Episode 259 – Innovative Thinking with Dr. Dorine Rivers: Transforming Education and Business with Savantz AI

Episode Transcription

Brittany Anderson 1:06
Welcome back to The Ultimate advisor podcast, Brittany Anderson here and I am about to introduce you to a phenomenal guest, who is really changing the game in the landscape of how we communicate in our business, how we market and what is possible out there. With the proper usage of AI. This is an episode that you absolutely don’t want to miss a minute of. And to give a little bit of context here. Don’t just think about this from the perspective of how you can implement it within your firm, but also how you could potentially enhance the lives of your best clients through the use of technology through innovative thinking, and from making a commitment to never stop creating. Let’s get to the show. So today I have with me Dr. Dorine Rivers, her friends call her “Rivers” so that’s what we’re going with today. River is the founder and CEO of Savantz AI. She has a PhD in business management and human and organizational systems, a project management, professional certification and investment banking licenses. So in short, she’s really bored. She has three decades of expertise in launching and managing businesses Educational Leadership video production, and is an award winning published author as a serial entrepreneur. Her expertise is in creative vision and execution, strategic planning and identifying growth opportunities that will transform how we generate visual materials and bring content to life. Her passion for creating savant came from a desire to convert her own work into videos, she soon realized that the system she was building could benefit millions of businesses, educators and learners. If you ask her about the inherent challenges, she will say that building a business is just like climbing a mountain, you get up every day and put one foot in front of the other and nothing stops until you reach the summit. Her everyday model is grit knows no limits River. Welcome to the show.
Dr. Dorine Rivers 3:09
Thanks, Brittany, we have a little bit of a history because we belong to some of the same groups. And every time I see you, I’m reminded how amazing you are. And so thanks for having me on the podcast. Well, likewise, right back at you, you have had some incredible impact and some incredible experiences. So I know we got the the formal bio version. But can you just talk a little bit about your journey and really what’s driving you to create the impact you’re making today? I think that the journey really, it progresses as you go along. And it takes these twists and turns and several times you’re offered a fork in the road. And then you have to decide which way you’re going. And my whole career and my whole life has has been formed that way. And I think you have to first of all, look at what you’re passionate about. And then you look at what is called your zone of genius. And what you’re really good at is usually what you’re passionate about. Dan Sullivan says that it’s really not a great idea to work on your weaknesses, because all you get is strong weaknesses. So look at what you’re good at, and then make that better. And I think that I’ve actually been able to do that. And part of that is it’s the path of least resistance as well. If you’re really good at it, you continue to be interested in it, learn about it and make yourself better at it. And I think I’ve just been lucky enough to first of all have an enormous amount of experience that have taught me things and some people call those experiences, failures and I call them probably the best learning things that have happened to me as I’ve gone along and I make a joke about it in my book, brain to bank I just say you know it’s really great. You don’t have enough time to make these all the mistakes yourself. So learn from other people. If you learn from your mistakes then you can be smarter as you go along. And if I had learned from my mistakes, I’m the smartest person in the world, because I’ve made that many mistakes. So it doesn’t matter how many mistakes you make, and it matters what you’ve learned. And then what are you going to do with that? And so that has crafted most of what I’ve done, and how I have decided what to do at every turn and, and created new companies and had new ideas. It all comes from what I’ve learned. And now what do I want to do with that?

Brittany 5:28
I have to ask it, you know, it’s amazing, because you seem to have mastered the art of being able to just pick yourself up, brush yourself off and keep on moving forward. So what would you say to somebody who was feeling stuck? Be it in their business? In life in general, like, what is it in you? Or what I guess call it advice can you give to somebody that helps them move forward and not just stay stagnant or stay stuck?

