I hop out of bed every morning...fired up and excited to get to work.

Why?

God has a plan.  I finally realized I'm along for the ride, but I need to be an active participant.

His plan put me in situations where I succeeded, failed, and learn some tough lessons.
Likely true for most of us.

After selling my startup I "fell" into the world of executive search.  And I loved it.  Still do (strange to say).

Then it happened.

God sent me down a path I didn't see coming.  An opportunity to join a startup as employee #4...at at time where I had found comfort running a small consultancy - and success.  

I didn't think I could learn, grow and frankly, find ways to be better at this point in my career.
Instrumentum is a special place, with an amazing team.  We are reinventing the surgical landscape.

Change is hard.  We are a dedicated bunch, committed to seeing this through.

As Chairman and Founder of Cruxible Partners, I get to watch an amazing group of talented "talent finders" grow that business as well.

Unfortunately, that's not how many people feel about their job, or their state in life.
Doesn't need to be that way.

Trust God, but don't be a passive participant in the journey.

Try a hobby.
Start a side hustle.
Meet new people (on LinkedIn, I've met some wonderful people who inspire and teach here).

If I can be this energized at this stage, so can you...

Pete Durand

MacGyver’d the hotel AC today.  

Taking video calls from the desk, AC blowing 40 degree air on my bald noggin unless I shut it off.  

Then sauna like temps. 

Improvised a little curtain. 

Problem solved.  

#macgyver

President, Instrumentum | Host of the Eating Crow Podcast | Chairman, Cruxible Partners

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Most companies have a plan.  

We do. 

2025 was about laying a foundation after several acquisitions and heavy integration. 

A few lessons, a few scars, and a few wins.  

Looking back it’s about the people who joined the team more than anything.   Amazing people.  

We laid the foundation together. 
We built this plan together. 

2026 is off to a great start - we are firing on all cylinders, well ahead of plan.

It’s rare air.  

Grateful for our team who work tirelessly to care for our customers, travel nonstop and support each other. 

Many of us go through entire work life without experiencing this feeling. 

I freaking love my job and am blessed to know how lucky I am.  Heard the same energy from our team today 💪👍👏

Hope everyone finds an opportunity to be part of a fast growing company who isn’t afraid to dare, think big, stumble now and then, but get back up and go. 

It’s a blast. 

Jeff Eardley Dean E. Darby Hubbell Rachel Meador (Knorr) Austin Wratchford, FACHE Bradley Schoening, CFO, MBA, CPA Ken Maready Jennifer Del Real, MSHRM Candy Schlicklin

SPD is not a sexy investment conversation.

Until you see the numbers.

I'm presenting at LSI USA '26 next week in Dana Point, CA — and I'll be making the case that the most overlooked bottleneck in surgical growth isn't clinical. It's operational.

Health systems are adding ORs. Recruiting surgeons. Forecasting case volume.

And then hitting a wall they didn't see coming.

Tray capacity. Sterilization throughput. SPD.

Instrumentum removes that ceiling. Variable costs tied to volume. No massive capital outlay. No construction timeline.

The ASC market grew 33% year over year. That growth goes somewhere.

Make sure it's going to you.

See you in Dana Point.

"I'm so sorry, how can I help?" 

This response seems natural, but ACTUALLY helping tends to put us in a place of discomfort, and so we say it, but don't really mean it.

This hit me during my morning meditation.  The topic:  The Corporal Works of Mercy (Matthew 25:35-46): 

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead

If I'm being honest, my batting average is low here.

Jesus wasn't pulling any punches.  How will we be judged by these works?

Time to reassess my priorities, which typically focus on "things of this world" and prayer, when action should the call of the day.

Visit the imprisoned?  

Pick any of the above; probably not at the top of most of our to-do lists.

Perhaps they should be?

Admitting there is a better way is difficult.




Southwest's new "That Was Wild" ad campaign does this with humor, humility and tremendous creativity.

At Instrumentum, we are constantly trying to find a better way.  The industry needs it, the old ways don't work.

