The Company Road Podcast

Send us a text"The future of the creative industry will be thousands, hundreds of thousands of solopreneurs and micro businesses living in this sort of ecosystem that will come together around projects."David WebsterIn this episode you’ll hear about:The evolution of work models: Exploring the evolving nature of work models, particularly in the creative industry & the need for a shift towards more flexible, decentralised approaches.Distributed talent: The value of assembling distributed teams of subject matter experts from around the world tailored to specific needs rather than hiring full-time employees.Mindset and adaptability: How to adapt your mindset to suit the changing landscape of work and embrace experimentation on a daily basis.Changing client-agency relationships: How the talent-driven vs customer-driven approach can rebalance this relationship, with clients needing to treat talent well to attract the best professionals.Intrapreneurship vs Entrepreneurship: Weighing up the challenges and benefits of both pathways and how to effectively maximise your experience in both.Key links:David’s Ted Talk https://www.ted.com/talks/david_webster_building_a_more_human_centric_organisational_cultureBBDO https://bbdo.com/BBH https://www.bartleboglehegarty.com/Michael Baulk https://www.brandnewworld.ch/brand-new-salon/creative-minds/27742/michael-baulk.html Procter & Gamble https://anz.pg.com/Sir John Hegarty https://www.businessofcreativity.com/john-hegarty/Rishard Tobaccowala https://rishadtobaccowala.com/About our guestDavid Webster (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-webster-aba90219/) is the CEO and Co-founder of The Carrot Collective. With almost 20 years experience in marketing and advertising, David has been at the forefront of some of the most innovative work in Asia for brands such as Nike, Netflix, Uber, Google and Samsung among others. He's won over 140 creative and effectiveness awards in his career and helped lead his previous agency to win AdAge International Agency of the Year in 2018.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“Instead of asking what the individual has to do or what I think they should do, I think it's more so what cultural shift within an organisation has to take place for individuals to eventually be their fullest selves.”Killian PoolmansIn this episode you’ll hear about:Digital strategies for inclusivity and engagement: Killian’s unique approach for creative inclusive and productive online team spaces.Facilitating change as an outsider: How to effectively facilitate change by coming into an organisation as a co-designer rather than an outsider.Challenges of implementing change: The blockers and barriers that organisations face when transitioning to change, and tips to overcome them.Creating longevity in change initiatives: Strategies for ensuring the lasting impact of change initiatives, including ongoing measurement and support.Balancing perspectives and identities: Acknowledging the value of diverse perspectives and lived experiences within organisations and making space for all voices.Key links:PINKHAMMER https://pinkhammer.space/Pippi Longstocking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pippi_LongstockingTrojan House https://www.britannica.com/topic/Trojan-horseLufthansa https://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/home.htmlRutgers https://rutgers.international/PwC https://www.pwc.com.au/About our guestKillian Poolmans (https://www.linkedin.com/in/killian-poolmans/) is the Founder of PINKHAMMER, which facilitates interactive training programs that boost creativity and inclusion with organisations.With a background in engineering and systems design, Killian has worked with over 500 teams from startups to global organisations across Berlin, Melbourne and Singapore, to enhance their innovation capabilities and help them embrace inclusivity in their product development.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“Change is by nature, inherently disruptive, and it often stresses people out. How can we move it from a source of distress to a source of eustress?”Friska WiryaIn this episode you’ll hear about:Change management in organisations: The need for organisations to embrace change as a permanent function and strategies to nurture employees through disruption.Transitioning from invisibility to influence: How individuals can move from feeling invisible within their organisations to becoming influential.Playfulness and innovation: The role of playfulness in inspiring innovation and approaching corporate challenges with creativity.The role of personal branding: Why defining one’s personal values and projecting them authentically through a clear personal brand is importantSustained motivation and resilience: Personal strategies for maintaining motivation in the face of ongoing change and long-term goalsKey links:Fresh by Friska https://www.freshbyfriska.com/Friska’s new book: The Future Fit Organisationhttps://www.freshbyfriska.com/learning/p/the-future-fit-organisation-1Friska’s TedX Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ63SGtxGwUMBB https://www.mbbgroup.com.au/Yammer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YammerBig Four https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bigfour.aspRocky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioE_O7Lm0I4 About our guestFriska Wirya (https://www.linkedin.com/in/friska/) is a Top 50 Change Management Thought Leader, most known for her work with large corporates - a US$170m cost saving for the biggest gold miner in the Southern Hemisphere, executing the digital response to COVID for Australia's number 1 university, and partnering with the largest engineering company on earth to win the race to net zero.She is now the powerhouse behind Fresh by Friska, a change management consulting, coaching, facilitation and training service, and was selected by Meta as part of the Top 100 Consultants and Thought Leaders of the world.