1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:05,520 Robert Plank: Most teams think they need better tools, but 2 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:10,620 Santiago Cortez knows they actually need better processes. 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:15,600 He is the founder of labcortex.com, and Mr. Santiago 4 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:20,100 Cortez helps high compliance, mission driven organizations 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:25,100 transform messy, manual workflows into clean, auditable 6 00:00:25,100 --> 00:00:28,460 systems that fuel sustainable growth. So if you say, oh my 7 00:00:28,460 --> 00:00:31,640 gosh, that's exactly what me and my organization need, where has 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,760 this guy, Santiago been all my life? This is the most important 9 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:38,180 podcast episode you will ever listen to. We're here at the 10 00:00:38,180 --> 00:00:42,100 marketer of the day podcast with Robert plank, brought to you by 11 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:47,680 D FY podcast.com we handle the back end so you can focus on the 12 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,500 conversation. And the conversation that we're having 13 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:55,720 today is to escape that drowning in complexity, to embrace the 14 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,620 process instead of the tools, and it kind of unlearn this 15 00:00:59,620 --> 00:01:03,540 weird tool obsession that seems to have got it's gotten so out 16 00:01:03,540 --> 00:01:06,360 of control, especially with all the AI stuff. It's like, hey, 17 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:09,780 how would actually get to work? Have a workflow. Have a process. 18 00:01:09,780 --> 00:01:13,200 Mr. Santiago will set us straight. So, Mr. Santiago 19 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,540 Cortez, great to meet you and be speaking with you. 20 00:01:16,320 --> 00:01:18,720 Santiago Cortes: Thank you for having me. Robert. It's great to 21 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:23,120 be here. You're the way that you were mentioned about your 22 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:28,460 company, where you focus, have people focus on the value, while 23 00:01:28,460 --> 00:01:32,000 you focus on the back end, type of piece that's very similar to 24 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,920 our approaches. There's a lot of loss in the technology itself, 25 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,260 right? Because there's so many tools, and now, with the 26 00:01:39,380 --> 00:01:42,940 explosion of AI in the last year and last year and last couple 27 00:01:42,940 --> 00:01:46,300 months, it's blown up a lot more in a very operational, 28 00:01:46,420 --> 00:01:51,220 structural way, through a lot of systems. It gets very messy, 29 00:01:51,220 --> 00:01:54,520 right? There's a lot of misinformation, there's a lot of 30 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,880 thoughts of this is going to solve everything. We just have 31 00:01:57,880 --> 00:02:00,720 to have the greatest, best tool right now, and that's going to 32 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:05,220 solve our issues, but not taking the time to really look at what 33 00:02:05,220 --> 00:02:08,940 your process really is and what your outcome is is ultimately 34 00:02:08,940 --> 00:02:13,440 going to give you a poor result, right? Garbage in, garbage out, 35 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,280 right? So what we really try to do on our side is really try to 36 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,240 figure out, what are you trying to accomplish? What do you 37 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:25,940 really need this, you know, multi $100,000 or million dollar 38 00:02:25,940 --> 00:02:31,340 application to manage regular compliance, right? Or to manage 39 00:02:31,340 --> 00:02:36,560 your inbound forms? What's the real requirement there, and how 40 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,540 is the people in that process actually working? Because even 41 00:02:40,540 --> 00:02:43,900 if you're in the same industry, in the same type of line of 42 00:02:43,900 --> 00:02:47,920 business, if you're a different organization, you're most likely 43 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:51,340 doing it different. Everybody has their own special sauce and 44 00:02:51,340 --> 00:02:54,520 special way that they approach things. So we really focus on 45 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,480 understanding why you're doing it this way, what your real 46 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,440 outcome is, and that way we can really figure out whether or not 47 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,980 you need new tools or you need to organize the tools you have 48 00:03:04,980 --> 00:03:07,440 in a way that aligns with what you're trying to accomplish. 49 00:03:09,060 --> 00:03:11,580 Robert Plank: Very nice. And it seems like it's kind of just 50 00:03:11,580 --> 00:03:15,360 simplicity, isn't it, just getting this, this mess, drilled 51 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,180 down to the bare essence. So you're saying, well, what's the 52 00:03:18,180 --> 00:03:22,040 why? What's the goal? What are the people doing? And then, what 53 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:24,920 tools are they using? And then do those tools need to be 54 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:30,620 replaced or used better? And give us an idea of who you help, 55 00:03:30,620 --> 00:03:35,540 like, what's the the criteria for for a client of yours, like, 56 00:03:35,540 --> 00:03:37,760 what's the kind of the size in the industry? 