The Company Road Podcast

Send us a text“When it comes to AI, we talk about augmenting not replacing. We want this to be about how do I augment the individual and give them superpowers so they can do amazing things and liberate their time? How do we make 5 people worth 10 people?”Gareth RydonIn this episode, you’ll hear about:AI adoption in 2024: Exploring the scale and speed at which AI is being adopted, the different approaches companies are taking & the key implications for organisations in 2024Evolution of AI use cases: How AI applications have evolved from basic tasks to more advanced functions and how opportunities for use are expected to continue to evolve into this year Organisation challenges in AI: The key barriers that companies are facing in adopting AI and strategies to simplify the process for efficiency & augmentationAI vs humanity: Understanding where and how AI technology still falls short compared to human abilities and where the key value of humans still lies Engaging kids with AI: The ethics of introducing kids to AI and how to do so in a way that prepares them for the future and harnesses their creativity but protects the formation of their in-person skills & human connectionsKey linksEp. 29 with Sarah Kaur https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEMbbWssyoFriyay.AI https://www.friyay.ai/RambleFix https://ramblefix.com/Otter AI https://otter.ai/Ethan Mollick https://mgmt.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/emollick/Llama by Meta https://llama.meta.com/DALL·E 3 https://openai.com/dall-e-3Napster https://www.napster.com/Ep. 23 with Dr. Gus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25jctgmeEVIAbout our guestGareth Rydon (https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethrydon) works as a service designer, applying this to building generative AI tools for clients. His happy place is when he is talking to and learning from people so that he can help them solve their problems in sustainable, creative ways.Having previously held roles at Stone & Chalk, Rightpoint and the ATO, he is now the co-founder of Friyay.ai, a generative AI studio which identifies the human experience to augment and then design generative AI solutions.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co).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 Academy Xi in Innovation, CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally. For 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’m 46 and I'm going to continue to do new stuff constantly my entire life. It's going to challenge me. I'm going to be uncomfortable with it. And the neurons in my mind will keep developing the ability to be adaptable if I keep challenging myself.”Nick BermanIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Balancing personal & professional life: How to regularly assess emotion states, seek equilibrium and create space for introspection to live in balance and mindfulnessNick’s primary philosophy on self-growth: Understanding the choices you have available in life & learning to take ‘left turns’ to continuously push personal boundaries and growth through discomfortDetecting & dealing with overwhelm: How to recognise early states of overwhelm and take actional steps early to avoid breakdownBuilding trusting & authentic relationships: Steps to establishing trust with yourself, and those around you in a professional social contextChanging ahead of change: Acknowledging the changing state of the world and learning how to actively make changes to your life, routine and mindset to adapt in advanceKey linksVipassana Silent Retreat https://www.dhamma.org.au/Brené Brown https://brenebrown.com/Tony Robbins https://www.tonyrobbins.com/Qigong https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/qigong-what-you-need-to-knowHireGround https://www.hireground.co/Breathwork https://health.clevelandclinic.org/breathwork/About our guestA self-titled ‘specialist in being nice to people’, Nick Berman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/batmanbeard/) is a purpose career coach and founder of HireGround. With over 15 years experience in recruiting for creative roles, from graphic designers to marketing managers, he started his current business to ensure that the work he does can offer “true career guidance, honest connections and long-term support.”About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in Innovation, CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.For 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“In fact, there’s nothing normal. Everything is what we make of it to a certain extent.”Dr. Marco MottaIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Data storytelling: How to present data in a means to create shared understanding across an organisation and use narrative techniques to make it personable, digestible and immersiveMitigating data literacy: Establishing an evidence-driven culture by bridging the data literacy gap in an organisation and increasing the capacity for informed decision-makingThe responsibility of data stewardship: Delegating roles for data management and ensuring privacy, confidentiality and integrity is maintained when utilising dataData visualisation: Why the visualisation of data can completely change how it’s received & top dataviz strategies for ensuring it achieves the purpose you’re afterThe power of philosophy and critical thinking: Why its valuable to deploy philosophical techniques into consulting and data analysis to ensure decisions are rooted and strategically consideredKey LinksHeidegger: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heidegger/Phenomenology: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology/Arnold Hauser: https://arthistorians.info/hausera/Sapiens book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari/Transport of Main Roads: https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Hamlet’s Mill: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1439Translink: https://translink.com.au/About our guest Dr Marco Motta (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mottamarco01) is the Managing Director of Motta Consulting, a boutique organisation that specialises in data analysis and visualisation. He has a strong track-record transforming the performance reporting culture of large organisations, using data storytelling to craft business stories that break silos and support good decisions. He marries this with a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Queensland and uses his background in critical thinking to help organisations and clients identify, define, break-down and solve complex business challenges.