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"If you want the best talent out there, having a commitment to sustainability works because people care very deeply about this topic... people are actually resigning from jobs or they don't apply for jobs when companies don't have a good approach to sustainability."Christian SmithIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Sustainability as a Business Strategy: How sustainability can be used as a strategy to reduce risk and improve profitabilityAligning Purpose and Profit: Presenting sustainability initiatives in a way that justifies investments to senior stakeholdersThe Importance of External Engagement: Stress-testing sustainability approaches through engaging with external stakeholder and why seeking collaboration is essentialNavigating a Sustainable Future: Whether sustainability is a lost cause or there is still meaningful action that can take place in the business world to create change Evangelising Sustainability: How to effectively and authentically promote sustainability as a priority within organisations and to senior leadersKey links:Art of Persuasion episode (referenced) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz9kuheZV5M&t=492sThinking in Systems by Donella Meadows https://www.amazon.com.au/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557International Accord https://internationalaccord.org/Zalando https://www.zalando.com/NGOs https://www.ngosource.org/what-is-an-ngoAbout our guestChristian Smith has been in the sustainability field for over 15 years, holding positions at major retailers, fashion brands and in the NGO sector. He’s currently Head of Sustainability, Diversity, Inclusion Reporting and Stakeholder Engagement at Zalando where his role is to connect the organisation with the outside world as they navigate the ever changing world of sustainability. Christian also acts as an advisor across sectors on how to embed social and environmental innovation into business models, and possesses an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development from UCL.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hud..., 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“You can't always succeed, but we keep trying and we keep showing the value or trying to show the value of what we do and why it's going to be in the organisation's best interest.”Jane CurtainIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Themes & Trends in the Modern Workplace: How flexibility, hybrid work models and remote facilitation have changed & continue to change the way in which businesses and teams operateBreaking Down Design Thinking: Why organisations need to place greater value on inclusive & service design and how leaders can foster greater diversity and inclusivity in the processMitigating Flight Risk: Staying ahead of employees seeking career change and knowing how to find, motivate and maintain loyal employeesImportance of Employee Experience: The right tools, processes and technology that can optimise employee experience and improve retention and productivityFacilitation Engagement: Tips & tricks to improve involvement and contributions when running workshops and presentations and how to shift facilitation styles to meet modern expectationsKey links:UniSuper https://www.unisuper.com.au/Jakob Nielsen https://www.designprinciplesftw.com/authors/jakob-nielsenFlight Risk https://www.aihr.com/blog/flight-risk-employee/Dimension Data https://www.dimensiondata.com/Design Thinking https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinkingService Design https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/service-designAbout our guestJane Curtain (https://www.linkedin.com/in/janecurtain/) is an enthusiastic and ever-evolving design thinker, having spent time as a strategic CX design consultant and an in-house service designer across a vast range of industry verticals for over 20 years. She first entered the industry as a Voice User Interface Designer in 2000. She's particularly passionate about directing people's attention to how we think about end users, how we include them in the design process, and how we provide fit for purpose, connected products and services.Jane is very multifaceted in her approach to CX design, and her role usually requires her to be part researcher, part designer, part strategist, part trainer, part coach, part mentor and part change manager.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hud..., 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,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“That's where small companies have a superpower. It's like when you've got a tight-knit group of people who really understand each other and understand what needs to be done, understand how everything works, you can move very fast.”Matt DoranIn this episode, you’ll hear about:Growing Your Business: How Matt scaled PaperCut from a two-person startup of university friends to a global company with clients like GooglePlanning Corporate Strategy: Anchoring the direction of a company & how to meaningfully plan aheadBuilding Psychological Safety: Establishing an environment where team members feel comfortable taking interpersonal risksMaintaining Small Business Cultures: Staying nimble, reactive and open in communication while growing in team size and expectationProblem-Solving: Learning the art of solving problems & the mindset needed to be balanced, calm & quick in doing soKey links:PaperCutChris Dance Tom Clift Google PaperCut TestimonialWeWork Matt’s LinkedInAbout our guestMatt Doran is the co-founder of PaperCut (https://papercut.com), a global leader in print management software. The company is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and has offices in the US and the UK, employing over 250 people.Matt pursued studies in computer science and electrical engineering and spent seven years in software consulting before teaming up with his co-founder, Chris Dance, to establish PaperCut in 2004. Through organic growth and without taking on external investors, they transformed PaperCut into the global market leader in the print management market. About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hud..., 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. 