The Innovation Forge Podcast

What does it take to turn a complex, overloaded CRM system into a clean, sustainable, and scalable operation? In this episode, Jon Thornton, CRM Manager at Oregon State University, shares his journey from overengineered solutions to streamlined systems that empower users, and why he ultimately returned to higher ed after a foray into the private sector. 💡 Whether you're working in Slate, Salesfor...

Ever wonder why projects stall just steps from the finish line? Or how a nearly-perfect campaign can vanish into the abyss of edits, approvals, and polite delays? In this inaugural entry from The Fieldsmith’s Register , the enigmatic Threadweaver guides us through the emotional terrain of almost-done work, where momentum fizzles, ownership blurs, and the final push quietly disappears. From The Can...

Tools down, minds up. The Forge Bellows is shaping Enrollment Factors. In the Innovation Forge, we don’t guess. We listen for the ping, test the grain, and strike with purpose. And if Batch One was about the rise of predictive analytics, Batch Two is about raw material: the student voice. This month, we’re tempering our assumptions with hard-earned insights from more than 35,000 students across fi...

In this Coffee & Coals episode of #TheInnovationForgePodcast, host David Dysart pulls back the curtain on a quirky new episode type that will debut on the podcast: The Forgesmith's Trials. This new episode chronicles the live polls happening on LinkedIn right now (https://www.linkedin.com/in/daviddysart/), pitting the 10 Enrollment Aces against each other in a March Madness-style bracket. The firs...

Visiting Artisan | Quick Strike Interviews from Slate Summit 2025 – Episode 1 🎙️ Presented by The Innovation Forge What happens when enrollment artisans from across the country gather in the heat of Slate Summit? You get insights that are fast, sharp, and forged from real practice. In this first batch of Quick Strike Interviews , seven enrollment professionals reflect on the tools, habits, and min...

Ever wonder why projects stall just steps from the finish line? Or how a nearly-perfect campaign can vanish into the abyss of edits, approvals, and polite delays? In this inaugural entry from The Fieldsmith’s Register, the enigmatic Threadweaver guides us through the emotional terrain of almost-done work, where momentum fizzles, ownership blurs, and the final push quietly disappears. From The Cand...

🔥 Welcome to forge, where admissions strategy meets the anvil. In this fiery debut of The Forge Bellows, we dive straight into the crucible of Adaptive Enrollment Management with four hand-forged insights that turn raw data into relational strategy. 🔨 This isn’t a recap, it’s a reckoning. We break down how CRMs aren’t just digital filing cabinets but co-craftsmen in the recruitment forge. We exp...

In this episode of Coffee & Coals, we take a stroll through The Innovation Forge’s vocabulary workshop and meet a tiny but mighty figure: the Field of Stats Mouse. From whispered variables to thunderous queries, every part of The Forge has a lexicon, and this mouse knows the hidden meanings behind the terms we toss around. We talk about how language shapes the way we understand our work and how na...

In this in-depth conversation, Kristina Kelpe (founder of Legato Strategic Consulting) shares her personal journey from higher ed administration into consulting, where she now helps institutions successfully implement complex systems like Workday Student and Slate CRM. Kristina opens up about: * The simple grad school lesson that shaped her entire career * How she overcame imposter syndrome and pi...

The Innovation Forge Codex: A Mysterious Discovery at Slate Summit 🔮⚙️ While attending Slate Summit, I stumbled into something...unexpected. A wrong turn led me not just past the ballroom, but into an entirely different kind of encounter, a forgotten document tucked beneath dusty swag bags and old lanyards: The Innovation Forge Codex Inside were six disciplines, each more fascinating than the las...

From the Foundry: Chapter 3 - Leveraging Excel for Scoring and Validation, read by the Author David Dysart Get your copy of The Innovation Forge on Amazon now: https://tinyurl.com/TheInnovationForgepaperback In this chapter, we explore how Excel becomes an indispensable tool for building, testing, and refining student engagement scores outside of Slate CRM. While Slate does a fantastic job of coll...

When a massive tree unexpectedly crashes in my backyard, an epic battle begins, fueled by sweat, strategy, and just a little Slate-fueled spite. But this isn’t just about yard work. In this cinematic mini-episode, we follow the duel between man and nature, told in classic anime style… until the axe gives way to insight. From fallen limbs to broken logic models, this Forge tale is a metaphor for th...

