Every meeting is like a poker table. Whether you are pitching your idea or client. Every negotiation for a raise is a game. Every room is an opportunity, unless you stay on the sidelines.

The movie Rounders teaches us that poker requires skills to win, so does life.

Two characters offer two different approaches. Which one are you?

Joey Knish? The grinder who plays it safe for 15 years, pays his bills, and stays exactly the same.

Or Mike McDermott? The guy who loses $30,000, gets his face busted, then comes back and wins bigger than ever.

Here's what I learned in 27 years of broadcasting: Your career is a series of poker tables. The question isn't what cards you have, it's whether you know how to read the room. When to go all in, and which tables are worth sitting at.

If you're tired of playing it safe and ready to take your shot, this episode is your permission slip.

So...Are you Knish or Mike?

Small business owners, I have breaking news for you...

Poor communication is costing you hundreds of thousands in revenue.

One company in Phoenix lost all my future business and referrals because of it.

We, your customers, want three things:

Treat us well

Make things easy

Provide good value

Miss these, and thousands of dollars evaporate in silence. You'll never hear about it. But your competitors are cashing in. The sad part? Many small business owners don't care. Or think they'll always have plenty of customers.

Which is why customer relationships are your biggest competitive advantage.

Four businesses have lost my business in the past three months because poor communication ruined our relationship. In this Phoenix example, the schedule wasn't clear, and neither was the payment process.

Schedule or project confusion is the fastest way to lose customer trust.

No trust = No more money

No trust = No referrals

Relationships are only as good as their communication.

This company offered me a good deal. However, I wasn't treated well, and it wasn't easy. A 3-hour job took 3 months to finish.

Here's the kicker: we, your customers, are willing to pay a little MORE for exceptional service.

Here are a couple of ideas for you:

📞 Call ten customers. Ask them about their honest experience.

📋 Train customer service reps to capture the right customer information—information that builds trust.

⭐ Be referral-worthy.

If you aren't 100% sure your customer relationships are built on trust, DM me. Let's diagnose a few fixes and go from there.

If you strive to be even better at customer relationships, DM me.

If you want to be the best in your industry, DM me.

When Netflix announced its $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery on December 5, 2025, two CEOs had to communicate the same massive change to completely different audiences.

The stakes couldn't be higher. 300 million Netflix subscribers. 128 million HBO Max users. 49,000 employees are wondering if they'll have jobs next year. And Hollywood legends like James Cameron saying, "Netflix would be a disaster."

Former radio broadcaster and communications strategist Rob Hunter breaks down exactly how Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav managed (and sometimes mismanaged) the highest-stakes corporate communication of 2025.

You'll learn:

• The Breaking News Formula – How to structure any major announcement using Facts → Impact → What's Next (the same framework Rob used covering Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 in 27 years of talk radio)
• Why 70% of employees admit they don't read leadership emails – and the multi-format delivery method that actually gets your message through (written + video + bullets + visuals)
• The Five Trust Buckets – How to maintain trust with employees, customers, shareholders, regulators, and industry stakeholders when they all want different things from you
• The Three Universal Truths – Language is contagious. You only control you. It's always personal. (These filters will change how you approach every high-stakes conversation)
• The Credibility Gap Problem – Why Netflix's "we're making jobs" messaging falls flat when your culture is built on the Keeper Test and "adequate performance gets generous severance."

Rob analyzes David Zaslav's internal email to 35,000 Warner Bros employees, showing you exactly what worked, what didn't, and what you should steal for your next major announcement.

Then he examines Ted Sarandos's public statements to shareholders and customers—and why some stakeholders (like Hollywood) won't believe you until you show them, not tell them.

This episode is for you if:

• You're a VP, C-Suite executive, or CEO who needs to communicate major changes
• You've ever sent an important email and wondered if anyone actually read it
• You're managing a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or major strategic shift
• You want to understand how top companies handle multi-stakeholder communication
• You're tired of corporate communication that sounds good but doesn't land

Real-world frameworks. Zero corporate jargon. Immediately actionable.

Rob Hunter spent 27 years in talk radio and now works executives 1:1 and with companies on internal communication strategy. He's seen what works when the stakes are highest—and he's breaking it all down for you.

Related topics: corporate communication, leadership communication, change management, stakeholder management, internal communications, crisis communication, executive presence, business strategy, Netflix, Warner Bros Discovery, mergers and acquisitions