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in Innovation, CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally. For 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 level of power that consumer facing Gen AI offers with such intuitive accessibility for such essentially a low cost for that high powered tool… is unprecedented.”Sarah KaurIn this episode, you’ll hear about:AI as an enabler: How AI can be used to enable and empower unique work processes and scenarios, including key examples of how it it can enable design thinking and transformation workDigital divide and inequity: Confronting the challenge of digital inequity and strategies for evening the playing field of technology across the workforceAI's efficiency vs human value: Balancing the use of AI technology with traditional human work and where and how both are most valuableChatGPT in design workflows: Analysing how chatGPT has changed the approach to design, how it will continue to do so and how human participation and perspective must be recentered for continued valueAI upskilling and ‘Shadow AI’: How ‘Shadow AI’ is allowing for expanded creativity and creating opportunities for upskilling the workforce and why you should be taking advantage of itKey LinksMax Kalis episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_fTrmruTPkShadow AI: https://www.forbes.com/sites/delltechnologies/2023/10/31/what-is-shadow-ai-and-what-can-it-do-about-it/?sh=1b4aa39b7127ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/Data61: https://research.csiro.au/data61/Copilot: https://copilot.microsoft.com/Lorraine Finlay, Australian Human Rights Commissioner: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/commission-general/human-rights-commissioner-ms-lorraine-finlayAbout our guest Sarah Kaur (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-tamara-kaur/) is a Strategic Designer and Human-centred Design Researcher. Her passion is supporting the creative work of teams across disciplines to collaborate, and come up with smart ways to create impact through using participatory design. She now works as a Design Thinking Practitioner at CSIRO's Data61, where she focusses on research into Responsible AI, and embedding human insight in machine learning and AI research and product development.She holds a Master of Business Analytics and a Bachelor in Fine Arts, and 12 years of professional experience supporting NFP, Government and Private organisations realise their business objectives by placing humans and quality data, at the centre of their decisions and investments. About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in Innovation, CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders interFor 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“One thing led to another and some things came up and actually it just broke really quickly and was quite a shock. It was quite disruptive and it was one of these situations where you think, okay, what has just happened?”Sarah WilkinTransforming personal adversity to professional opportunity: Sarah shares her journey overcoming a major and very sudden struggle in her personal life… and how it led her to greater successAddressing gender bias: How to challenge the issue of gender bias within male-dominated industries with language and representationResilience in the face of change: Unlocking and developing resilience to stay firm and excel within the modern disruptive and ever-changing working landscapeConnectivity in remote work: Strategies for staying motivated, connected and taking advantage of remote workingThe power of radical honesty: How being honest, and radically so, can unlock powerful relationships and working opportunities Key LinksNissan LEAF: https://www.nissan.com.au/vehicles/browse-range/leaf.htmlFly Green Alliance: https://flygreenalliance.org/Booking Cares https://www.sustainability.booking.com/aboutAlan Partridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_PartridgeCircular Economy https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overviewKundalini https://www.healthline.com/health/kundalini-meditationLainey Molnar https://www.instagram.com/lainey.molnar/?hl=enAbout our guest Sarah Wilkin (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahwilkin/) is Founder & CEO of Fly Green Alliance, and was a Booking.com grantee in 2018 when she gained a sustainable travel grant to work on the R&D of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) which was a milestone for SAF awareness, being the first time the tech had been given attention outside of the aviation industry. She went on to pioneer the tech and is globally recognised as an expert, thought leader and now speaks on panels such as at The Economist, S&P Global and is quoted in BBC and other publications. About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally. For 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'm a big believer that innovation is not the result of some sort of inspired genius, right? It's not an innate talent but a process and a handful of repeatable activities that can be learned.”Jacob DuttonIn this episode, you’ll hear about:The democratisation of innovation: How individuals can practically learn innovation as a skill & readjust limiting mindsets to do soFostering entrepreneurial