Dr. Rivers 5:56:
It’s interesting that you bring that up for all of your listeners, they’ve had times when they’re either feeling stuck, or something happens. so devastating that and they get so down, they don’t know how to get themselves up and start over again. And it’s not that I have had more than my share of those. It’s not that I’ve not had them, I’ve had more than my share, because I move fast and break things. And and I want to see what the mistakes are. And then I want to learn from it. And then I want to try something else. And you inevitably make more mistakes when you do that, which means you’re learning more if you go back and reflect on that. And so give yourself a little bit of time, I had a huge setback this past week, and it devastated me. And it was business oriented. And I almost just got frozen because I did not know what to do and where to start fix it. And I was feeling terrible, which I seldom do I wake every day. And every day is a great day. And every day is a day in paradise. And when I go to work, work is more fun than fun. And I cannot wait to get in my office because I have a list of mile long of things that I want to make happen. Why don’t feel like that when I got up the next morning. And here’s what I decided, if it’s a rotten thing that’s happened to you, then you say, Okay, I get 24 hours just to feel really bad about this. And then after that, I’m gonna sit down and figure it out. And if it’s worse than that, you say, Okay, I’ll have 48 hours, but never more than that. And there’s a deadline to how much time you can spend feeling sorry for yourself before you pick it up and just go, okay, because guess what, you are not the victim, you are what you say you are. And so you just say I feel really bad and allow yourself to feel that it’s okay to feel it. You should be human, you shouldn’t feel that. But what’s the time limit on that because after the end of the day, if you’re an entrepreneur and you’re running your own show, you got to show up for everybody else’s counting on so you just say great, I’m gonna Phil, I’m gonna stay in my sweats all day and watch Netflix today. And tomorrow all tackle it at 8am do that, but stick to it. And that’s how you get over it. You just say I just don’t have time for day.

Brittany 8:15
You know, I think that’s so valuable. And that’s really where I think when you look at, you know, from the bird’s eye view, when you’re looking at people who just seem to, you know, keep achieving, keep moving forward, keep plugging. It’s like they don’t ever see anything as a true obstacle. It’s a hurdle. And it’s just something to get over. It’s something to get past. And then you move on. And guess what, you’re gonna hit another hurdle, because you’re on the track of life and entrepreneurship, and things are gonna pop up and get in your way and all of that. So in your bio, we talked about how this project that you’ve got going right now has the ability to impact million, I would bet that our listeners are chomping at the bit. Those who have businesses and are focused on growth and opportunities are really stinking curious on what that is. So I know I am so can you please talk a little bit about what you’re doing and how you’re serving today.

Dr. Rivers 9:01
I have to say that the creation of savant AI was actually an accident. It’s almost like when three young inventors though, posters, they didn’t really mean to you they were working on something else. Right? Well, that’s exactly what I was doing. So I had finished writing my book breaking the bank, and I have created online courses before with videos and instruction and, and I knew a couple of things, one that you know, I had written the text, so I didn’t have to hire a copywriter. But but then you have to hire a you have to write a narrative voice for the video section of it. And you have to hire someone who’s going to do that they have to hire an animator and you have to hire an editor and they have to hire someone does music sound effects and pretty soon you’re working with six or seven people to put together the video segments of your online course and a couple things happen. One, it takes at least three to five times longer than you thought. So let’s say it’s going to take six months really To get this completed to that you’re going to hate everyone you work with, because they don’t get it right and they send it back five or six or seven different times, you have to spend more time going over it saying what you said before, fix this, fix that and you have to babysit it. It’s like a general contractor that has a bunch of subcontractors building a house, if they don’t get the wall, right, you have to tear it down, and you have to rebuild it again, or it’s the wrong color paint or the flooring drill or whatever is happening, they have to redo it, you have to babysit that. And then you have to check that against what you told them the first time because it’s now the fourth time so so it’s time it’s stressful. It’s costly. But the time element is is huge, because you’re not doing it all. But you still have to be involved. So I didn’t want to do that again. Plus, at the end of the day, you’re into it anywhere from 10 to $20,000. By the time you’re done, right, so So I thought and this was right when the words AI showed up on the scene and, and I’m thinking Khan wonder if AI could just make this easier and make these videos for me. So I hired an AI expert, a consultant to help me figure out which systems I could put together and create these videos for myself. So this went on for about six or eight weeks. And about then I’m looking at what I’ve created. And I’m thinking I am not creating online videos for brain to bank online course, I have actually created a platform that millions of people could use to take tech and video to other people. So I took a 90 degree turn and I said this is no longer a project for videos. This is a project that people can use to do the same thing. And so this, this means that authors can take books that have taken them a year, year and a half to write and repurpose those and create a new revenue stream with something they’ve already put a lot of time in on and have an online course. And I happen to have a hard like a hard book that book and I know that I make about a buck a book. But if I had an online course, and I’m making $1,000 From my online course, or $1 for my book, it’s like a that is like no brainer. And I can do that math. And so that’s available. But more importantly for educators. When I taught higher education in university a couple of different times, I realized a couple things. One, students do not have hardback books, they don’t carry them around, they don’t want to read them. Consequently, when you’re standing in front of the room, and you’re teaching whatever it is you’re trying to get across for that day, they’re scrambling on their computers on a digital copy trying to figure out where you are because they didn’t read the chapter. Why did they read the chapter? Because it’s boring, and they don’t read anymore? And if you read the chapter you didn’t want to because you realize yet it’s really boring. So how can you take the key points of that and teach the most important things and meet the students where they are, which is right here with their phone, looking at whatever is currently whatever video social media they happen to be tapping into. So why don’t we make micro modules, learning units that teach him the key point and take education and entertainment and put them together as entertainment. And let’s have fun while they’re learning and you’re going to accomplish two things. One, you’ve taught them what they need to know. And two, they actually learned it because it was fun to learn it and they’re going to remember it because they paid attention. Now they can use it, it is a win win for everybody. And so that’s what Savantz is doing.