57 00:03:38,900 --> 00:03:41,020 Santiago Cortes: Most of the organizations that we work with 58 00:03:41,020 --> 00:03:48,520 are in regulated spaces, life sciences, biotech, finance, and 59 00:03:48,580 --> 00:03:53,860 there's a very real need for compliance right up front. I 60 00:03:53,860 --> 00:03:57,700 would say we could realistically help any organization that's 61 00:03:57,700 --> 00:04:02,040 looking to provide clarity to what their work is and ensure 62 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:06,000 that they're moving in the right direction. But most of the most 63 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,420 of the work that we do is mainly in heavily compliance, 64 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:15,360 regulatory industries. What What we try to accomplish in those 65 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:17,940 pieces is the same thing as you mentioned, just simplicity. 66 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,760 Right back to the tool piece. Everybody wants to just get this 67 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:25,580 brand new tool that's going to solve anything, everything, but 68 00:04:25,580 --> 00:04:28,400 it never does, because you're never taking the time for that. 69 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:31,640 So it's really just taking those small steps, just asking why, 70 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:32,540 moving forward. 71 00:04:33,620 --> 00:04:36,560 Robert Plank: And that's a mindset that I think it's it's 72 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,780 so tough for me to to get into, and I can't be alone just this 73 00:04:40,780 --> 00:04:46,180 idea of, well, I need to embrace the boring and figure out, like, 74 00:04:46,180 --> 00:04:49,660 what's not working, what is working. And not necessarily go 75 00:04:49,660 --> 00:04:55,180 to what is fun, but go to like, what the those the processes and 76 00:04:55,180 --> 00:04:57,520 what those goals are like, you think of like, I come from a 77 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:59,920 little bit of a software background, and there's so much. 78 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,540 In software, of like, getting buy in and then. But there's 79 00:05:03,540 --> 00:05:06,600 also of the playing around. Like, remember when like 80 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,200 browsers came out with, like the blink tag or the marquee tag, 81 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,840 where like text could, like, bounce back and forth, and it's 82 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:15,780 like, you know what all that stuff was? It was, whoever was 83 00:05:15,780 --> 00:05:18,180 working at Netscape or Microsoft, just like, saying, 84 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:21,600 hey, instead of fixing some bugs or making it work better, I'm 85 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:24,740 going to go and do something that's kind of like fun, and 86 00:05:24,740 --> 00:05:27,740 like, you know, tickles my imagination. And so do you come 87 00:05:27,740 --> 00:05:30,560 across any of that kind of pushback when you help some 88 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,260 organization, you say, hey, like, things need to be kind of 89 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:38,540 done with better rules. Do you is there like, the boredom or 90 00:05:38,540 --> 00:05:41,140 like the emotion, human aspect get in the way. 91 00:05:42,940 --> 00:05:45,220 Santiago Cortes: Yeah, there's, you know, there's always the 92 00:05:45,700 --> 00:05:49,300 need of be compliant versus the need of need, need and move 93 00:05:49,300 --> 00:05:52,840 really fast and wanting to look really, you know, spectacular in 94 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:57,040 the process, right? But part of what we do is really just making 95 00:05:57,040 --> 00:06:01,440 that boring become more appealing, right? Because how 96 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,920 boring is it that you have to work five extra hours a day 97 00:06:04,980 --> 00:06:09,120 because your system doesn't work properly, or that you have to 98 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:12,780 stay on a call with multiple departments to fix issues on a 99 00:06:12,780 --> 00:06:17,160 regular basis, or that you have to miss someone's birthday or 100 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,560 something like that, just because you have to spend extra 101 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:24,680 time? Right? So if you take the that out of it, right? We're 102 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,620 looking to say, hey, we're trying to give you as much time 103 00:06:27,620 --> 00:06:31,220 back so you can spend time where it's valuable, both at the 104 00:06:31,220 --> 00:06:34,520 organizational level, which ultimately is going to speed and 105 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:36,680 accelerate the growth of that organization, but then 106 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,440 ultimately that comes back to you personally as well, right? 