And yes, it's wild 🙃

Karen Grill

Strategies to Help Your Emails Land in the Inbox | Speaker | Email & Funnel Strategist for Coaches, Creators and Service Providers | Business Coach | WI Native

Helping Coaches, Consultants, and Service Providers Master Email Marketing Strategy and Deliverability

Whether you’re setting up your first email list or struggling with an existing one, the key to success is ensuring it’s built and maintained the right way.

I’m Karen, a Business Coach and Funnel Strategist with over 15 years of experience helping businesses unlock the power of email marketing. 

I specialize in setting up email lists with strategy and precision—and auditing existing lists to fix what’s not working.

If your emails are landing in spam, your open rates are down, or you’re just not sure where to start, I’ll help you build or refine a reliable email marketing system.


Here’s How I Help:
➡️ Email List Strategy & Setup:
I’ll help you build or refine your email list the right way, with a focus on audience alignment, segmentation, and proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) to ensure your emails land in inboxes.

➡️ Email List Audit & Troubleshooting:
I’ll audit your existing list to uncover gaps in deliverability, engagement, and segmentation. From checking blocklists to fixing technical issues like authentication, I’ll make sure your email infrastructure is optimized for maximum results.

Imagine This:

Your emails consistently land in your subscribers’ inboxes, not spam.
Your open and click-through rates improve with each campaign.
Your email list is aligned with your audience, and every email you send has a purpose.
Whether you’re starting fresh or optimizing what you already have, I’ll help you turn your email list into a powerful tool for connection, engagement, and growth.

DM me today to get started.

📌 WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING
"My email list is a money maker.  I depend on it heavily to do a bunch of things.  And when the deliverability and bounce rates just climbed up I was alarmed.  I tried to fix the problem myself, which ended up making things a bit worse.  I had to shelf my list for almost a month.  Karen swooped in and was able to correctly diagnose the problem, which turned out to be a bit more complicated (Go Daddy, Gmail suite, old email ownership).  She gave me a great plans to fix, restore and get it back.  And BOOM.  I'm back online making cash with the list.  Thanks Karen!"  ~Doug Lawson

Let’s make your email list work for you.

DM me today to get started.

Founding Member

A business and social community centered around growing your brand, building your network, scaling your business, and establishing trust

“I dread writing emails to my list.”

I hear this from people who did everything right.

They built the list.
Bought the course.
Set everything up properly.
They’ve even been consistent for months.

And still, every send feels like bracing for a verdict.

Low opens. Barely any clicks. Mostly silence.

So they wait.

For a day that feels safer.

And the list goes quiet.

But most of the time, it’s not about writing.

It’s about sending into a void and not knowing if anyone on the other end actually trusts you yet.

That’s not a motivation issue.

It’s what happens when there’s no clear feedback.

When you have no idea whether it’s landing, every send feels like a gamble instead of a conversation.

The fix isn’t confidence.

It’s knowing what’s actually happening.

Are your emails making the right people feel understood?

When that’s happening, hitting send gets lighter.

Not because doubt disappears, but because you have signals it’s connecting.

If emailing your list feels heavy right now, what part feels uncertain?

Most email advice focuses on the visible.

Copy and subject lines. 

The parts people see.

And yes, that matters.

But it’s not the whole thing.

Email doesn’t just live in what people see. It runs underneath it.

There’s the strategy.
There’s the way you optimize and adjust.

And then there’s something most people barely think about - whether your emails are actually trusted.

Not “sent.”
Trusted.

Because inbox providers make a decision before your clever subject line ever gets read.

They look at your domain, your sending history and whether your identity checks out.

If that foundation is shaky, everything else feels unstable.

You’ll blame the copy.
Or the timing.

Meanwhile, the real issue is structural.

I’ve seen campaigns that should have worked fall flat.

Open rates that drifted for no obvious reason.

It wasn’t creativity. It wasn’t positioning.

It was trust.

Email isn’t just messaging.

It’s infrastructure.

And infrastructure decides whether your messaging even gets a shot.

Before you rewrite another sequence or test another angle, pause for a second.

Is the system underneath your emails actually solid?

Or are you polishing the paint on a house with a cracked foundation?

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The Battle

Pete Durand

Karen Grill

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Engagements

Likes

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