Wired for Connection 9: Be Grateful, Make Human Connections & Avoid Burnout

Lenka Koppova

Wired for Connection 9: Be Grateful, Make Human Connections & Avoid Burnout image

Amy Luby transforms service delivery with Agentic AI and is a GTM Strategist – Advisor. She helps MSPs scale smarter and vendors build channel engagement that converts with battle-tested strategy, operational clarity, and fearless execution.

She’s spent her entire career in the MSP channel – as an MSP founder with a successful exit, a distribution leader building global NOC, Help Desk, and managed services and a CRN Channel Chief.

Amy has shaped the MSP channel itself. She’s a community builder who’s helped define what managed services look like on a global scale.

An Interview With Amy Luby

Why We’re all Uncertain in Business

Amy had a couple of different careers before she got to the tech space. She explains that she started her own business when her husband lost his job. She shares her story often, because you never know when people might need to hear it.

“Our best selves can be born out of adversity. You don’t know what you’re doing and you’re learning as you go. But remember that other people are scared as well. And I don’t think we talk about our challenges enough; not just in this space but in all industries. I’ve spent a good portion of my career worried or afraid that I was doing the wrong thing.

“And I think a lot of us have been there at one time or another. Plus, the way our industry changes, there’s no way to be certain about what’s coming next. So we’re all figuring it out together, and we should all be brave enough to suggest different ways of doing things.”

Getting Perspective and Feeling Grateful

Everybody goes through hard times, but when you’ve been through them, you’re braver. Says Amy: “Hard times make you grateful when things are better. That’s about having perspective, and perspective is powerful for moving forward.

“But things could always be worse. A component of gratefulness is acknowledging where you are and the good things you have. It’s easy to get into a habit of just seeing negatives and it takes you to a different place. But gratefulness is a powerful weapon in life.

“It lets you sit still for a moment and look around even in the worst times, to be able to say, you know what, I’ve got something that makes me grateful. That is a powerful lever to use mentally and physically. And we know that things will get better.”

How to Have More Human Connection

We’re all looking for human connections, but women tend to be better at saying so than men. Amy says: “I’d love to see men create groups for themselves where they can connect on their own level. Not because we need separateness, but I think women are socialised that way.

“We know it’s ok to cry or hug somebody. But boys don’t learn that. My dad struggled with bipolar disorder and depression. Once he was finally able to understand it, he spent his retirement years building men’s groups. Too many people bottle things up but it’s incredibly powerful to be able to share how you feel.

“I think it’s sorely needed. Saying ‘I need help’ is one of the hardest things to do, but it’s the only way you’ll get it. Burning out seems to be celebrated in the tech industry, and that’s not healthy. I’ve seen too many people disappear from the channel. And I’ve done it myself.”

A Change Amy Would Like to see in the Industry

Amy feels strongly that burnout shouldn’t be seen as a badge of honour. “This idea of pushing yourself until you burn out – I wish that would change. We all chase this idea of unicorns, and there are very few in any industry, let alone ours. And yet people think that they do.

“They think that the business they’re part of is going to be the next unicorn and they’re going to get that 1%. But it’s just not realistic. And I wish people would quit selling that because it’s so damaging to many who buy into that for a long time.

But the only way it’s going to change is if we talk about it. What does burnout really look like? It’s not the same for everyone. For me, I stopped replying to messages from a friend. So she flew to my hometown and made me leave the house. Burnout isn’t worth any of the personal or collateral damage that comes from it.”

What Amy Loves About the Industry

“I love being part of a community and solving problems together. As entrepreneurs, we’re wired to solve problems like that. Fundamentally, that’s what an entrepreneur does. They solve problems. They see an opportunity to solve a problem for enough people, they can actually run a business on it and make money doing it.

“I love being in those conversations. And then I love hearing, ‘Do you remember that conversation we had; you said something, and I went back and applied it to my business, and it changed the trajectory of my business.’

“That’s what I love. The collaboration and that community integration and community helping each other. Communities exist everywhere, but they’re not all as supportive as this one.”

How to be Authentic in Business

Amy says being authentic is key in business. “I think staying true to your own authenticity is probably a superpower. The most successful business owners are some of the most humble people on the planet.

“When you can stand in front of a room of all your employees and, and be authentic and say, ‘I started this company but I don’t know all the answers.’ They ask their teams to help them grow.

“And that is much more powerful than bulldozing your way through everything with your ego. That’s been my experience. My lived experience and what I’ve learned observing my mentors, people I admire and want to be like. They’ve modelled that for me and I try to do the same.”