Consulting Groups Los Angeles
Connect at Consulting Events in Los Angeles
AI Just Broke Your Strategy. Here's How To Fix It.
Thu, Sep 10, 1:00 AMJoin the ProductTank Los Angeles and PMA.LA community for an evening of insights, conversation, and connection with Martin Eriksson, one of the most influential voices in product leadership and organizational strategy. With more than 30 years of experience as a product leader, founder, investor, advisor, and author, Martin has dedicated his career to helping organizations build better products, stronger teams, and more effective businesses. From pioneering SaaS companies before the term became mainstream to advising more than 150 organizations at every stage of growth, Martin has consistently challenged conventional thinking and helped leaders unlock organizational performance. **Featured Talk: AI Just Broke Your Strategy. Here's How To Fix It.** When anyone can build anything, the competitive advantage is no longer in building. It is in knowing what to build and why. While many organizations are focused on using AI to do what they already do faster and cheaper, Martin argues that this is the wrong question. In fact, it may be quietly limiting ambition at the exact moment it should be expanding it. As the cost of development continues to fall, the primary constraint is no longer execution. The bottleneck has shifted to clarity. The challenge is no longer "Can we build it?" but "Should we build it?" Most teams are not prepared for this shift. In this thought provoking session, Martin explores how AI is reshaping strategy, decision making, and organizational advantage. Drawing on insights from his latest work, The Decision Stack, he will share how leaders can create the strategic clarity needed to thrive in an era where technology is abundant but direction is scarce. Attendees will learn why alignment matters more than ever, how to connect vision to everyday decisions, and how to turn AI from a potential threat into a powerful catalyst for innovation, growth, and organizational momentum. **About Martin Eriksson** Martin Eriksson is a board member, strategic advisor, leadership coach, and author of **The Decision Stack: How Strategic Clarity Unlocks Organizational Momentum**. Since 1994, Martin has built digital products and businesses across organizations including The Financial Times, Monster, Huddle, Covestor, Cazoo, and most recently served as Product Partner at EQT, one of the world's largest private investment firms. He is also the founder of ProductTank and co founder of Mind the Product, together the world's largest product management community spanning more than 200 cities worldwide. Through his work, writing, and leadership, Martin has helped shape the practice of product management for an entire generation of product leaders. **Special Thanks to Our Sponsor: ADP** ADP is a global leader in cloud based Human Capital Management solutions, helping organizations manage HR, payroll, talent, time, tax, and benefits administration through innovative technology and deep industry expertise. By combining powerful analytics, compliance capabilities, and business outsourcing solutions, ADP helps organizations create better workplace experiences and unlock the full potential of their people. Learn more: https://www.adp.com/ ADP. Always Designing for People. #WhatAreYouWorkingFor
Pasadena jazz concert
Fri, Sep 25, 1:00 AMFree Pasadena jazz concert at 7:00 pm; We will meet early to get something to drink or eat then get some seats as a group;
Drinks with Designers (at Steinberg Hart)
Fri, Sep 11, 1:00 AMIndustry professionals are navigating rapid change, from AI-driven tools reshaping project workflows to shifting expectations around speed, quality, and collaboration across teams. This evening will bring attendees together for an informal discussion on where the industry is headed, what's working well for teams today, and where AI can fit into that picture. The conversation will draw on practitioner experience across firms to surface practical takeaways attendees can bring back to their own teams. Following the discussion, attendees are invited to stay for a cocktail reception with light bites and the opportunity to connect with peers across the industry.
