The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 233, an episode with a highly regarded leadership well-being coach, relationship expert, author, and speaker, Susan MacKenty Brady. Get Susan's Book here: https://amzn.to/3xlNu3q In this episode, Susan articulated the upside of the global pandemic, specifically the norms about how women manage, lead, communicate, and show up. She also discussed the definition of diversity and inclusiveness and the signs that companies are embracing it versus drifting away from the path of empathy and inclusive leadership. We discussed how to find the best version of yourself and how crucial it is to focus on your strengths and building from there. Susan Mackenty Brady is the Deloitte Ellen Gabriel Chair for Women and Leadership at Simmons University and the first Chief Executive Officer of The Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. The Institute develops the mindset and skills of leaders at all stages of life so they can foster gender parity and cultures of inclusion. As a relationship expert, leadership well-being coach, author, and speaker, Susan educates leaders and executives globally on fostering self-awareness for optimal leadership. Susan advises executive teams on how to work together effectively and create inclusion and gender parity in organizations. She is passionate about working with women at all levels of organizational leadership to fully realize—and manifest—their leadership potential. Featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, Susan is the author of Arrive & Thrive: 7 Essential Practices of Women Navigating Leadership (McGraw-Hill, April 2022); The Inclusive Leader's Playbook (Simmons University); Mastering Your Inner Critic and 7 Other High Hurdles to Advancement: How the Best Women Leaders Practice Self-Awareness to Change What Really Matters (McGraw-Hill); and The 30-Second Guide to Coaching Your Inner Critic. A celebrated speaker, Susan has keynoted or consulted at over 500 organizations around the world. Prior to joining Simmons, Susan was Executive Vice President at Linkage, Inc. a global leadership development consulting and training firm. She founded Linkage's Women in Leadership Institute™ and launched Linkage’s global practice on Advancing Women Leaders and Inclusive Leadership, and led the field research behind the 7 Leadership Hurdles Women Leaders Face in the Workforce™. Dedicated to inclusively and collaboratively inspiring every girl to realize her full potential, Susan serves as emeritus board member of the not-for-profit Strong Women, Strong Girls. Get Susan's book here: Arrive & Thrive: 7 Essential Practices of Women Navigating Leadership. Janet Foutty, Lynn Perry Wooten, Ph.D., Susan MacKenty Brady: https://amzn.to/3xlNu3q Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 232, an episode with best-selling author and Customer and Employee Experience Strategist, Dr. Natalie Petouhoff. Get Natalie's book here: https://amzn.to/3O5lSqo In this episode, Natalie spoke about the need for empathy today and the shift we need to make from focusing on company-centric business strategies to creating employee and customer-centric experiences. She also discussed the importance of customer feedback and how Amazon has used it to thrive. Listening from the other person’s point of view and putting yourself in the shoes of your customers and employees is the key to better human connection and success. Natalie is a Senior Customer Experience Strategist and Business Consultant at Genesys®. Her career spans many years in technology and customer and employee experience, holding positions in and consulting at companies including Salesforce, Hulu, Marriott, General Motors, General Electric, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Weber Shandwick, Forrester Research, PWC Consulting, Hughes Electronics, Pepsi, Verizon, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble, Chevrolet, and Electrolux. Her Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering from the University of California and years as a “rocket scientist” provide her with the left-brain skills to strategically analyze how things work and redesign the world for a better future. In her endeavors, Natalie has focused on the interplay between the evolution of technology and who we are as humans. From her early days as an engineer, she remains a true believer in “what is good for employees and customers is ultimately what is also good for companies.” As a speaker and participant at Singularity University, she’s captivated by the rapid advancement and impact of exponential technologies and how they are reshaping our lives and businesses. Natalie’s current passion is shifting outdated paradigms by juxtaposing current beliefs with seemingly contradictory ones to reveal insights to drive the future of work, customer’s experiences, businesses and humanity forward. She believes we can imbue technology with our hopes and dreams for a future focused on bettering humanity. We just need to understand what we