Brittany 13:41
Well, I gotta say, there’s so much to unpack in what you just said, because my brain is like reeling with this on so many opportunities. So number one is I love the the innovation and like the accidental innovation here. So the first thing I want to pull out of this is that you were looking, again, bird’s eye view, I have a problem that needs solving. And I have a curiosity around this, Hey, cool AI stuff that’s out and about, how could this maybe solve? So I think the one thing for our listeners to pay attention to here is all that all that needed to happen for this whole platform to be born was taking a little bit of action forward on an issue that needed solve for so if we’re thinking about like our advisor audience here, I think that’s such a great way to look at your business. Like think about the things that you’re commonly hearing from your client base from your team, the issues that people are hitting themselves, their heads against the wall, and coming up for with a solve for that that can be spread across, you know, all different aspects for your team for your clients, etc. So number two is I think about the untapped talent and the experience out there. For people that have maybe transitioned out of you know, their They’re their previous business, they sold their business. Maybe they’re coming off of, you know, a certain career that they’ve had their whole life and their identity has been to that there are so many problems to be solved out there and such untapped talent, where people are like, ah, you know, somebody else can take care of that, or I don’t think it can really work. So first of all, before I get into questions about the platform itself is what advice would you give to somebody who maybe doesn’t have the same level of confidence or grit or conviction or whatever you want to look at it as to take action on an idea? That could be as fulfilling as what you’ve done with savant like, what would you say to somebody that’s like, they they’re afraid to take action, they don’t realize their capability, they don’t realize the impact they can make? What would you tell them? I

Dr. Rivers 15:43
I learned this when I was getting the degree at a college, I had a really smart professor. And I remember him teaching us a lesson. And then I remember talking to him afterwards and saying, how do you know so much about all of this? And he said, I only need to know more than you teach the course that is a golden nugget. So you look out what did you learn your career that you know that you know, better than most people? It doesn’t have to be some extraordinary theme. But guess what? There are people who don’t know what you know. So what can you teach them that you’ve learned over the course of your career, your experiences, and the time that you’ve spent being good at what you do? It is not some magnanimous thing about how to build a rocket or create the next AI platform. But what do you know that you could teach someone else, and you have something to give to everyone else, because you spent your time being good at it. If you turn that into a video, guess what, you have an audience and you will be surprised how many people email you to say thanks for this, I never looked at it that way. And now I understand it. And there’s not a person listening that doesn’t have something to give, and something to teach that they know better than someone else.

Brittany 17:07
I think that is so beautifully stated. And you’re so right, in so many ways to that oftentimes we discredit ourselves from the experiences that we have, because we’ll see somebody else out there that’s doing something similar, or that maybe is further along than than what you are, where you think you should be. And my response to that. And something I told myself frequently is, you know what, there’s enough to go around, like each person has such a unique spin and flair on the impacts that they put into the world. So, you know, the AI topic is such a hot one now, and we get questions in our wealth planning business, we get questions from clients around it, some of our business owner, clients are definitely going and embracing from our advisor audience over here, we’ve got people that are eating it up, and they’re so hungry for how they can use it in their practice. So with savant, you made reference to like a book, for example of really taking those, those bite sides nuggets that we want to make sure that we pull out and we put in front of people in a digestible format. So I know that there’s other ways that you can use this this software, this process, I guess, you could say. So what are some of the other examples of how this could be implemented into a business into a practice outside of just the book example that you gave?