French Conversational Class
Tue, Sep 15, 12:00 AMFrench Conversation in Pasadena is a relaxed group for adults who want to become comfortable actually communicating in French — even when they don’t know every word. Our philosophy is very simple: Don’t stop because you don’t know the perfect word. Find another way to say it. Keep talking. Communicate. This is almost the opposite of the traditional language-class mentality where people become afraid to speak until they know exactly how to construct the sentence. Here, we want you to jump in. Use the French you already have. Make mistakes. Describe the word you don’t know. Use another expression. Ask a question. Gesture if you need to. Find your way around the problem and get your point across. That ability is one of the most important skills in actually speaking another language. If you forget the French word for “umbrella,” for example, the conversation doesn’t have to stop. You can say: “The thing you use when it rains…” And suddenly, you’re still communicating in French. That’s what we practice. THIS IS ABOUT COMMUNICATION, NOT PERFECTION You are absolutely allowed to make mistakes. In fact, mistakes are expected. The objective is not to create a perfect sentence in your head before opening your mouth. The objective is to develop the confidence and spontaneity to use whatever French you know at that moment. We work on learning how to think around a missing word instead of freezing because of it. Over time, something important happens: you stop translating every sentence in your head and start finding ways to communicate directly in French. That is where real confidence begins. NOT A TRADITIONAL GRAMMAR CLASS We are not sitting around doing two hours of worksheets or correcting every sentence somebody says. Of course, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation matter, and we work on them naturally during the class. But communication comes first. A sentence that isn’t grammatically perfect but is understood is far more useful than the perfect sentence you were too afraid to say. WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY DO? The sessions are built around conversation, listening, improvisation, pronunciation, vocabulary, role-playing, games and real-life situations. We might talk about: Travel, food, relationships, work, French culture, movies, everyday life, current topics or simply what happened during your week. We also practice situations such as ordering in a restaurant, shopping at a French market, meeting someone for the first time, asking questions, telling a story, describing something when you don’t know its name, or expressing an opinion. We use conversation games and exercises specifically designed to make you react and speak spontaneously instead of preparing every sentence beforehand. You’ll also learn the French people actually use — everyday expressions, informal vocabulary and phrases that often never appear in traditional textbooks. ALL LEVELS ARE WELCOME You do not need to speak perfect French. You don’t even need to feel “ready.” If you studied French before but freeze as soon as someone starts speaking to you, this group is particularly designed for you. Beginners can learn to communicate with the vocabulary they already have. Intermediate speakers can become much more spontaneous. Advanced speakers can keep practicing and developing natural conversation skills. Everyone participates at their own level. A RELAXED ENVIRONMENT Classes take place inside a French restaurant in Pasadena, in a small and friendly group. The atmosphere is deliberately relaxed. Nobody is being tested. Nobody is expected to perform. Nobody is going to stop you every five seconds because you used the wrong tense. The purpose is to create a place where speaking French becomes normal — and where you slowly lose the fear of making mistakes. The group is led by a native French speaker, born and raised on the French Riviera, with a background in acting and performance. That background influences the class heavily: language is treated as communication, reaction, listening and expression, not simply memorization. 2-hour conversation sessions — $60 per person. If you want to stop worrying about whether your French is perfect and start becoming someone who can actually communicate with it, this is the group. Speak first. Make mistakes. Find another way. Be understood. Keep going. That’s how you become comfortable speaking French.
Scaling SaaS Right Now: Lessons from the Frontlines
Fri, Sep 11, 3:15 PMToday’s environment is forcing SaaS founders and operators to rethink not just what they build—but how they build, deliver, and scale it. Join us for a candid, discussion-driven session with Bryan Walley, CEO & Co-founder of Forward Inheritance, as we explore what it takes to grow a SaaS venture in today’s rapidly shifting landscape. Bryan is has built Forward Inheritance, a platform designed to bring clarity and structure to one of the most complex and emotionally charged areas families face—inheritance and legacy planning. The idea didn’t start as a business—it started as a personal need. Faced with navigating estate planning within his own family, Bryan saw firsthand the lack of simple, secure, and transparent tools to organize information, communicate clearly, and align across generations. So he built one. Today, Forward is evolving that solution into a broader platform that helps families move from confusion and avoidance to clarity and preparedness—combining secure document management, financial tools, and guided collaboration. In this session, Bryan will share how his team is approaching: * Building and positioning a SaaS product in a nuanced, human-centered problem space * Rethinking product delivery and user experience in today’s market * Navigating the intersection of fintech, family dynamics, and long-term planning * Lessons learned while scaling in an environment that demands adaptability This won’t be a one-way presentation—it’s an opportunity to exchange ideas, compare approaches, and learn from others navigating similar challenges. Whether you're building, scaling, advising, investing—or simply interested in how SaaS is evolving—this session offers a practical and timely perspective on what’s working right now. **Networking** Come early to connect with fellow founders, technologists, creatives, and community members. Friday Coffee Meetup is as much about the people in the room as it is about the conversation on stage. *** ## **About the Speaker** Bryan Walley is CEO & Co-founder of Forward Inheritance and a technology and business leader with a proven track record of building and delivering software-driven solutions across a range of industries, including financial services. His experience spans the full lifecycle of innovation—from early concept and product development through go-to-market execution and operational scale. With a background that bridges technology, business strategy, and execution, Bryan has led initiatives across software development, product management, strategic partnerships, and business growth. At Forward Inheritance, Bryan is focused on helping families navigate inheritance and legacy planning through tools that promote clarity, communication, and proactive
Smerconish Mingle Meetup
Mon, Sep 28, 12:00 AMIf you feel politically stuck in the middle between clowns to the left and jokers to the right, you’ve found the perfect Meetup group to join! Inspired by Michael Smerconish’s The Mingle Project, we meet to discuss hot topics and news events and welcome people with different points of view. If you’re an independent thinker and want to join a conversation with people of diverse views, then you’ve found the right place.
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