are optimizing for and why. Dr. Natalie is often quoted in NYTimes, USA Today, Bloomberg Businessweek, CRM Magazine, and Peppers and Rogers 1-to-1 Magazine and is also a featured commentator on TV and radio. As an accomplished public speaker, Dr. Natalie is keynote speaker at conferences, both virtual and in-person. Get Natalie’s book here: Empathy In Action: How to Deliver Great Customer Experiences at Scale. Tony Bates, Dr. Natalie Petouhoff: https://amzn.to/3O5lSqo Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 231, an episode with the Chairman of The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Ravi Venkatesan. Get Ravi's book here: https://amzn.to/3NUJOga In this episode, Ravi shared how he started believing in himself and his capabilities, which led to where he is today. He also spoke about the opportunities laying around challenges and the preparations we need to navigate these changes. The conversation revolved around the importance of perspective and mindset, how it contributes to the way we interact with other people, and how it shapes our reality. Ravi Venkatesan is the Chairman of The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) launched at COP26 with USD10 billion of committed capital to accelerate investment in green energy transitions and renewable energy solutions. He is also UNICEF’s Special Representative for Young People and Innovation, and the Founder of the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME). He serves on the Boards of Rockefeller Foundation, Hitachi Ltd. Ravi was the Chairman of Microsoft India, Bank of Baroda and Cummins India, and served as a co-chairman of Infosys Ltd. He is an alum of IIT Bombay and Harvard Business School. Ravi is the author of What The Heck Do I Do With My Life: How To Flourish In Our Turbulent Times and Conquering the Chaos: Win in India, Win Everywhere. He was voted as one of India’s best management thinkers by Thinkers50 and as Microsoft’s Alumni Hero 2020. Under Venkatesan's leadership between 2004 and 2011, India became Microsoft's second-largest geographic area and one of its fastest growing markets. Microsoft India was rated one of the country's most respected companies, among the most admired brands, and one of India's best employers. Get Ravi’s new book here: What The Heck Do I Do With My Life: How To Flourish In Our Turbulent Times. Ravi Venkatesan: https://amzn.to/3NUJOga Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 230, an episode with best-selling author and dynamic keynote speaker, Don Schmincke.  In this episode, Don spoke about the counterintuitive insights of successful companies, why some organizations have a lack of performance, and the challenges that CEOs today need to address. He also shared his journey and discovery of Biological Leadership and how it relates to the leadership that organizations apply today. Don has been accused by a NY press agency of providing “the most provocative and sensational view of business than any other speaker today.” What else would you expect from an MIT and Johns Hopkins researcher who was nearly arrested as a capitalist spy in the Soviet Bloc, got shot off an aircraft carrier, survived in the Kurdish capital as the Ayatollah held hostages in Tehran, and developed missile inertial guidance systems while his frat brothers took Vegas (later portrayed in the movie “21”)? Don Schmincke’s irreverent humor and unconventional methods provide audiences with such a refreshing change compared to other status-quo topics that he’s been called the world’s “management renegade.” His patent-pending offerings transcend typical programs via refreshing alternatives to trendy theories, unproven methods, and phony “experts.” The industry agrees. Don’s renowned books are The Code of the Executive and High Altitude Leadership (with NBC Emmy-nominated climber Chris Warner), which has been published in over 10 languages, endorsed by leading authorities, and recommended by top business schools and featured by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, MSNBC.com, and more than 60 industry publications annually. Don has been the host of the Executive Insights TV series and The Leader’s Code radio program, and he has been acclaimed as a Top 10 speaker for the world’s largest CEO organization. The high failure rates of pop-management theories drove Don’s research using anthropology, evolutionary genetics, and biology to dispel the “program-of-the-month” syndrome that has frustrated CEOs and HR managers for so long. By using Don’s science-driven leadership methods, companies experience accelerated results in sales, employee satisfaction, and cultural alignment. He admits, “Our work is politically incorrect but scientifically accurate.” Get Don’s Books Here: High Altitude Leadership: What the World's Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success: https://amzn.to/3aUCMcF The Code of the Executive: Forty-seven Ancient Samurai Principles Essential for Twenty-first Century Leadership Success: https://amzn.to/3xs4TYy Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 229, an episode with a Certified Forensic Interviewer, Michael Reddington. In this episode, Michael shares his knowledge as a CFI and how interviewing skills can be translated to the business world with the Disciplined Listening Method, an approach which he developed. He also spoke about the mindset shift that leaders and organizations need to take to gain a better understanding and awareness of other people's perspectives and reasoning. Michael Reddington CFI, is a certified forensic interviewer and the president of InQuasive Inc., a company that integrates the key components of effective nonconfrontational interview techniques with current business research for executives.  