mindsets: Why developing entrepreneurial mindsets within your people is crucial in encouraging innovation Open vs closed innovation: Balancing forms of innovation & the secret method to employing both for optimal successIdentifying the need for change: Signs to look out for in knowing when and why it’s time for your organisation to enact change Staying motivated within failure: How you can remain energised and excited in the face of seemingly continual innovation failureKey LinksFuture Foundry https://www.future-foundry.io/Co-founder Katy https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-sephton-81451315/Holy Grail https://www.britannica.com/topic/GrailMuseum of Failure: https://museumoffailure.com/About our guest Jacob Dutton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobdutton/) is the Co-Founder & CEO of Future Foundry and the creator of the Velocity™ innovation method. He's spent almost two decades helping companies like Hilton, NBC, Walgreens, HSBC, and Microsoft accelerate, de-risk, and systematise the discovery of over one hundred breakthrough businesses, products, and services. His deep-rooted belief is that innovation is a learned skill, not an innate talent and that with the right people, processes and platforms - every corporation on the planet can innovate with more speed, focus and impact. About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally. For 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 company doesn't create the culture. If you hire great people, the culture will be created.”Christian SteinIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Brand strategy misconceptions: What is brand strategy, what is it not and how should it be approached to be valuable and effective?The paradigm of fear in professional life: Why so many professionals are held back from pursuing their full potential and how to adopt a mindset that allows for change and dissuades fearThe value of strategic thinking and incremental progress: How to clearly define a brand or organisations long-term goals and then approach the goals by seeking progress rather than perfectionRedefining business success: The importance of reframing the idea of success in an organisation and how to identify meaningful non-quantifiable objectives to retract sole focus from number targetsVital role of customer engagement: How to engage with customers in a genuine and meaningful way to receive the data you need to make informed and powerful decisionsKey LinksStone Owl https://stoneowlconsulting.com/ 180 Amsterdam https://www.180amsterdam.com/Sapiens book https://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari/dp/0062316095Jerry Springer https://jerryspringertv.com/About our guest With over 25 years of global marketing communication experience, Christian (https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-stein-1430134/) specializes in developing transformative strategies for diverse brands and agencies across Western Europe, Russia, North America, China, Australia, and South Africa. His expertise spans B2C and B2B, encompassing luxury to mainstream sectors in areas such as cars, trucks, motorbikes, beer, spirits, luxury goods, technology, and financial services. Christian is known for building strong partnerships with C-suite stakeholders, using creative thinking to unlock opportunities and achieve business growth. His leadership has consistently led to impactful creative outcomes, driving business results and earning numerous awards.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co).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 Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally. For 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"Mistakes are as valuable as the finely crafted ideas. There's something tangible in them that could often be elevated and be the main idea."Alex NormantonIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Establishing strategic foundations for creativity: Grounding creative ideas in strategy to ensure a solid basis for the creative process and alignment to objectives, prior insights and the broader brief.Overcoming creative blocks: Strategies for maintaining optimal mental spaces, getting through blocks of creativity & balancing left and right brain functionalities.Being a design-led organisation: Why being design-led is significant and what centering design can do to convey brand values, create meaningful customer experiences and remain flexible and cutting-edge.Design for connection & communication: How design goes beyond aesthetics and its powerful role in communicating and connecting with customers.Democratisation of design: Ways to involve every part of the company in the design process and why it’s important to do so.Key LinksAlex's website https://www.alexnormanton.com/ Reckitt https://reckitt.com/DOPA https://www.thedopa.com/Saatchi & Saatchi https://www.saatchi.com.au/Clios https://clios.com/Cannes Lions https://www.canneslions.com/D&AD https://www.dandad.org/MassiveMusic https://www.massivemusic.com/About our guest Alex Normanton (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexnormanton/) is Global Brand Experience Lead at Reckitt. In this role, Alex drives category growth by translating design into meaningful brand experiences and sustainable innovations.Prior to this, Alex worked for some of the world’s leading agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi and Design Bridge. He’s directed the likes of Sony Music, Johnnie Walker and Mercedes-Benz, and been recognised by a number of awards such as the Clios, Cannes Lions, D&AD and the One Show.A big advocate for the power of sonic branding, he believes that audio language should be considered by designers and marketers in the same way that visual and verbal language is. It’s no surprise then that he chose a podcast as the medium for his passion project, DOPA, which fuels conversations around creative wellness.