107 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:45,580 So thinking of it in that sense that, yeah, it's not incredibly 108 00:06:45,580 --> 00:06:49,480 exciting to read through 190 pages worth of compliance 109 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,840 documents, but at the end of that, we have a really cool 110 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:56,500 process and product set up where this is going to make your life 111 00:06:56,500 --> 00:07:00,480 better, right? So I think the there's definitely push in that, 112 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:04,380 like, where I want the coolest, latest tool to give me all the, 113 00:07:04,380 --> 00:07:09,120 you know, marquee signs that there could be. But I also want 114 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,840 to be practical, practical certain point, right? You want 115 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:17,580 to just ensure that this is scalable and sustainable, and it 116 00:07:17,580 --> 00:07:19,860 could be fun work, right? That collaboration, that 117 00:07:19,860 --> 00:07:23,360 communication, identifying, Hey, these are actual issues that 118 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,960 we're seeing across all of our departments. Or, oh, this person 119 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,360 had another perspective that we were trying to change this. So 120 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:33,140 through that creation and discovery process, there could 121 00:07:33,140 --> 00:07:35,120 be a lot of exciting things taking place. 122 00:07:35,839 --> 00:07:38,059 Robert Plank: It sounds like it like that. There's a better way. 123 00:07:38,059 --> 00:07:41,079 And so you talk about this, like creation and discovery process. 124 00:07:41,079 --> 00:07:45,279 Can you tell us, just like, what this is like when you jump in 125 00:07:45,279 --> 00:07:48,519 with some organization? Do you have a fun like, case study 126 00:07:48,519 --> 00:07:51,939 success story, just to share with us, to you know, know how 127 00:07:51,939 --> 00:07:54,699 the sausage is made? So to speak, sure. 128 00:07:54,700 --> 00:07:56,440 Santiago Cortes: So, I mean, I can, I can speak in general 129 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:00,660 terms of how we go about helping organizations. So you know, as I 130 00:08:00,660 --> 00:08:05,160 mentioned, we are process first. So unlike other organizations in 131 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,460 our space, they really want to sell the tool. We're looking to 132 00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:11,820 see how you're doing it. So we sit down with you. We take a 133 00:08:11,820 --> 00:08:15,000 look at what your day to day looks like. What are you 134 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,400 actually saying, and the differences between the 135 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:21,680 compliance and what you do on a regular basis? Right? You may 136 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:25,880 have a humongous document that says we do X, Y and Z, but when 137 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,400 you come down and actually look at the process, it's one, two 138 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,940 and three, right? That happens very often, and there's always a 139 00:08:31,940 --> 00:08:36,140 misalignment there. So we start with identifying that. We try to 140 00:08:36,140 --> 00:08:39,680 map out big wins up front. What's a good return on 141 00:08:39,680 --> 00:08:42,820 investment based on this, and then based on that, we can try 142 00:08:42,820 --> 00:08:46,300 to see if the tools that you have already in good shape, you 143 00:08:46,300 --> 00:08:49,120 have the good infrastructure to manage this, or we need to 144 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,420 switch you into something else. We do a lot of development in 145 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:57,580 the Microsoft Power platform, which is a low code easy for the 146 00:08:57,580 --> 00:09:01,140 organization itself to manage the information afterwards, or 147 00:09:01,140 --> 00:09:05,220 create modifications. And then from there, we work into 148 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:09,240 establishing training material, ensuring the team is up to date, 149 00:09:09,660 --> 00:09:15,360 that we're ensuring that they're adopting the process long term. 150 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:19,080 So we provide a lot of back end support at the end of any 151 00:09:19,260 --> 00:09:24,260 project that we do most of the time is multi year engagements 152 00:09:24,260 --> 00:09:26,900 where we're in helping you keep moving forward. 153 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:31,880 Robert Plank: Okay, so the maybe when you jump in, the 154 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:36,440 instructions are not fully being being followed, and so you kind 155 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,260 of like break things down and build it back up, and then you 156 00:09:39,260 --> 00:09:42,520 make sure it gets implemented and make sure it sticks. And it 157 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:46,480 sounds good in theory, but, but I can only imagine the ways that 158 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,980 this might go wrong right as as the human factor is a part of 159 00:09:50,980 --> 00:09:55,660 it. So, like when, when you are implementing this multi year 160 00:09:55,660 --> 00:09:58,960 process and getting things performed in a better way. Like, 161 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:03,540 what have you seen as far. Far as where there is just the same 162 00:10:03,540 --> 00:10:05,820 problems happening, or where do the screw ups occur, 163 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:09,960 Santiago Cortes: it happens. There's a lot of similarities in 164 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:13,380 morning organizations, and it really comes down to the people, 165 00:10:13,380 --> 00:10:17,880 right? I find that I'm more of kind of psychologist of the 166 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:22,280 process than a tech consulting company in that sense, right? 