In this delightfully candid Coffee & Coals episode of #TheInnovationForgePodcast, host David Dysart pulls back the curtain on the quirky, heartfelt origin of the TIF Avatar, a tartan-clad, pajama-wearing, shark-slippered digital doppelgänger born from AI misadventure and Scottish heritage. From publishing hurdles to unexpected ChatGPT "hallucinations" (hello, Forensic Enrollment Management!), Davi...

What happens when a 180-year-old institution decides to rethink the way it serves transfer students? You get strategy, simplicity, and one seriously powerful process. In this episode, Ben Parsons , Senior Associate Director of Enrollment Operations at the College of the Holy Cross, shares how he transformed a fragmented, manual transfer admissions process into a cohesive, collaborative workflow. W...

What happens when a 180-year-old institution decides to rethink the way it serves transfer students? You get strategy, simplicity, and one seriously powerful process. In this episode, Ben Parsons , Senior Associate Director of Enrollment Operations at the College of the Holy Cross, shares how he transformed a fragmented, manual transfer admissions process into a cohesive, collaborative workflow. W...

From the Foundry: Chapter 2 - “Understanding Engagement Scoring in Slate”, read by the Author David Dysart Get your copy of The Innovation Forge on Amazon now: https://tinyurl.com/TheInnovationForgePaperback How do institutions track, measure, and enhance student engagement? The answer lies in Engagement Scoring, an approach that turns student interactions into actionable insights. Join me to lear...

From the Foundry: Chapter 2 - Collaboration and Staff Engagement, read by the Author David Dysart Get your copy of The Innovation Forge on Amazon now: https://tinyurl.com/TheInnovationForgePaperback How do you strike the perfect balance between data-driven decision-making and the invaluable human expertise of your admissions team? Today, I read Chapter 2 of my Book: “Collaboration and Staff Engage...

In this special Slate Summit Teaser Trailer, we picture this: a group of dynamic, data-driven superheroes ready to tackle the toughest enrollment hurdles, and they're using nothing but their knowledge, skills, and the power of Slate. Join me as I introduce the Slate Team, a group of fictional characters inspired by real-world enrollment and marketing tactics at Slate Summit 2025 in the session Bec...

In this special Slate Summit Teaser Trailer, we picture this: a group of dynamic, data-driven superheroes ready to tackle the toughest enrollment hurdles, and they're using nothing but their knowledge, skills, and the power of Slate. Join me as I introduce the Slate Team, a group of fictional characters inspired by real-world enrollment and marketing tactics at Slate Summit 2025 in the session Bec...

From the Foundry: Chapter 1 - “Understanding Engagement Scoring in Slate”, read by the Author David Dysart Get your copy of The Innovation Forge on Amazon now: https://tinyurl.com/TheInnovationForgePaperback How do institutions track, measure, and enhance student engagement? The answer lies in Engagement Scoring, an approach that turns student interactions into actionable insights. Join me to lear...

Welcome back to a Coffee and Coals episode. Today’s episode revisits A Slate-mas Carol, the Slate-themed parody of A Christmas Carol with a Podcaster’s Commentary. Slate-mas Carol originally appeared in The Innovation Forge Podcast’s feed as a Semester 1 lineup announcement. The video is in the style of a silent film, so the original episode contained no speaking. I talk over the music bed in this...

From jigsaw puzzles to global campuses, Jon Rowand’s career has been all about solving complex problems and making them look effortless. In this episode, Jon, Founder and CEO of Slate Gold Preferred Partner ReWorkflow, joins David Dysart for an energizing discussion into staff empowerment, tech adoption, and building sustainable innovation in higher ed. They unpack how to actually do more with les...

Every Slate wizard, data whisperer, and enrollment smith has a story worth telling. I’m doing 5-minutes interviews at #SlateSummit 2025 to spotlight the clever tricks, tools, and time-savers forged in your workshop for my podcast #TheInnovationForge Sign up, and let's connect at Summit! https://tinyurl.com/QuickStrikesSummit25 Music Credits: "Cold Sober" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) "Village Co...

In this first-ever Coals and Coffee episode, David pulls back the curtain on one of the quirkiest elements of The Innovation Forge: the Consultant Cadre. From a data-mining shark that sparked a surge in workshop registrations to a tartan-clad goat named Cliff, David shares the story of how mascots became a surprising force in the world of Adaptive Enrollment Management. This episode features the t...

What happens when three Slate superstars sit down to chat about innovation, problem-solving, and Shrek Crocs? Pure magic. In this episode of The Innovation Forge Podcast, I talk with Katie Jordan (The Parish Group), Cody Gray, and Christopher Kwan (Technolutions) about how they push creative boundaries in Slate. From their unconventional career paths to their favorite Slate hacks, this trio shares...