As a Certified Forensic Interviewer, Michael achieved the highest professional designation available in the field of interview and interrogation and spent over a decade training investigators around the world on the successful application of nonconfrontational interview and interrogation techniques. Never one to be satisfied with his achievements, Michael arrived at two key realizations while expanding his observation and persuasive skill sets. First, the very best leaders and interrogators capitalize on the same two core skills - vision and influence. Second, the cognitive processes that lead customers to commit to saying, "I'll buy it," employees to commit to saying, "I'll do it," and suspects to commit to truthfully saying, "I did it" are all nearly identical. These realizations caused Michael to recognize he could teach executives how to reduce missed opportunities and increase commitments to action. As a result, he developed the Disciplined Listening Method, transitioned to serving as an executive resource, and founded InQuasive, Inc. Michael created the Disciplined Listening Method by integrating current business communication research and best practices with components of four nonconfrontational interview and interrogation techniques. The resulting educational content represents a new and in-depth approach to applying strategic, ethical observation and persuasion techniques across the spectrum of business conversations. Companies have invited Michael, government agencies, and executive groups to facilitate his programs across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He has led over one thousand programs and educated over ten thousand participants from over 50 countries. He leads programs and advisory sessions designed to teach participants to activate the truth in the areas of leadership communication, sales, negotiation, conflict resolution, customer service, candidate interviews, family conversations, and public speaking/influential instruction. Michael goes well beyond facilitating and advising. He applies customized content specifically designed to meet the needs of each participant with a humorous and intelligent delivery style. His diligent preparation, attention to each participant's concerns, and added context coalesce to drive home the learning objectives. With Michael, it's never a presentation, seminar, or advisory session; it's always an experience. Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 228, an interview with former Indiana University athletic director, Fred Glass. Get Fred's book here: https://amzn.to/3tCY7hj In this episode, Fred discussed how Indianapolis managed to keep the Colts, its strategy to sustain it, and the impact and advantages that the team provides to the city. This podcast will make you think about the economics of business in sports and understand the deep thinking behind the scenes that makes it all possible. Fred served as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge S. Hugh Dillin, also an IU alumnus. From 1989 to 1993, he was chief of staff to former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, and, in 2000, helmed the transition team chief for former Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson. Peterson appointed Fred, then a partner in the law firm of Baker & Daniels (now Faegre Baker Daniels), to the city's Capital Improvement Board, which oversees Lucas Oil Stadium, the Indiana Convention Center, Conseco Fieldhouse, and Victory Field. Fred negotiated a number of sports-related wins for the city, including: adding Indianapolis to the permanent hosting rotation for the NCAA Final Four Tournament; laying the groundwork for the city's successful 2012 Super Bowl bid; and putting together the strategy and plans for development of Lucas Oil Stadium. In 2008, President McRobbie appointed Fred as Indiana University's vice president and director of athletics. Since assuming the role, Fred has worked tirelessly to ensure IU returns to its rightful place as one of the premier athletic departments in the country. His tenure has been marked, in part, by a deep commitment to the wellness, development, and achievement of the students under his charge. His 24 Sports, One Team philosophy has brought together student athletes from all IU sports, encouraging them to