167 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,880 Because you'll get to the situations where someone says, 168 00:10:26,300 --> 00:10:29,900 Okay, well, why do you do this? Oh, I don't know. We just always 169 00:10:29,900 --> 00:10:34,160 done it that way. And that says to me a couple pieces, right? 170 00:10:34,700 --> 00:10:37,460 Either they're just so swamped with work that they don't have 171 00:10:37,460 --> 00:10:41,620 the capacity to get beyond that, right, or that management really 172 00:10:41,620 --> 00:10:45,340 doesn't allow for those type of communications or that type of 173 00:10:45,340 --> 00:10:49,660 collaboration. It's really important on a regular basis. 174 00:10:49,660 --> 00:10:53,680 What I see is that there's always a sometimes there's a 175 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:56,200 small disconnect, sometimes a much larger disconnect, but 176 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:58,780 there's always a disconnect between the management team and 177 00:10:58,780 --> 00:11:01,560 the actual production team, right? You really have to take 178 00:11:01,560 --> 00:11:08,040 the time to ask why we're doing this, and embed that thought 179 00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:11,340 process into the team regularly, right? But then you have to have 180 00:11:11,340 --> 00:11:15,420 a feedback loop on that, because you can't have teams every day 181 00:11:15,420 --> 00:11:17,820 just say, hey, I need to switch this or this is wrong. This is 182 00:11:17,820 --> 00:11:20,640 wrong, this is wrong, right? You have to come with constructive 183 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,740 options through this process. So the thing I see the most is 184 00:11:25,100 --> 00:11:27,920 there's lack of communication within the organization, right, 185 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,040 within the same team, within different within the same 186 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,700 department. The way that the communication goes back and 187 00:11:34,700 --> 00:11:39,200 forth is not always as clean as it could be, right? And part of 188 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,740 that could be the process, part of that could be the management 189 00:11:41,740 --> 00:11:45,280 team and the way that they communicate, but we go through 190 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:48,340 that to say what's really important here? Why are you 191 00:11:48,340 --> 00:11:52,780 here? Well, we're trying to build X product, right? Okay, so 192 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,660 what do we really need to do that? Well, we don't need any of 193 00:11:55,660 --> 00:11:59,980 this, or we we need more of this, right? And when you have 194 00:11:59,980 --> 00:12:04,320 those conversations, one the team gets aligned, right? And so 195 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:08,160 that's epically important to ensuring that the goal gets met, 196 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,000 but it also helps identify a lot of items where there are issues 197 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:16,860 before. So at the essence of it, right, ensuring that there's a 198 00:12:16,860 --> 00:12:21,080 better communication within the team, that's, why we'd say where 199 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:24,920 most of the failures come from. Wonderful. 200 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:27,800 Robert Plank: So better communication as far as, why are 201 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:30,800 we doing this? And maybe, if we're doing it in an awkward 202 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,560 way, and we're fudging it and it's broken, it's not great, is 203 00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:38,000 there a better way? And then that that other communication to 204 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,660 the other department. So that way you have the feedback loop 205 00:12:40,660 --> 00:12:43,420 right between the management and the production. And there's, 206 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:47,560 like, you always hear all these, these silly cliches and stories 207 00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:50,500 about things like, well, there's some ticketing system and, like, 208 00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:52,840 they they didn't use the ticketing system because they 209 00:12:52,900 --> 00:12:55,720 didn't. They didn't want to look bad as far as fixing the 210 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:59,140 software bug. So you hear about, like, some grocery store where 211 00:12:59,260 --> 00:13:02,280 the customers have to, like, double up on the grocery bags, 212 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,220 because the management just, like, doesn't know how the how 213 00:13:05,460 --> 00:13:08,160 it actually works on boots on the ground, where you only use 214 