Ops Quickie: PSA vs ERP – Same Same...or Totally Different?
Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿So many acronyms, but what do they mean!? This one’s for anyone wondering: what’s the difference between a PSA and an ERP? And which one does your business actually need?Harv breaks down how both systems bring your operations together – but are built for completely different worlds. ERPs power product-based businesses with inventory, supply chains, and manufacturing. PSAs, like Scoro, are built for service businesses that sell time and expertise.If you’ve ever been told you “need an ERP” – this one’s worth a listen before you sign anything.And if you’ve got a question about ops tech, PSAs, or Scoro, drop Harv a message on LinkedIn. He might just turn it into the next Quickie.
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Beyond Experiments: What It Really Takes to Operationalize AI with Luke Alexander
AI has stopped being a side project – it’s rewriting the rules of how professional services businesses operate – and – stay competitive.Luke Alexander, Chief Digital & AI Officer at Four, has led an ambitious AI transformation in his business. From rolling out Microsoft Copilot across 300+ staff to launching client-facing AI services, Luke’s approach to embedding AI is bold, practical, and refreshingly human.In this episode, Luke and Harv unpack what it really takes to move from AI experiments to AI integration – and the leadership, structure, and mindset that make it work.Here’s what we dive into:• How Four operationalized AI across teams (and why fluency beats training)• The three categories of AI value – assistive, automated, and transformative• Why senior leadership buy-in is the single biggest success factor• How to overcome the “AI shame” still holding some teams back• The impact of AI on agency structures, staffing, and the future of junior rolesIf you’re still just experimenting with AI – but haven’t figured out how to truly embed it into the way you operate, this episode shows what that next stage looks like in practice — and what it demands from leadership.Additional Resources:👉🏽 Follow Luke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukealexander/ 4️⃣ Check out Four’s website: https://www.four.agency/ 👨🏽 Follow Harv on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harvnagra/ 📈 Measure your business maturity and find out how to get to the next level: https://bit.ly/assess-business-maturity 📬 Stay up to date with regular ops insights. Subscribe to The Handbook: The Operations Newsletter: https://www.scoro.com/podcast/#handbook ➡️ This podcast is brought to you by Scoro, where you can manage your projects, resources and finances in a single system. Sign up for a free trial or a demo at https://scoro.com/demo – and for the VIP treatment, tell them Harv sent you.
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Ops Quickie: MCP – the Missing Link Between Ops & AI?
Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿This one’s for anyone curious about the next big shift in how AI connects with the tools you already use: MCP. Model context protocol.Harv breaks down what it is (a universal connector for AI), why it matters for ops leaders, and how it could turn your favourite LLM into the control center for your business systems.He also shares how Scoro’s new MCP server unlocks practical (and pretty mind-blowing) use cases – like summarising client meetings straight into Scoro tasks, or pulling insights across Scoro, Slack, Gmail, and other tools in one prompt.MCP is brand new, but it’s going to change how we work. Tune in to get ahead of the curve.
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Becoming Better Ops Leaders: Lessons from Operations Nation
Ops isn’t just about keeping the lights on anymore.As Aušrinė Keršanskaitė, co-founder of Operations Nation, puts it – today’s ops leaders are expected to drive growth, protect culture, and build resilience. And if you’ve ever felt like the “glue” holding everything together without always getting recognition, this one will hit home.In this episode of The Handbook: The Operations Podcast, Aušrinė joins Harv to talk about the evolution of operations, the community she’s built for ops leaders everywhere, and what it takes to step into leadership with confidence.Here’s what we get into:How so many of us “fall into” operations without a playbook – and how to build one for yourselfThe loneliness of ops roles, and why communities like Operations Nation matterTraits that define a brilliant ops leader today – from resilience to influence over executionHow startups’ scrappy mindset can sharpen your approach to tooling, automation, and scalingThe real opportunity with AI in ops (hint: it’s not about replacing your team)Whether you’re a COO, head of ops, or still figuring out your path – this conversation is packed with lessons on how to elevate your role and find support along the way.Additional Resources: 👉🏽 Follow Aušrinė on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ausrine/ 💡 Check out Operations Nation: https://operationsnation.com/ 📣 Get your tickets for cONference 2025 in London (£30 off with code SCORO): https://luma.com/onconference2025 📚 The ON COO Course: https://operationsnation.com/resources/coo-resources 👨🏽 Follow Harv on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harvnagra/ 📈 Measure your business maturity and find out how to get to the next level: https://bit.ly/assess-business-maturity 📬 Stay up to date with regular ops insights. Subscribe to The Handbook: The Operations Newsletter: https://www.scoro.com/podcast/#handbook ➡️ This podcast is brought to you by Scoro, where you can manage your projects, resources and finances in a single system. Sign up for a free trial or a demo at https://scoro.com/demo – and for the VIP treatment, tell them Harv sent you.
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Ops Quickie: When your stack starts to crack 😬
Ops Quickies – snackable episodes on tech, tools, and systems. 🍿This one’s for anyone who’s ever looked at their jumble of spreadsheets and apps and thought: “Is this normal?”Harv explains why the state of your tech stack is actually a mirror of your business maturity – from The Chaotic Era where everything’s buried in spreadsheets and copy-paste is your main 'process', through The Stable Era where processes click into place, and up to The Data-Driven Era where your systems finally give you a clear view of the road ahead.He also shares the headcount milestone where cracks really start to show if you don’t have a PSA like Scoro in place.Not sure where you stand? Take Harv’s Business Maturity Quiz (3 minutes, 25 questions) at https://bit.ly/assess-business-maturity and see how your setup stacks up.And if you know someone stuck in spreadsheet purgatory, send this episode their way.
Running a serviced based business, an agency or consultancy isn’t just about great client work. It’s about keeping everything behind the scenes running smoothly. That’s where The Handbook comes in. Our goal? To help you take your business to the next level of business maturity.This podcast is for operations and service-business leaders who are juggling it all – people, processes, finance, tech, and everything in between. Every other week, we dive deep into a specific challenge that businesses face as they grow in headcount and complexity. You'll get practical insights and real-world advice from experts who’ve been there, solved the problems, and know what works.If you’re looking for smarter ways to scale, streamline, and strengthen your business, you’re in the right place. Welcome to The Handbook community, your go-to guide for better business operations.And don’t forget to sign up for The Handbook newsletter – we’ll send you the key takeaways from each episode straight to your inbox: scoro.com/podcast/#handbook The Handbook: The Operations Podcast is brought to you by Scoro.
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