attend each other's games, support one another, and function as an extended IU family. Get Fred’s Book here: Making Your Own Luck: From a Skid Row Bar to Rebuilding Indiana University Athletics by Fred Glass: https://amzn.to/3tCY7hj Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 227, an episode with a well-recognized professor, Ben M. Bensaou. Get Ben's book here: https://amzn.to/3xpI9Zb Many people think that you need a genius leader or need to become a start-up to innovate. But we all have the potential to innovate. In this episode, Ben speaks about everyone's role in innovation and how it can be performed like a habit in our everyday lives. He also discussed the need to develop a deeper understanding of customers and create a culture of collaborating with customers to offer the ideal combination of performance, attributes, price, and other characteristics that customers need and want, or produce a product and service with a powerful market appeal. Ben M. Bensaou is a Professor of Technology Management and Professor of Asian Business and Comparative Management at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France. He served as Dean of Executive Education in 2018–2020. He was a Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard Business School in 1998-1999, a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School of Management in 2007-2008, and a Visiting Scholar at the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley in 2013-2015. He received his PhD in Management from MIT Sloan School of Management, Cambridge, US, and his MA in Management Science from Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan; his Diplôme d’Ingénieur (MSc) in Civil Engineering and DEA in Mechanical Engineering from respectively the Ecole Nationale des TPE, Lyon and the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, two Grandes Ecoles in France. His research and teaching activities focus on: (1) how to create innovating capabilities and competencies as a way to build an innovating organization and culture; (2) Blue Ocean Strategy and value innovation implementation, and roll out processes across the whole organization; (3) how to build social capital within firms; (4) new forms of organizations, in particular networked corporations, strategic alliances, joint ventures, and value-adding partnerships; and (5) the impact of information technology on innovation. Professor Bensaou addresses these issues from an international comparative perspective, with a special focus on Japanese organizations. Professor Bensaou's research on buyer-supplier relations in the US and Japanese auto industries won him the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award in the field of information systems and a finalist nomination for the Free Press Award for outstanding dissertation research in the field of business policy and strategy. His case studies on innovation won the 2006, 2008 and 2009 ECCH Best Case Awards (with Kim & Mauborgne). His publications include papers in Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Information Systems Research, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of International Business Studies, Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, book chapters and conference proceedings. He has been a member of the Editorial Board of Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly and MISQ Executive. He has been listed in the Who’s Who in the World since 1998. He has been consulting for Asian, European and US corporations since 1993. At INSEAD, Professor Bensaou developed two new MBA courses: 'Managing Networked Organisations' and 'Understanding Japanese Business.' He also teaches courses on Competitive Strategy, Innovation, Blue Ocean Strategy and Value Innovation, Information Technology and Comparative Management (in English and French). He was a Visiting Professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, where he taught his 'Information Technology and Corporate Transformation' course. He has also been teaching (in Japanese) in Executive Education programs at Keio Business School, Tokyo, Japan. Get Ben's book here: Built to Innovate: Essential Practices to Wire Innovation into Your Company’s DNA. Ben M. Bensaou: https://amzn.to/3xpI9Zb Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 226, an episode with the CEO of Tournesol, Alicia Hare. In this episode, Alicia spoke about a new and unique approach of leadership calledthe lead brighter approach, which focuses on improving the quality of people's lives through things that really matter and make a difference. A brighter future is about shared prosperity, quality, connection, discovery, and joy. Alicia is the founder and CEO of Tournesol, a leadership consulting firm that partners with CEOs, senior leaders, and their teams in times of significant change. Tournesol's unique lead brighter approach helps leaders harness the full power of their platform to elevate performance and improve the quality of people's lives.  