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,040 one grocery bag, it breaks so you need two. So it's like, all 215 00:13:11,220 --> 00:13:14,580 the all these little problems, this death by 1000 cuts, that 216 00:13:14,580 --> 00:13:18,300 could be fixed if there was just, like, people talking to 217 00:13:18,300 --> 00:13:22,400 each other. And so it's, it's quite a fascinating like, 218 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:26,240 science and method that you have, and you have this thing 219 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,140 called operations as a service. I understand. So can you tell us 220 00:13:30,140 --> 00:13:32,240 what that is, sure? 221 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:35,480 Santiago Cortes: So, you know, we have a lot of going into, 222 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,720 like, you know, software as a service, and kind of falling 223 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,160 into that realm where the way that we approach this is we're 224 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:46,600 not we don't sell tools. That's not the goal here. We are 225 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:51,040 looking to partner with you to ensure your success long term, 226 00:13:51,460 --> 00:13:54,400 and that takes a long term commitment from both our sides, 227 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,100 right? So what we're really trying to accomplish here is we 228 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:00,460 say we will be your partner. We're going to be your embedded 229 00:14:00,460 --> 00:14:04,320 team. We're going to be an extension of your team to help 230 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:08,100 you through this process. So our operations as a service model is 231 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:12,240 we are embedded with your organization in a long term to 232 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:17,700 help address any operational and technology needs that that align 233 00:14:17,700 --> 00:14:21,140 with that, that kind of process. And it's everything that we've 234 00:14:21,140 --> 00:14:24,140 been talking about, right? We look at your process, we look at 235 00:14:24,140 --> 00:14:27,140 all the variables associated with it, and then we look to see 236 00:14:27,140 --> 00:14:29,300 how we can make this most effective and efficient, 237 00:14:29,540 --> 00:14:32,360 organizing it based on the goals of the organization, right? 238 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,540 Whatever their priorities are is really what our priorities 239 00:14:35,540 --> 00:14:38,360 become at that point. But those are generally longer 240 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,980 engagements. That's That's how we organize those. We also do 241 00:14:41,980 --> 00:14:46,720 work at the project level and such. But you were saying, 242 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:51,580 Robert Plank: Oh no, I would just, it's, um, I'm getting, I 243 00:14:51,580 --> 00:14:54,220 get excited like, hearing about this from you, right? It's like, 244 00:14:54,220 --> 00:14:56,680 infectious. It's like, you take something when you're talking 245 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,480 about, like, processes, workflows, tools, and. Goals and 246 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,360 metrics. Like, it sounds boring, but then someone like you I 247 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,120 talked to and it's like, hey, it can be fun. It can be exciting. 248 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,060 So it's like, listening to you. I feel like it's like a matter 249 00:15:09,060 --> 00:15:12,000 of you take your excitement where you can get it right, 250 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:16,620 like, say, say, you, you got offered, like, a million dollars 251 00:15:16,620 --> 00:15:19,020 a year to dig a ditch, and you'd be like, Well, I don't want to 252 00:15:19,020 --> 00:15:21,020 dig a ditch, yeah, but if you had a million dollars you get 253 00:15:21,020 --> 00:15:23,960 take your family on a cruise around the world. Wouldn't you 254 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:27,560 say, like, hey, well, I'm not getting the enjoyment from the 255 00:15:27,920 --> 00:15:31,340 present drudgery of digging a ditch, but I like what it will 256 00:15:31,340 --> 00:15:34,040 accomplish. And it seems like some of these things, like 257 00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:37,340 fixing up the systems and, like, you know, getting the workflow 258 00:15:37,340 --> 00:15:40,900 figured out, like, it's kind of it sucks in the present moment, 259 00:15:41,020 --> 00:15:44,620 but then what will give you after the transformation occurs? 