Consulting Groups Los Angeles
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The Say-Do Gap: Why Execution Breaks Down—and How to Fix It
Fri, Aug 7, 3:15 PMJoin us for a candid and highly practical session with Dr. Dmitri Kossakovski, an engineering and business leader who has spent his career working in environments where execution failure isn’t just costly—it can derail products, delay critical systems, and cost companies their competitive edge. From NASA/JPL to Fortune 500 companies to venture-backed startups, Dmitri has operated at the intersection of deep technology and real-world delivery across domains including automotive, medtech, sensors, and advanced materials. And across all of these environments, he kept seeing the same pattern: Teams that look productive on paper—but quietly drift off course week after week. Plans are made. Status updates are shared. Progress appears to be happening. But underneath it all, the gap between what’s said and what actually gets done continues to widen. Instead of accepting this as the norm, Dmitri began tracking that gap. What started as a simple weekly habit—recording what was planned, what actually happened, and what comes next—evolved into a lightweight system he now calls the “Say-Do Gap,” and a tool he describes as a “Project Reality Ledger.” In this session, Dr. Kossakovski will break down the methodology behind the Say-Do approach, explain why simple tracking habits often outperform complex project management systems, and share what he learned building a product on nights and weekends while leading high-stakes R&D organizations. This is not a talk about theory—it’s a practical framework for anyone who wants to execute more effectively in the real world. Whether you’re leading a team, building a company, or simply trying to execute more effectively in your own work, you’ll walk away with a practical approach you can apply immediately. *** ## **About the Speaker** Dr. Dmitri Kossakovski works at the intersection of deep technology and strategic business development, with over 20 years of experience spanning R&D leadership, technology partnerships, licensing, and M&A. He holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry from Caltech and an MS in Applied Physics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, along with an Executive MBA from the Drucker School. His career spans NASA/JPL, Fortune 500 companies, and venture-backed startups across domains including semiconductor materials, advanced coatings, thermal systems, sensors, and medical devices. On the business side, he has negotiated more than 25 transactions—including licensing agreements, research partnerships, and M&A—with organizations such as MIT, KAIST, Kyocera, Infineon, the DOE, and DARPA. He co-founded Pacific Scanning Corp (acquired by Agilent Technologies) and was part of the leadership team behind a successful exit at iGlass Technology. He currently contributes to strategic investment initiatives in medical innovation and serves on the boards of multiple startups. He is the author of 30+ U.S. patents.
PLACEHOLDER: SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2026
Sun, Jul 26, 6:00 PMPlaceholder so we don't schedule a meetup on this day.
Building Demand Forecasting with BigQuery ML
Sat, Jul 25, 9:00 PMAs businesses strive to stay ahead of market trends, predicting future demand is no longer optional, it's a competitive necessity. This hands-on workshop addresses the practical challenges of processing massive datasets and building predictive models. You will implement a time-series forecasting strategy using **BigQuery Machine Learning** to analyze historical patterns and predict future demand. Using the public NYC Citi Bike Trips dataset as our sandbox, you will learn how to: * **Explore and query** large-scale public datasets directly in BigQuery. * **Train a forecasting model** using the powerful ARIMA algorithm to handle parallel multi-item pipelines. * **Evaluate model performance** using key statistical metrics like AIC to ensure accuracy. * **Generate batch predictions** for the next 30 days of demand. Join us to learn how to combine SQL-based machine learning with deterministic data analytics to make your applications smarter, predictive, and data-driven. **Bring your laptop and be ready to build! Register [here](https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-culver-city-presents-building-demand-forecasting-with-bigquery-ml/)!**
Smerconish Mingle Meetup
Mon, Aug 10, 12:00 AMIf you feel politically stuck in the middle between clowns to the left and jokers to the right, you’ve found the perfect Meetup group to join! Inspired by Michael Smerconish’s The Mingle Project, we meet to discuss hot topics and news events and welcome people with different points of view. If you’re an independent thinker and want to join a conversation with people of diverse views, then you’ve found the right place.
Networking with Professionals in a multitude of industries!
Thu, Aug 6, 2:00 AMNetworking with Professionals
Deeper Connection Social
Mon, Aug 3, 2:30 AM**We practice active listening, functional deep empathy, shared laughter and difficulties, and respect for one another in a safe space in an attempt to achieve greater holistic well-being across all aspects of life.** Before the meetup, try to journal to answer these three questions: What am I grateful for in the past month? What were my struggles in the past month? What is one thing I can practically improve starting now? Our area of focus is physical, mental, spiritual, social, and financial health, so please be specific when sharing. \*Everything we share will be confidential; what happens at the meetings stays in the meetings. You will sign this agreement at your first meetup.
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