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally. For 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"So I just thought, no. I don't accept the narrative around sobriety. I don't accept that drinkers are boring. I don't accept that people can't have fun without alcohol. I just don't accept any of these things."Faye LawrenceIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Faye’s journey to sobriety: Faye details her personal story from heavy-drinker to alcohol-free, including the barriers she faced, her turning point and the differences in her life since sobriety.Workplace drinking culture and breaking the stigma of sobriety: Why a culture of alcohol is so prevalent within business and what we can do to establish a healthier, more inclusive social work cultureTechniques for sobriety: Key strategies for trying to work toward and navigate sobriety, including the all-or-nothing approach, getting curious about one's experiences with alcohol, focusing on gains, and regulating the nervous system.Developing a growth mindset: How to become comfortable with discomfort, learn the power of the pause and take control over the decisions you make to see personal growth and self-discovery in your lifeUnlocking productivity: Tips to step into greater levels of productivity and satisfaction at work rooted in understanding yourself and having power over your actions and decision-makingKey linksEpisode 14 with Olly Lynch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtS9FcQCpZo&t=2872sUntoxicated: https://www.untoxicated.com.au/South by Southwest: https://www.sxsw.com/Faye’s TedX Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJadFi0uJNAHuberman Lab podcast: https://www.hubermanlab.com/podcastMirror Group Newspapers: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Mirror-Group-NewspapersCharles Bukowski: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_BukowskiYumi Steins podcast w/Faye: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/ladies-we-need-to-talk/sober-sex/102870152About our guest Having been a heavy but high functioning drinker since her teens, Faye Lawrence (https://www.linkedin.com/in/faye-lawrence-aus/) wound up in inpatient detox in 2017 after realising the party wasn’t any fun anymore. Determined not to let her sobriety ruin her social life she founded Untoxicated, now Australia’s largest alcohol-free social community.She is a TEDx + SXSW speaker and has featured widely across media with a mission to normalise living with less or no alcohol in a culture that reveres it. Since her ADHD diagnosis in 2022, she’s been telling anyone who’ll listen about the strong link between ADHD and all types of addiction.She’s proud to serve on the SMART Recovery Board and is a trained facilitator. And in true ADHD ‘portfolio career’ style, she also has extensive experience in marketing, communications, and engagement, predominantly in for purpose organisations.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.For 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“It's easier to develop a business plan to literally sell shit than it is to develop a framework to implement new ideas, like a scientist.”Dr. Agustin ChevezIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Rethinking workplace design: Top strategies and recommendations for shifting workplaces to increase productivity, employee engagement and loyalty & how the perception of workplaces is evolvingAI and the future of work: How AI will impact work, for good and for bad, in the coming years & how you can be best prepared within your roleEfficiency vs purpose: Balancing the pursuit of efficiency at the cost of purpose and knowing how and when to value bothGamification for purpose: Implementing gamification to inject meaning and engagement into standard workplace routineShifting metrics in the modern workplace: Why businesses need to rethink standard measures of success and employee experience to align with more relevant outcomes & authentically boost employee and customer experience Key linksDr Agustin Chez’s TedX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMUjCFw-CtMThe Pilgrims Guide to the Workplace https://www.achevez.com/the-pilgrim-s-guide-to-the-workplaceGitlab https://about.gitlab.com/Forrest Gump running https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=187trX0mo1oLearning from Las Vegas book https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262720069/learning-from-las-vegas/About our guestAs an Architect and researcher, Dr Agustin Chevez (https://www.linkedin.com/in/agustin-chevez) has dedicated his career to understanding the notion of work and uncovering environments that best support our working lives. Agustin’s interest in the relationship between people, space and technology saw him pursue a PhD on the evolution of workplace architecture as a consequence of technology development. His work has been presented at various international forums and publications. As a sought-after speaker, Agustin has delivered international keynotes and is a TEDx speaker. He has also contributed to workplace strategies in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. In his latest publication, The Pilgrim’s Guide to the Workplace, Agustin revisits our assumptions about the way we use space to host the ever-evolving notion of work.  Agustin is the Workplace Research Lead at the Centre for the New Workforce at Swinburne University and an Honorary Fellow at the Centre for Workplace Leadership at the University of Melbourne.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hudson-7464254/), is a Teacher, Experience Designer and Founder of business transformation coaching & consultancy Company Road (www.companyroad.co)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 Academy Xi in CX, Product Management, Design Thinking and Service Design and mentors many business leaders internationally.  For weekly updates and to hear about the latest episodes, please subscribe to The Company Road Podcast at https://companyroad.co/podcast/