260 00:15:44,620 --> 00:15:47,440 That seems like that's, that's what we should be shooting for, 261 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:51,220 right? The the excitement, the encouragement of what, what the 262 00:15:51,220 --> 00:15:52,360 rows of your future will be, 263 00:15:53,380 --> 00:15:57,280 Santiago Cortes: absolutely that that outcome really keeping in 264 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,740 line with that goal really makes a big difference, right? Because 265 00:15:59,740 --> 00:16:03,000 you're going to get lost on that journey. The moment you're like, 266 00:16:03,060 --> 00:16:05,940 Man, I have to review all of these documents, right? Or we 267 00:16:05,940 --> 00:16:10,140 have to go through all of this information to figure out, how 268 00:16:10,140 --> 00:16:14,880 do we do next? It's not the most exciting type of work in that 269 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:18,480 sense, right? But people forget that hard work is what 270 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:20,960 ultimately is going to get you there, right? So it's not 271 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:24,260 glamorous, but it's going to get to it's going to get you to 272 00:16:24,260 --> 00:16:28,340 where you need to be. And, you know, in the sense of like, it's 273 00:16:28,340 --> 00:16:32,300 not glamorous, I never thought operations was going to be my 274 00:16:32,300 --> 00:16:35,960 thing. I didn't think that. I didn't wake up, you know, five, 275 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:38,900 six years old, and say, I'm going to be an Operations and 276 00:16:38,900 --> 00:16:41,980 Technology leader that helps people make their processes 277 00:16:41,980 --> 00:16:46,660 better. But you know now, at this point in my life, I really 278 00:16:46,660 --> 00:16:52,000 enjoy it, and I see that there's tangible benefit to the 279 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,600 organizations and the people within the organizations that we 280 00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:59,800 provide on a regular basis, just ensuring that there's no 281 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:02,880 obstacles in their way that we're fixing these pieces right 282 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:08,100 so at a high level, not, not the most glamorous thing, but it's a 283 00:17:08,100 --> 00:17:10,680 very fulfilling work. And I really enjoy helping these 284 00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:12,720 organizations do that, do that work. 285 00:17:15,060 --> 00:17:17,340 Robert Plank: Yeah, you found the right fit in the same way 286 00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:20,160 that you want the right fit tools and the right fit people 287 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:24,740 in that organization, and it's a great thing to aspire to. And so 288 00:17:24,740 --> 00:17:28,280 we've been kind of geeking out a little bit about what you do to 289 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:31,760 help these companies, but I have to admit, like I know, I know 290 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:34,880 very little about what you do right with these, these 291 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:38,060 compliance companies and the industries that they're in, but 292 00:17:38,060 --> 00:17:40,280 you're the star of the show here, and I want to make sure 293 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,840 you focus on what's important to you. Mr. Santiago Cortez, so in 294 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,740 our conversation here, what's the missing question? What 295 00:17:47,740 --> 00:17:50,620 should I be asking you? I just don't know to ask you, 296 00:17:51,820 --> 00:17:54,580 Santiago Cortes: I think you, you've asked around it many 297 00:17:54,580 --> 00:17:57,700 times, right? Like, how do we help organizations be better, 298 00:17:57,820 --> 00:18:02,640 right? And really, of that, at the core of it is, start with 299 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:06,600 start with the small start with the boring things, right? Work 300 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,840 on those and ensure that those things are being addressed on a 301 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:13,200 regular basis, that you have a mechanism in your organization 302 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:17,100 to ensure that that's one coming up to light, and then that 303 00:18:17,100 --> 00:18:19,680 you're having a conversations about how we can make those 304 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:23,900 better, right? Those are the important things that really 305 00:18:23,900 --> 00:18:27,260 help move forward. That's important in business in 306 00:18:27,260 --> 00:18:30,380 general, but also in life in general, right? You just want to 307 00:18:30,380 --> 00:18:33,140 ensure these little things don't get caught in your way of the 308 00:18:33,140 --> 00:18:36,260 big things, right? They all lead to that. So I would say that 309 00:18:36,260 --> 00:18:39,680 that's from a growth perspective, that's really 310 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:40,280 important. 311 00:18:42,860 --> 00:18:44,740 Robert Plank: Oh, yeah. So you're saying, and you mentioned 312 00:18:44,740 --> 00:18:47,140 earlier, the easy wins. So there's the easy wins with 313 00:18:47,140 --> 00:18:50,680 little things just like, What can I do to make sure the trains 314 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,740 run on time? And that means like, what's currently working 315 00:18:53,740 --> 00:18:57,580 and and what should I revisit to just to make sure, on a 316 00:18:57,580 --> 00:19:00,480 recurring basis, that it's all running smoothly? And so if 317 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,720 someone is listening to our conversation here about what you 318 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,900 figured out about the transformation you apply, what 319 00:19:07,020 --> 00:19:10,680 is the next logical step? If someone wants to know more about 320 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,460 lab cortex and you yourself, Mr. Santiago Cortez, where should 321 00:19:14,460 --> 00:19:15,000 they go? 322 00:19:15,780 --> 00:19:17,880 Santiago Cortes: Well, they can check out us out on our website, 323 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:23,540 lab cortex.com, or check us out on LinkedIn. Or, you know, if 324 00:19:23,540 --> 00:19:25,700 you want to reach out through us, through some of the forums 325 00:19:25,700 --> 00:19:28,880 we have, our team can reach out to you and try to coordinate a 326 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,720 discovery session, figure out what how we can help you, and 327 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,360 where do you really need the help, right? Because sometimes 328 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:40,040 not knowing where to start is also a hurdle in this process, 329 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:42,460 right? So we we help you through that piece. 