Dr. Rivers 18:24:
well that;s let’s take business as an example, when you’re in business, your first job is to educate your users or your clients as to what you do that is a teaching moment. So what does that look like? What is it you need to tell people who are looking at what you offer? Whether it’s a product or service? What is that? What do you want to tell them that compels them to look at your product or service further, it’s the differentiators, right? It’s we do this differently, we do this better, we do the same thing as the top dog. But we don’t cost as much or whatever your differentiator is you have one or you wouldn’t still be in business. So you want to make sure that you get that point across. Well, that’s not a big long page on your website that people aren’t going to read. But if there’s a video sitting in their middle with a little play button, and they can see that it’s less than one minute, chances are they’re going to push that button and watch one minute. It’s amazing what you can get across to somebody visually, with a narration in one minute. So that’s where you want to be even older learners and older users and clients these days, they’ve they’re being trained that they want their information fast, and they want it right now. And they want it in the short form because they’ve learned that they they now have to have something now in a short form or they’re not going to pay attention to younger users. You don’t need to teach them that they come out of the womb like that. And if it’s not fast and quick and entertaining, you’re out you’re out of luck, but everybody seems to want their information like that. So you want to force him to read something on your website? Or do you want to meet them where they are now, which is short and fun, and visual. So for business owners, it’s a no brainer. Or you’re you’re rolling out a new product, or you have a new service, or you have you know, something different that you’re now doing that makes you better, the best way to get that out is on video. And then then then it shows up on your Instagram and your Facebook and whatever social media LinkedIn, you can post it anywhere you want. And people are more likely to look at that then to read it. So you get this multi purpose thing from the video, if you’re an entrepreneur is the same thing. What are you creating that so wonderful that you can’t wait to tell the world? How are you going to tell the world? Well, guess what, it’s going to be in a video. So you’re going to you’re going to put together something and if you’re looking for investors, are they going to read a 99 page business plan, when I created a business plan for savant I put together of a whole bunch of videos or visuals, and then I added some some points, and I made it a video, my pitch deck is not PowerPoint, it’s a video that’s less than five minutes, it tells you everything you want to know that’s where you need to meet people. So there’s multiple applications for all of that and and for creators that create the content for other people. Oh my gosh, that door just became Dumbledore wide open, come on in, let us show you how to do this for your clients that are waiting for you deliver fun and interesting marketing information.

Brittany 21:38
I think that there’s so many different things in there, when you’re thinking about, well, let’s just go back to this, I think about the platinum rule, honestly. So there’s the golden rule of treat others the way you want to be treated. And then there’s the platinum rule of treat others the way they want to be treated. And I think that that’s really what you’ve nailed here with the idea of video and marketing and being able to get messages across is we are in a world where people want fast consumption. And it’s changing. I mean, even more so amongst generations, where you know, video is absolutely replacing text in multiple different capacities. So I think that it is so relevant from a business standpoint, but my entrepreneurial brain can’t stop there. And I have to ask this question. So I’ll use for example, you know, a traditional client, that maybe in, you know, our wealth planning firm, or for some of the advisors that tune in here, they would also be working with this demographic, where you’ve got a generational gap, let’s call it so you’ve got the client that you serve, who, again, they have a long time standing of their business experience, their career, they’re at a later chapter in their life, and they want to articulate in maybe a way that’s engaging to kids or grandkids or whatever, what their value system is, and what they believe around money, or, you know, the future or values or whatever that looks like. So how could maybe, maybe you’ll tell me, they can’t. But how could somebody maybe use that to even cross generations to articulate something in a way that’s it’s important, and it’s meaningful for your legacy and, and what you want your family to understand, but to make it something that the next generation or a couple generations down would actually want to consume and pay attention to. So I’m just curious comment on that. I

Dr. Rivers 23:31
I did not pay you to say that because that totally keys up the most important thing about our platform, which is it takes content and it can summarize it and you can add story elements to it. Stories and metaphors help people understand what your point is. And you can put clip that into your your videos. And then more importantly, to your question, a grandparent can make this look like anything they want. There are eight different templates, they could choose a comic book template and make it into a really fun comic book for grandkids to watch or a one that’s fantasy and make it really interesting and fun, or futuristic. Or if it’s more serious, and you choose a realistic or cinematic and you can present it that way. That alone changes the tone of the audience and how you want your message to proceed. And it doesn’t mean the message isn’t the same, but it means that an audience can engage with it on different levels. And then you get to choose the narration voice that you want. So if you want to choose a comic book, you’re gonna choose something really fun and high energy and really peppy. If it’s more serious, you’re gonna choose a lower male voice that maybe has a British accent whatever you want choose on it but but that’s all available and then the music we have over 500,000 songs that you can choose from that run underneath it. I spent a decade writing screenplays and I had this study how all these elements come together. And, and music sets a tone, and no narrative voice sets a tone, and what is the visual template that you use, they all set a tone and then together, you’re gonna get the output of what it is that you want that to feel like when somebody’s walked in. And all of those are opt in, there are fun things to play with, at the end of the day, you’re going to create what it is that you want, and how you want to present it to other people.

