How are you?

Most people answer that question without thinking.

"Good. Fine. Okay."

Then the conversation moves on, and nothing meaningful is learned.

But what if that question is one of the reasons so many conversations stay stuck at the surface?

In this week's episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Bart Foster, Founder and CEO of BusinessOutside, to discuss how better questions create stronger connection, how connection builds trust, and how trust can change the way leaders, teams, and patients respond.

Bart works closely with executives across the eye care industry, helping them move beyond surface-level conversations and into the kinds of relationships that create real insight, vulnerability, and growth.

And while this conversation begins with executive forums, it quickly becomes relevant to every practice owner, manager, doctor, and team member trying to build more trust inside their business.

Independent practice performance is under pressure.

Refractions are down. Revenue is down. Exam-only behavior is climbing.

And for many practices, the first half of 2026 has been much tougher than expected.

In this week's episode of Power Hour, Eugene Shatsman sits down with Dr. Jason Lake, General Manager of PERC & Opti-Port, to examine real-time independent practice performance data and discuss what owners can do now to protect revenue, improve capture, and prepare for demand to return.

You did the exam.

You built the relationship.

You made the recommendation.

And then the patient walked out and bought their eyewear somewhere else.

That moment is one of the most frustrating leaks in an independent practice.

But it is also one of the most strategic opportunities.

In this week's episode of Power Hour, host Eugene Shatsman sits down with Megan Molony, Vice-President of the Optical Women's Association and CEO of Europa Eyewear, to discuss what independent practices can learn from big optical, how patient expectations are changing, and how practices can compete smarter in an increasingly consolidated market.

Megan brings a rare perspective to this conversation.

Before leading Europa Eyewear, she held senior roles across some of the largest players in optical, including EssilorLuxottica and National Vision. So when she talks about patient behavior, merchandising, retail strategy, value perception, and capture rate, she is not speaking from theory.

She has seen how the big players think.

And she revealed one of the biggest insights from the episode: Large retailers are counting on a meaningful percentage of patients leaving independent practices after the exam and coming to them for eyewear.