Why the President of a 25-Year Education Company Signs His Emails "Just Vinnie" | Vinnie Forese

Vinnie Forese has run Link Systems International for 25 years, serving colleges and K-12 programs across the country. His COO will correct you on the spot if you call them a vendor. They're partners. And that one word changes everything about how they do business.Vinnie Forese is the President of Link Systems International, an online tech-enabled services company focused on student achievement and persistence in higher education and K-12. In this episode of Conversations That Count, he sits down with David Shaft to talk about why AI will never replace a good tutor, what 25 years of building real partnerships (not contracts) taught him about communication, and the leadership mistake most people don't unlearn until it's too late.The difference between working in your business and working on your business, why the first makes you president and the second makes you CEO, and how that shift let Vinnie take a month in Italy without a single crisisWhy a tutoring session that starts with "I shouldn't even be in this math class" requires empathy and human connection that no chatbot can replicate, and what that means for every industry trying to replace people with technologyThe story of a boss who read Vinnie a brutal complaint letter, watched him sweat through it, then laughed and said "this is exactly what I hired you to do," and how that moment shaped how he leads todayWatch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConversationsThatCount-CTCNew episodes of Conversations That Count every Tuesday and Thursday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube. Follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode.Full episodes, show notes, and resources at ctcpodcast.mediaFree Communication Playbook with 10 frameworks and scripts to communicate like a pro: https://conversations-that-count.kit.com/e7fa86a708