dozen IT and AI leaders from large enterprises across banking, media, retail, healthcare, consulting, tech, and sports, to discuss agents in the enterprise.

Some quick takeaways:

* Clear that we’re moving from chat era of AI to agents that use tools, process data, and start to execute real work in the enterprise. Complementing this, enterprises are often evolving from “let a thousand flowers bloom” approach to adoption to targeted automation efforts applied to specific areas of work and workflow.

* Change management still will remain one of the biggest topics for enterprises. Most workflows aren’t setup to just drop agents directly in, and enterprises will need a ton of help to drive these efforts (both internally and from partners). One company has a head of AI in every business unit that roles up to a central team, just to keep all the functions coordinated.

* Tokenmaxxing! Most companies operate with very strict OpEx budgets get locked in for the year ahead, so they’re going through very real trade-off discussions right now on how to budget for tokens. One company recently had an idea for a “shark tank” style way of pitching for compute budget. Others are trying to figure out how to ration compute to the best use-cases internally through some hierarchy of needs (my words not theirs).

* Fixing fragmented and legacy systems remain a huge priority right now. Most enterprises are dealing with decades of either on-prem systems or systems they moved to the cloud but that still haven’t been modernized in any meaningful way. This means agents can’t easily tap into these data sources in a unified way yet, so companies are focused on how they modernize these.

* Most companies are *not* talking about replacing jobs due to agents. The major use-cases for agents are things that the company wasn’t able to do before or couldn’t prioritize. Software upgrades, automating back office processes that were constraining other workflows, processing large amounts of documents to get new business or client insights, and so on. More emphasis on ways to make money vs. cut costs.

* Headless software dominated my conversations. Enterprises need to be able to ensure all of their software works across any set of agents they choose. They will kick out vendors that don’t make this technically or economically easy.

* Clear sense that it can be hard to standardize on anything right now given how fast things are moving. Blessing and a curse of the innovation curve right now - no one wants to get stuck in a paradigm that locks them into the wrong architecture. One other result of this is that companies realize they’re in a multi-agent world, which means that interoperability becomes paramount across systems.

* Unanimous sense that everyone is working more than ever before. AI is not causing anyone to do less work right now, and similar to Silicon Valley people feel their teams are the busiest they’ve ever been.

One final meta observation not called out explicitly. It seems that despite Silicon Valley’s sense that AI has made hard things easy, the most powerful ways to use agents is more “technical” than prior eras of software. Skills, MCP, CLIs, etc. may be simple concepts for tech, but in the real world these are all esoteric concepts that will require technical people to help bring to life in the enterprise.

This both means diffusion will take real work and time, but also everyone’s estimation of engineering jobs is totally off. Engineers may not be “writing” software, but they will certainly be the ones to setup and operate the systems that actually automate most work in the enterprise.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

Busy is not progress.

Effort without clarity compounds noise.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

@ForbesBizCncl Thank you for accepting Built For Freedom in the @ForbesBizCncl executive library alongside excellent books from esteemed colleagues.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

Founders aren’t tired from work.
They’re tired from undefined problems.

Clarity reduces weight.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

You can rest your body.

But if the real issue isn’t clearly defined,
your mind never shuts down.

Clarity creates durable calm.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

Better questions > more tactics.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

If your framework adds complexity, it’s not leverage.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

Growth.
Sustainability.
Service.

Most business problems fit in one of the three.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

Freedom in business doesn’t start with scale.

It starts when you can clearly define the real problem and consciously ignore everything else.

Clarity creates hierarchy.
Hierarchy creates space.

#Leadership #Founder #BusinessClarity

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

After clarity, something subtle changes.

Decisions get lighter.
Weeks get quieter.
The business stops leaning on you for everything.

Not because you stepped away but because you finally aimed your effort correctly.

That’s what being built for freedom actually feels like.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

I work with founders who are working hard but still feel stuck.

Most of the time, the issue isn’t effort or discipline — it’s that the problem hasn’t been diagnosed properly.

Here, I share simple ways to think more clearly about your business so you can focus on the right thing and build with more freedom.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

You don’t need more discipline.
You need a clearer diagnosis of the problem you’re solving.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

It’s funny because when I tell fellow entrepreneurs or wantentrepreneurs your first objective is to build a business. #BuiltForFreedom, I sometimes get a confused look.

Why would someone start a business and already not want to be in the business?

Simple. Every decision in growing, serving, and becoming sustainable keeps the end in mind: building a business that does not depend on its founder or owner.

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

While our company sails resiliently in very choppy waters (not to say “tarrify”), I ponder on the 3-4 crisis it has faced in 20 years.

These ingredients seems key:

- A steady vision, passed that storm, to NOT get distracted.

- A confident and creative leadership

- Team Members already on a solid foundation of high trust in each other.

Vision, Confidence, Creativity, Trust.

That’s how you beat a crisis. Every single time.

#beresilient

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

🌟 Thrilled to unveil the cover of my upcoming book, Built For Freedom—or BFF for short!

This isn’t just any book; it’s a roadmap for entrepreneurs who aspire to run a business that thrives while granting you the freedom you deserve. Think of it as your reliable sidekick—your BFF on your entrepreneurial journey! 😉

Mark your calendars for the launch on October 30, 2024! Join the waitlist here:
https://t.co/JA9nYynEd7 📈💥
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#builtforfreedom #entrepreneur #success #businesscoach #marketing #motivationalquotes #businessgrowth #entrepreneurlifestyle #successmindset #businesswomen #businessideas

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

The irony with the word freedom is that, despite the appearances, you already have it.

If you believe that you don’t , or maybe barely do, you haven’t been paying attention

[David Salerno @david_salerno]

If you have a business and it’s doing well, but you’re working and stressing way too much, it’s time to flip that paradigm.

You own the business, not the other way around.

Get to it.