Brittany 25:28
You know, I think that when it comes to AI, when it comes to video, it’s not going anywhere. So you know, bringing awareness to the capabilities out there, what you’ve created with savant, just even the conversation here about how many different ways that can be applied. And we’ve scratched the surface. I mean, we could probably talk for hours on end about how this type of a, you know, service platform can really serve people to not only, you know, for business owners to help you grow your business, and to create more opportunity and clarity in your messaging, because I think that’s an important thing too. But I think about just, you know, the general population also, in being able to articulate in a way that you want to use technology to actually be beneficial to your own unique circumstance, I think is just so powerful. And it’s exciting. And, you know, I think there’s just so many things that are going to continue to evolve and grow. And, you know, it’s it’s just exciting hearing all that you’ve been working on here. So I do want to, I want to pivot things a little bit to, you know, something that’s more personal. So I like for our listeners to really get a sense for the person that they’re listening to, and the genius that’s in front of them. So when you think about your own future, when you think about the impact you’ve had to now and more importantly, what’s ahead. What is one of your biggest dreams or aspirations for your future?

Dr. Rivers 26:56
I think it’s really kind of what it’s always been. And you you know, the title of Joe polishes last book is what’s in it for them. And I think you absolutely must start there, and what value can you offer? And at what level and if that’s your first thought, the rest of it falls into place. And for me on the Savant al platform, for example, it’s not the most important thing is not to have you sign up and become a subscriber user. The most important thing for me is, were you able to teach effectively, did they learn faster? And did they remember what you told them, I care about the outcome of your video, and that the forum and the platform gives you that ID on teaching them what it is you want them to learn. And I know that a lot of the other platforms, they don’t care what the outcome is, they just care that you subscribe, and you pay them and they don’t care what you’re doing with whatever it is that you’re producing. I care, I want to know what you did that really mattered and made an impact, because let’s do more of that.

Brittany 28:07
And again, what a differentiator and this is what’s so beautiful. I know you mentioned at the beginning that we have a little bit of a history because we’ve connected through Genius Network with Joe Polish, and all the great people but I think I actually said this recently at a different mastermind type setting that I was in. It was like Man, if people could have if like the world could cast a world wide call it webcast of what goes on in those spaces, and the true contribution that entrepreneurs like you are pulling together and are putting out what a beautiful world it would be like, can we take over the new stations and do something different? Like, right, there’s so much innovation, there’s so much creation and river. I’m just so grateful for what you’ve created. And just the cool things ahead. And of course, I’ve got a million questions for our business to about about what we could potentially do with it. So before I ask kind of my last wrap up question, if somebody wants to get a hold of you, they want to learn more about the platform more about what you do how you serve, what would that look like? How would they do that?

Dr. Rivers 29:12
Oh, I would say the first thing to do is just to go to the platform. So it’s Savantz – S- A – V like Victor -A N, T and then z.ai Go there, play on it, see what there is, do the free trial, you can see you know how the platform functions and there’s a little form of contact form there and shoot me an email and just know we’d like to know about this. We’ll do this. I mean, I can’t wait for people to tell me they’ve used it and what about this and how can I best use this because that makes us be able to give this to you and make it better. This platform is not for me, this is for all of you. So I want to hear what it is that you like and that you want that we haven’t created yet and we are are listening, because we want to make it everything that you want and need it to be

Brittany 30:05
awesome. And we will make sure that that site goes into the show notes so that people can easily access it. So wherever my last question is, What haven’t I asked you that I should have?

Dr. Rivers 30:16
I don’t know. Because you well, you can always ask me what’s next. But I really never know what’s next. Because what happens now determines what’s next. But there’s always something brewing. And I would say, keep your ideas alive. And if you’re not doing it now, you’ll know later on which ideas going to surface that snack, but never quit thinking about how you’re going to create something to change the world and help other people because that is the great satisfaction. And that’s why we do what we do.

Brittany 30:47
I think that that is a perfect last thing to say. And you know, making sure that essentially your dreams don’t die and your ideas don’t just get pushed to the side. And I think that’s such an important message regardless of stage of life that somebody’s at, you know, whether you’re in the midst of actively running your business, you’re, you know, growing your family, you’re retired, you’re looking at your own next chapter. I don’t I don’t think it matters. I think that that creativity, and that contribution, really shouldn’t ever stop because everybody has so much to give. And yeah, I just think that all that you’re doing is so powerful. So River, thank you so much for sharing your time and your wisdom with us today. Thank you, Brittany. So that rounds out today’s episode of The Ultimate Advisor Podcast. We’re gonna catch you right back here next week.
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