Alicia's clients include CEOs and senior leaders at Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies. Among others, she's worked with: the CEO of a multibillion-dollar healthcare company to use his platform to transform health and healthcare in America, improving the health of millions; the CEO of one of the world's largest global hospitality companies to address social isolation, bettering the lives of millions of customers while driving business performance; and the President and COO of a global entertainment company to reset the company's strategy for worldwide growth and impact. Her efforts have resulted in large-scale organizational transformation, sustainable business results, and meaningful social change. Before founding Tournesol, Alicia was a president at SYPartners; strategy executive at Target; head of business transformation for Sensis, an Australian media company; and principal at Destra Consulting Group, an organizational effectiveness consulting firm. She earned her B.A. from Rice, M.Ed. from Harvard, MBA from The Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Alicia is the author of The Unfolding Path: A Way to Live and Lead in Our Times, which inspires and guides leaders to do the deep inner work required to step up and lead others to a brighter future. Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 225, an interview with expert M&A advisor and best-selling author, Mark Sirower. Get Mark's book here: https://amzn.to/39nd0O8   In this episode, Mark elaborated on the meaning of synergy and how it impacts businesses. He also spoke about strategies to maximize the chances of success in M&A and how to deal with its common challenges.   Mark Sirower is an internationally recognized expert on M&A and the author of the best-selling book, The Synergy Trap: How Companies Lose the Acquisition Game (Simon & Schuster, 1997) and co-author of The Synergy Solution: How Companies Win the Mergers & Acquisitions Game (Harvard Business Review Press, February 2022).   He is a U.S. leader in Deloitte's M&A and Restructuring practice, where he joined in 2008 to launch the M&A Strategy practice. Mark has advised senior executive teams on hundreds of transactions over the past 25 years from strategy and diligence through post-merger integration. Previously, he built the Deals Strategy Group at PwC and was the global leader of the M&A practice at the Boston Consulting Group, where he developed innovative approaches to crafting M&A strategies, planning integrations, delivering synergies, and creating shareholder value. Mark has taught M&A at the Wharton School, and has taught at the NYU Stern School Executive MBA program for 30 years.    Get Mark's book here:   The Synergy Solution: How Companies Win the Mergers & Acquisitions Game. Mark Sirower: https://amzn.to/39nd0O8   Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 224, an episode with sought-after keynote speaker and coach, Patricia Stark. Get Patricia's book here: https://amzn.to/3MQIzNR   In this episode, Patricia spoke about the importance of building a genuine connection with other people, and thoughts about self-belief. She also discussed the factors that restrict us from communicating effectively and how we can deal with them.    Patricia Stark is a Certified Personal and Executive Coach (CPEC of the CaPP Institute - Coaching and Positive Psychology) and a Certified Body Language Trainer (Body Language Institute, Washington DC) and holds certificates in Eclectic Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Visualization/Guided Imagery (LIU). She heads Patricia Stark Communications and specializes in helping clients build their Calmfidence® in interviews, on-camera, and in daily life with tangible strategies for powerful communication skills, mastering self-talk, and stress and anxiety relievers used by the pros.   Patricia has extensive experience as a health and medical news anchor, radio interview host, and appears regularly as a TV guest expert on the topics of communication and confidence. Her new book, Calmfidence: How to Trust Yourself, Tame Your Inner Critic, and Shine in Any Spotlight, was published in September 2021 by Sounds True/Macmillan Publishers.   With over 20 years of first-hand experience in front of the camera and on stage, Patricia is one of the few trainers in the country who has worked extensively in front of the camera in both broadcast and corporate media. Patricia has appeared in over 2,000 Fortune 500 corporate media productions in just about every sector of industry as a moderator, trainer, host, and corporate spokesperson, and has anchored national and international news. She is a member of SAG/AFTRA, has appeared in numerous television commercials and programs, and has held a recurring role on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.   Get Patricia's book here: Calmfidence: How to Trust Yourself, Tame Your Inner Critic, and Shine in Any Spotlight by Patricia Stark: https://amzn.to/3MQIzNR   Enjoying our podcast? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo