The Company Road Podcast

Send us a textIn this episode of The Company Road Podcast, Chris Hudson dives into the heart of organisational success with Dane Maddams, Director of Product at Culture Amp and Amplitude Product 50 leader.Dane specialises in the "messy middle": the ambiguous, unspoken tensions, and trust gaps that quietly hold firms back. Drawing on a fascinatingly diverse background from Toyota to the world of gaming, Dane shares his unique perspective on making high performance more human, actionable, and scalable. The chat explores the hidden costs of ignoring workplace psychology, the true nature of organisational change (spoiler: it's not a mere slogan), and how we can leverage AI to augment human connection, not replace it.This is a must-listen for product leaders, managers, and anyone keen to learn about the subtle shifts that differentiate a good company from a truly exceptional one.In this episode, you’ll hear about:The definition of the "messy middle" (trust gaps, unspoken tension) and why it's the single biggest blocker to company success.Why real organisational change is slow, deliberate work—not just a slogan or a major re-org.How to balance the power of AI in performance tools (like 1:1s and goals) with the essential need for human connectionLessons in efficiency, process, and human-centred design learned from Dane’s time at Toyota and in the VFX/Gaming industry.The critical importance of the "oxygen mask analogy" for leaders to prevent burnout and ensure sustained high performance.How to build performance tools that are truly human-centred and actionable.Key LinksDane Maddams' LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danemaddams/ Culture Amp: https://www.cultureamp.com/About our guestDane Maddams is Director of Product at Culture Amp and one of Amplitude’s Product 50 leaders. He spends his time in the messy middle of product, culture, and psychology, building tools that power performance, 1-on-1s, goals, and development. Dane is passionate about making high performance more human, actionable, and scalable. Drawing on his background in structured environments like Toyota and fast-paced industries like Gaming/VFX, he is deeply curious about the intersection of empathy, AI, and sustainable high performance.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneurship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.Support the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a textIn this episode of The Company Road Podcast, Chris Hudson and Amy Grilli, co-founder of the Five Hour Club, dive deep into why the traditional 9-to-5 workday is fundamentally broken for parents and families.Amy shares the incredible personal story behind her viral LinkedIn post that reached 14 million people and proved this wasn't just a personal struggle, but a global crisis for working parents. The conversation explores the radical, effective solution: the Five Hour Workday. This model is championed not just as reduced hours, but as a system built on hyper-focused, high performance that eliminates time-wasting and prioritizes results.In this episode, you’ll hear about:The raw, personal story behind Amy's viral LinkedIn post that sparked a global movement.The definition of the Five Hour Workday and how it guarantees hyper-focused, high performance that benefits both the employee and the business.The shocking truth about the Motherhood Penalty and why it often proves to be worse than the Gender Pay Gap.How employers can redesign roles to attract high-caliber, talented parents who simply "don't have time to faff around."Practical advice for professionals who want to advocate for flexible work within their current role.The role of the Five Hour Club in driving diversity and closing the gender pay gap through radical flexibility.Key LinksFive Hour Club Job Board: www.fivehourclub.comAmy Grilli's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/amygrilliFive Hour Club Community (Instagram): www.instagram.com/fivehourclubAbout our guestAmy Grilli is the co-founder of Five Hour Club, a global job board championing the concept of the Five Hour Workday to help parents maintain their careers within school hours. After stepping back from her own career to care for her two young boys, Amy experienced firsthand the challenges many parents face in balancing work and family. Determined to create change, she is now partnering with employers worldwide to redesign the working day in a way that truly works for parents.Five Hour Club was born after Amy’s personal story went viral on LinkedIn, reaching 14 million impressions in just 14 days. Amy is also a speaker and advocate for flexible working and parental leave, passionate about increasing diversity, reducing the gender pay gap and shaping the future of work.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneurship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.Support the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a textIn this episode of the Company Road podcast, Chris Hudson and Dr. Jackie King delve into the transformative concept of empathy, emphasizing the importance of self-empathy as a foundational step. Dr. King shares her personal journey, highlighting how her experiences shaped her understanding of otherness and the necessity of self-discovery in leadership. The conversation explores the application of design thinking to personal growth, the complexities of identity, and the role of empathy in enhancing workplace dynamics and social cohesion. We encourage listeners to embark on their own journeys of self-exploration to unlock their potential and foster better relationships.In this episode you’ll hear aboutThe importance of self-empathy as a foundation for empathy towards others.Dr. Jackie King's personal journey of self-discovery and overcoming feelings of otherness.The role of design thinking in personal growth and self-awareness.Challenges of maintaining authenticity and aligning personal values in professional settings.Embracing unique identities to enhance leadership and team dynamics.Strategies for intrapreneurs to leverage self-awareness for innovative leadership.The impact of empathy on social cohesion and organizational success.Key linksDr. Jackie King's Website  www.drjackieking.com.auThe Ultimate Other, Jackie’s book https://www.amazon.com.au/Ultimate-Other-Woman-Divorced-Jew/dp/1998756963 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackiedking/ About our guest Jackie offers a rare blend of academic rigour, professional expertise and lived insight to empower individuals, teams and organisations. She uses her professional expertise and academic theory grounded in real‑world empathy practice, which she shares to support individuals and organisations to navigate change with empathy though the ultimate Leadership Framework.Jackie believes that it is only once you have empathy for yourself, that you can be open to having empathy for others. She explores this through a design thinking process that she applied to her personal life, with a gender and cultural lens after her divorce, and has shared in her award winning book, The Ultimate Other. Jackie has a PhD in public policy and EMBA in organisational leadership and strategy. About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneurship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.Support the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a text"There's two parts of your career. There's the part that you do and then there's the part that people see you do. And the second one is equally important to the first one." - In this episode, you’ll hear about:Making your work visible beyond just doing it wellBuilding influence through strategic relationships and social capitalLeveraging introvert strengths in leadership and facilitation rolesTesting if difficult colleagues are misaligned or genuinely toxicHandling workplace bullies with specific tactical approachesRecognizing when manager advocacy is absent and exit strategies are neededKey linksAnna Findlay LinkedIn Book: "Surrounded by Idiots" 10 types of workplace bullies | Anna Findlay 🔑 Career CoachAbout our guest Anna Findlay is a Career and Soft Skills Coach who helps mid-career professionals who feel stuck, undervalued, or off-track to confidently reposition themselves and build the career they truly want. Whether it’s a new job, a pivot, a promotion, or simply a better way of working, she helps clients move forward with clarity and purpose. Anna also works with teams to strengthen communication and improve collaboration.Her coaching takes a holistic, strengths-based approach grounded in self-reflection, emotional intelligence, and self-advocacy. Her goal is to help smart, capable people navigate uncertainty, build confidence, and achieve meaningful career outcomes.Drawing on her background in human-centered design, facilitation, and meditation, Anna creates a practical yet empowering coaching experience that meets clients where they are and takes them to where they want to be.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneuship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.P.S. If you're enjoying these conversations and finding them helpful, please consider supporting the show. Your pledge helps us keep bringing you incredible guests and valuable career insights. Thank you for being part of our community! You can contribute for less than the price of a coffee here.Support the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a text"Actually 90% of the change you're trying to create comes through systemic changes to the environment rather than training." - Charlie KneenCharlie Kneen is the founder of Solvd Together, a learning and development transformation consultancy that reimagines how global brands approach their people strategy. Formerly the L&D lead at BP in the UK, Charlie brings together expertise in marketing, coaching, leadership, and human-centred design.If you're tired of engagement surveys and hoping for the best, this episode offers tangible alternatives that focus on business performance rather than content delivery. In this episode, you’ll hear about:The broken model of corporate learningHuman-centred design in L&DHow to handle difficult conversations when research reveals uncomfortable truths about leadership and systemsMoving from order-takers to strategic partnersUsing nudges and contextual cues to drive behaviour change without formal trainingSetting up proper research methodologies with control groups to prove ROI and business impactKey linksSolvd Together WebsiteCharlie Kneen LinkedInSolvd Together LinkedInHow People Learn: Designing Education and Training that Works to Improve Performance"The Empty Brain" article by Robert Epstein (former editor of Psychology Today) Nick Shackleton-Jones Bp WebsiteAbout our guest Charlie Kneen is the founder of Solvd Together, a Learning & Development and Transformation consultancy that partners with global brands to reimagine how organisations engage, retain, and upskill their people. Drawing on a background in marketing, coaching, and leadership roles across both in-house teams and start-ups, Charlie brings a unique perspective on the psychology of work. His passion lies in applying human-centred design to learning and change, helping businesses achieve real impact and commercial value while creating better experiences for their people.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneuship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.Support the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a text"Communicate to involve, not to tell, so that you can make the change stick." - Lana NorthLana North is a change communication specialist and founder of the Communication Exchange who has spent two decades managing complex transformation programmes across industries from banking to logistics. After working through major changes including the aftermath of the European financial crisis, she now helps leaders navigate organisational transformation with clarity and humanity. In this episode, you’ll hear about:The psychology of change resistanceTwo-way communication vs. one-way instructionStakeholder engagement and timingManaging conflict and building consensusPractical communication strategiesKey linksLana North LinkedInThe Communication ExchangePodcast with Andreas MoellmannPROSCIAbout our guest Lana North is a change communication specialist and founder of The Communication Exchange.After two decades of leading communication efforts across complex change programs in Australia and Europe, Lana now helps professional leaders to drive sustainable change by mastering their communication and team engagement skills.Lana works with those leaders- the ones who care deeply, but feel overwhelmed by the pace, unsure how to say the hard things, and uncertain about how to truly engage their teams when they’re still finding their own footing.Her focus is on making change doable, not daunting -with less jargon, more humanity, and a real plan for making change stick so that the benefits can be realised.When she’s not helping professional leaders to drive sustainable change, Lana’s juggling life with three kids, a Labrador, and the occasional fence-jumping cow.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneuship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.Support the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a text"I think there are three things that are really valued in organizations from consultants. The first is consultants come without a legacy bias. So the challenges, the roadblocks, the cultural norms within an organization, consultants are able to sidestep those. So are able to kind of come in and observe those with a bit of a neutral gaze." - Steph FoxworthySteph Foxworthy brings over 25 years of experience spanning customer experience, digital strategy, product innovation, sales, and marketing. He was recently managing director at Accenture Song in Melbourne and has driven results for major organisations including Coles and Telstra.If you've ever wondered how consultants drive change or how to apply that mindset from within this episode is for you.In this episode, you’ll hear about:The differences between employee, agency, and consultant mindsetsHow consultants build trust and get repeat business through expertiseThe role of pattern recognition in consultant successWhy consultants can ask "dumb questions" that employees cannotHow AI is changing the consulting landscape and democratising expertiseThe importance of asking the right questions in an AI-powered worldThree key things consultants bring: no legacy bias, pattern recognition, storytellingThe relationship between consultants and organisational politicsHow to know when to be directive versus exploratory as an intrapreneurThe therapeutic role consultants often play in organisationsWhy design education teaches valuable enquiry skillsThe changing pathways for learning consulting skillsHow AI agents might change business negotiations in the futureKey linksSteph Foxworthy LinkedInAccenture Song ReactiveAbout our guest Steph is a customer experience, digital strategy and marketing professional with over 25 years' experience.He’s an advocate for the power of technology to augment human creativity and to help drive growth and impact for customers, businesses and society.After many years working in digital agencies and consulting, Steph is now Director of Managed Services at Our Community, a social enterprise dedicated to building stronger communities through software, education and services for the not-for-profit and grant-making sector.Steph is also a non-executive director at Minus18 Foundation, a queer youth charity with a mission to improve the lives of LGBTQIA+ youth.Steph is married with three high-school aged kids and lives bayside on Boonwurrung country in Naarm, Melbourne.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneuship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in InnovationSupport the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a text“The longer the tenure, the more things become, you know, this is the way we've always done it. And so an entrepreneur is someone that can go in and see that pretty quickly. What are the bits that are stale? Where are the potentials and opportunities for improvement?” - Dave GregurkeIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Aligning stakeholders with different prioritiesBalancing innovation with security in high-risk settingsWorking around resistance to changeThe importance of customer research and involving executivesMethods for breaking habitual behaviours in large organisationsUsing simple tools to collaborate across tech stacksBuilding trust in risk-conscious culturesShifting from waterfall to iterative design practicesFuture-proofing change and sustaining momentumKey linksDave Gregurke LinkedInDave Gregurke WebsiteAmazonNational Australia BankUniversity of MelbourneAbout our guest Dave Gregurke is a designer of many things, born in Texas, USA where fell in love with baseball. From there the family moved to Yeosu, South Korea where he almost got kidnapped with his dog. Now long settled in Melbourne, Australia gave him a new home and accent.For over 20 years across brand and customer experience, Dave has been a trusted end-to-end designer for Services, Product and Go-to-market.He has deep experience in complex environments across startups, government & enterprise. Kicking-off in corporate design, he quickly fell in love with the interactive world and all its possibilities. Dave has big brands like Amazon, University of Melbourne, NAB and State Governments among his collaborators.After founding two businesses, Dave currently focuses on complex problem spaces, including fintech payments. He’ll run your innovation and design sprints, as well as coach and train your team to develop that knowledge internally.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneuship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors mSupport the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a text“I realised, I'm just an arrogant tw@t that believes I know how to do things, but actually other people know how to do things as well, maybe even much better than I do. And that many solutions are based on context, on history, on future, on vision, on motivation, on setups, on ability, on all kinds of things. So there's no one solution to a problem. There are many, many solutions to a problem.” Andreas MoellmannIn this episode, you’ll hear about:How different cultures approach change and innovationWhy companies get stuck repeating past successesThe horse race illusion of believing you have a winning methodThe innovator's dilemma between milking existing profitable models versus investing in new technologiesThe gap between developing solutions and getting organisations to accept and implement themHow company size, systems, and hierarchies impact flexibility and innovation capacityKey linksAndreas Moellmann on LinkedInBooks: Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyDentsuPublicisDDBSaatchi & SaatchiSapientDerren Brown on horse racingAbout our guest Andreas helps brands and businesses get future-ready. A seasoned brand and marketing strategist with over 30 years experience in transformative roles from strategic planner to Chief Experience Officer at network agencies (Publicis, BBDO, DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi) and digital agencies (SapientNitro, Isobar) in Berlin, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. His experience stretches from automotive, FMCG, consumer electronics and telecommunications to banking and insurance where he worked on Berliner Bank and Gothaer Versicherungen. Andreas’ focus lies in connecting brand and marketing thinking with technology to help brands and businesses succeed. His work has been recognised at global, European, and local effectiveness awards, as well as creative competitions such as Cannes. He serves as a judge at the APAC Effectiveness award and local competitions in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Pakistan. Today, Andreas provides his experience as an independent brand and marketing consultant across APAC. He currently lives in Bangkok.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneuship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internaSupport the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/

Send us a text“I believe that everyone is a CEO of culture. Every interaction is either a deposit or withdrawal from culture. You can have the most amazing culture within the team, and you can put someone in there that doesn't do the right thing and doesn't treat people in the right way. And if they're in a leadership position, the shadow they leave is even bigger.” — Beth HallIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Why culture isn’t something you can “initiative” your way out ofThe impact of incivility versus workload on burnoutWhat emotional intelligence has to do with team performanceCultural “fit” versus cultural “add”How generational expectations are reshaping what is tolerated at workThe power of onboarding and moments that matterStartup culture: speed, messiness and who thrives in itThe role of trust in hybrid workWhy feedback cultures matter and how to make hard conversations easierWhat leaders should actually look for in their people dataKey linksBeth’s consultancy: www.culturedge.comBeth Hall on LinkedInDaniel Goleman’s book on Emotional IntelligenceMichael Leiter’s research on burnout and incivilityJim Collins’ concept of “freedom within a framework”Saville Wave psychometric testNetflix’s public culture deckAbout our guest Beth Hall is a highly regarded leader in People and Culture, with over 15 years of experience in shaping high-performing cultures across diverse industries. Holding a Master’s in Organisational Psychology from the University of London, Beth combines scientific evidence with lived experience, making her a trusted advisor to complex, dynamic organisations. Her career includes roles such as Global Head of Organisational Development at Cotton On Group, where she led transformational initiatives across a global workforce, and General Manager of Standards and Capability at AHRI, where she set the national benchmark for HR standards and Certification in Australia. Beth’s deep understanding of the people experience at work enables her to design and implement strategies that enable high performing individuals, teams, and cultures. Beth’s approach is grounded in the belief that sustainable, inclusive cultures are the foundation of business success.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson, is an Intrapreneuship Coach, Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching and consultancy Company Road.Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Chris considers himself incredibly fortunate to have worked with some of the world’s most ambitious and successful companies, including Google, Mercedes-Benz, Accenture (Fjord) and Dulux, to name a small few. He continues to teach with University of Melbourne in Innovation, and Academy XSupport the showFor weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/