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Megan Walsh
Director, Data Science at Nielsen
Megan Walsh is the manager of the Data Science TV Panel Behavioral Methods team at Nielsen.1 Her team provides leadership and expertise across Nielsen to develop innovative, statistically sound, and cost-effective research methodologies in support of strategic business initiatives.1
Prior to her role at Nielsen, Megan was the Deputy Director of the Division of Evaluation and Applied Research Solutions at GEARS, Inc., where she led the development and execution of research and program evaluations for various non-profit and government institutions, including the National Science Foundation and Department of Education.1
Megan has an extensive background in quantitative and qualitative social and behavioral research, with specialties in research methods and design, statistics, cognitive psychology, and motivating factors.1 She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in cognitive neuroscience from The Johns Hopkins University.1
In her current role, Megan is likely involved in applying data science techniques to analyze TV panel behavior and develop methodologies for Nielsen's strategic initiatives in the television and media measurement industry.
Highlights
I’ve been reflecting on the concept of getting comfortable with leaving a position lately. A few clients are working through a similar situation that I’ve gone through, and it’s one I’ve seen paralleled in the political arena this year.
Take our current US President, for example. His hesitation to leave office wasn’t just about power—it was about his deep care for the party and the country. I think he was likely hesitant to step aside in this next election because he believed he was protecting them from the instability that might come with a leadership change. He couldn’t see a viable replacement who could steer the ship with the same level of care, so he held on. But underneath that care was something more familiar to me: fear and insecurity.
I’ve experienced this firsthand. As the leader of a large team I’d built over years, I told myself I was staying because I cared about my people—protecting them from the chaos of shifting priorities and organizational change. It gave me a sense of control and self-worth. But that sense of caretaking became a convenient excuse. The reality was, I was avoiding the truth: I wasn’t indispensable, and by staying, I was holding them back—just as much as I was holding myself back.
I’ve talked to many clients in a similar place. They’re logically ready to leave their roles, but emotionally, they’re stuck, clinging to the idea that their teams can’t survive without them. They’re acting as caretakers, shielding their teams from the turmoil of organizational changes - perhaps unconsciously not believing there is a viable replacement. But the truth, as we’ve seen in politics and in the workplace, is that when someone leaves, others step up.
When I reflect on this, two things stand out: Caretaking often masks our fears, making us believe we're staying for others when we're really just protecting our own sense of control and self-worth. We convince ourselves that we're staying for others, but in reality, we're afraid—afraid that if we leave, we'll lose our sense of identity and the self-worth we've built around being needed. The second is that true leadership isn’t about staying in power; it’s about trusting that others will rise when we step aside. The reality is, someone always steps up when a void is created. Whether it’s in politics or the workplace, the world is more adaptable than we think. Letting go of power isn’t just about trusting others; it’s about trusting that the process will work, even without us.
The instinct to stay, to believe, that without us, everything will fall apart, is deeply ingrained in many leaders. But this mindset stifles growth—both for those around us and for ourselves. True leadership requires the courage to step aside, to let others rise to the occasion, and to trust that the world won’t collapse without us. When we let go of power, we not only allow others to grow, but we also free ourselves to move forward.
Last month, while scrolling through social media, I came across a drama between Short’s Brewery and a disgruntled customer that left a lasting impression. The customer had posted a scathing review, lashing out at the staff for poor service and delayed food. In response, Short’s shared a video showing the customer’s unruly behavior—flipping food onto the floor and treating staff and patrons with disrespect. The brewery’s message was clear: no one is perfect, but we choose how to react. This response garnered support and applause from many, though it also led to online threats against the customer.
But then, a few weeks later, Short’s took down the original post and replaced it with footage of the owners sitting down with the same customer. Over a beer, they hashed out their experiences, listened to each other's perspectives, and agreed to move forward. This resolution, where both parties chose to engage rather than remain entrenched in their positions, struck me as a rare glimpse into the complexity of human interaction –one that’s often missing in our polarized world.
This incident made me reflect on a common trap we fall into in both our personal and professional lives: choosing truths that reinforce our sense of rightness. Short’s initial response, while understandable, was rooted in the same selective truth that the customer, and many of us, cling to when we feel wronged. It’s easy to defend our actions by highlighting only the facts that support our emotional responses.
Here’s the kicker: We often go to war within ourselves, framing situations as black and white, selecting evidence that supports our rightness while ignoring truths that discount it. This is how we deceive ourselves, not by telling outright lies, but by choosing truths selectively to support our emotional state. But when we do that, we miss out on the opportunity for growth, understanding and resolution. The truth is rarely black and white; it’s messy and multifaceted, and requires us to confront uncomfortable realities.
When it comes to my clients, I see this come through in subtle, often dangerous ways. Statements like, “I just don’t like my boss; his ideas are off-base,” can lead to avoiding full effort on projects, inadvertently creating evidence to support an already negative perception. Meanwhile, the boss sees underperformance and becomes even more critical, creating a toxic cycle until both parties sit down to confront the real complexities of the situation.
Short’s resolution was a powerful reminder that real progress comes not from defending our righteousness but from engaging with the parts of the story we’d rather ignore. In the corporate world, this might mean confronting difficult feedback, acknowledging our biases, or simply being willing to listen to perspectives that challenge our own.
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.