330 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:48,880 Robert Plank: Oh, yeah. And many times you need additional brains 331 00:19:48,940 --> 00:19:52,300 on the problem, or you need someone to, like, set up, like, 332 00:19:52,300 --> 00:19:55,000 what you mentioned about Microsoft Power and just be 333 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,480 like, Hey, here's our take on it. Here's our way of just, 334 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:04,080 like, showing you a. How things are and so that's labcortex.com 335 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:10,080 lab cortex helps organizations work smarter and safer. They 336 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,440 partner with teams in healthcare, life sciences, 337 00:20:13,500 --> 00:20:17,880 financial services, nonprofits and governments to solve real 338 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:22,460 problems and make daily work easier. They deliver results you 339 00:20:22,460 --> 00:20:25,880 can measure. They listen, they learn. They work alongside your 340 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,480 team to create lasting improvements. And so if you say, 341 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:32,780 you know, there's got to be a way to make our business 342 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:37,520 operations easier, use AI to make those decisions better 343 00:20:37,940 --> 00:20:40,720 work. Use the right digital tools keep our company 344 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,020 compliant, all those things. Then lab cortex, which you can 345 00:20:44,020 --> 00:20:46,600 find@labcortex.com linkedin.com/company/lab, 346 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:53,500 cortex. And most importantly, linkedin.com/i, n slash, 347 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:58,240 Santiago Cortez. This is a guy that you need to be speaking 348 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,980 with, if you just know that there's some dysfunction with 349 00:21:01,980 --> 00:21:05,520 the people, with the processes, with the tools, and you need 350 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,160 some additional outside help. That's Santiago 351 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:13,980 cortez@labcortex.com but before I let you go, Mr. Santiago, it's 352 00:21:13,980 --> 00:21:17,700 time for the scary part of the podcast where I tried to stump 353 00:21:17,700 --> 00:21:21,200 you. I tried to put you on the spot by asking you about a fun 354 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:24,740 or interesting quote or lesson that has served you. So what 355 00:21:24,740 --> 00:21:27,860 comes to mind as far as that fun or interesting quote or lesson, 356 00:21:29,060 --> 00:21:35,480 Santiago Cortes: I would say, tools amplify a process. They 357 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:40,480 don't replace it. So that that's something important in this, in 358 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:43,960 this for your listeners and anyone that's just doing this 359 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:48,160 type of work right, focus on that process and ultimately that 360 00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:49,300 everything's going to be right. 361 00:21:52,420 --> 00:21:54,640 Robert Plank: Of course, you have a computer, you have 362 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:57,460 Google, you have a smartphone, you have chat GBT, you have all 363 00:21:57,460 --> 00:22:00,900 these amazing tools, but you have to use it properly. And 364 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:05,520 Santiago Cortez and his team@labcortex.com can help you 365 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:10,680 use these amazing resources available to you with the cloud 366 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:15,960 and all this remote work. So lab cortex.com L, A, B, C, O, R, T, 367 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:20,600 E, x.com have that conversation. Talk to him and his team. Keep 368 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,720 your company compliant, make business operations easier, 369 00:22:23,780 --> 00:22:27,620 build and connect digital tools and they can help your 370 00:22:27,620 --> 00:22:30,680 organization. So schedule a call and get started@labcortex.com 371 00:22:33,260 --> 00:22:36,920 thanks for showing us, stopping by Mr. Santiago Cortez and 372 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,340 educating us and Robert telling us how things can be better and 373 00:22:40,340 --> 00:22:41,740 different. I really appreciate you. 374 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:44,740 Unknown: I appreciate the time. Thank you for taking the time 375 00:22:44,740 --> 00:22:49,120 with us. Heck yeah.