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/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 always want to hear from the people and not just my team. Having those opportunities where you can do that in complete safety, where no idea is a silly idea is so important. You never know what you’re sitting on if you restrict people just to their job description”Sam YeeIn this episode you’ll hear about:Realigning Team Mindsets: Shifting attitudes from fear and holding back to taking initiative in changeBalancing Personal Initiative and People Empowerment: Managing teams in a way that encourages their innovation but doesn’t limit youResponding to Disrespect: Dealing with judgement and disrespect as a leader, and as a woman in a male-dominated industry Establishing Inclusive Design Cultures: Empowering teams and individuals from macro scale down in collaborative involvementGrowth vs Fixed Mindsets: Knowing how and when to prioritise and shift mindset and navigating people’s different operational stylesKey linksThe Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/au/sportAFL (Australian Football League) https://www.afl.com.au/EY https://www.ey.com/en_auWhat is a Generalist? https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/06/03/the-value-of-being-a-generalist/?sh=6bc28a92fc89The Art of Persuasion https://hbr.org/1998/05/the-necessary-art-of-persuasionMichelle Bowden https://michellebowden.com.au/NFL Movies https://www.nfl.com/photos/best-football-movies-of-all-time-09000d5d82952ed3Product Strategy https://amplitude.com/blog/product-strategy-frameworkAbout our guestSam Yee (https://www.linkedin.com/in/samyee1) has spent the last 20 years as a change-driven generalist working in marketing, sponsorship, digital strategy, audience measurement, analytics, market and customer research, data, insights, commercial sales, advertising and more recently, product management in SaaS/OTT subscription video platforms.She found her niche in taking on challenging roles as part of major media and sports companies like AFL, Kayo Sports, Fox Sports & Seven West Media, and leading digital transformation and insights and product-led growth strategies.About our hostOur host, Chris Hudson (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hud..., 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,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 a lot of what I think about when I'm doing this in an organisation is that we're not just working in an organisation, we're working with a group of people that are members of a society that are members of a species on this planet that's in trouble. And we need to make space to talk to each other about what we want this society to be, because we've gotta make decisions”Jaimes NelIn this episode you’ll hear about :Front-Loading the Problem-Solving: Starting strong; intense early-stage problem-solving simplifies complex transformations.Cross-Cutting Strategies: Merging strategies across aspects; uncovers capabilities that drive transformative goals.Long-Term Visioning: Beyond short-term; envision change's ripple effects and broad context impact.Decisive Balancing of Actions: Blend top-down and ground-up, as well as narrow to wide focus for effective change management.Catalytic Conversations: Scaling via collective decisions; accelerates a shared understanding and builds more adaptable organisations.Key linksThe 4 Modes of Strategic Change https://pathventures.io/writing/4modesofstrategicchange/De Bono’s thinking hats https://www.debonogroup.com/services/core-programs/six-thinking-hats/Design Thinking https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking#:~:text=Design%20thinking%20is%20a%20non,solutions%20to%20prototype%20and%20test.Dave Graeber & David Wengrow https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-dawn-of-everything-9780141991061MCU - Marvel Cinematic Universe https://www.marvel.com/moviesSunrise Movement https://www.sunrisemovement.org/Occupy Wall Street http://occupywallst.org/Jobs to be done framework https://jobs-to-be-done.com/jobs-to-be-done-a-framework-for-customer-needs-c883cbf61c90?gi=954a91ec6435Path Ventures https://pathventures.io/About our guestJaimes Nel (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaimesnel/) founded Path (https://pathventures.io/) in 2021 to help organisations play the long game through  design-led strategy. He began his career designing for the early web, and gone on to develop a practice applying thinking from the social sciences to strategic change.Jaimes was Head of Insight for pioneering service design agency Livework in the early years of service design practice. He’s worked on service transformation for brands such as the NHS, BBC, Aviva, Johnson&Johnson, Ebay, GOV.UK / HMRC and led a transformation design team at Westpac in Australia, delivering their digital mortgage service.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“Dance gave me many things. I've often been called quite gritty so just keeping going until I hit a particular goal or outcome.And I think that is something that was just naturally in me when I was dancing and trying to be better every single day. Never being put off by the setbacks, actually taking those as learnings. I think I've naturally taken that into my career and I take setbacks day to day as if they're like skittles, learn from them, adapt, try something new.”Samantha RobertsIn this episode you’ll hear about Synergising Strategy and Action: Flipping to action through strategic development stages to realise transformational success.Unleashing Innovation: Harnessing diverse minds to drive more collaborative, breakthrough solutionsData Empowered Transformation: Illuminating the path to progress.Tailored Transformation: Empowering stakeholders and your teams through personalized approaches.Grit and Grace: Sustaining momentum and leading with resilience, with a bit of charm and empathy thrown in along the way. Key linksKnown Unknowns https://medium.com/@andreamantovani/known-knowns-known-unknowns-unknown-unknowns-leadership-367f346b0953Barclays Bank https://www.barclays.co.uk/National Australia Bank (NAB) https://www.nab.com.au/Hockey Stick graph https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/hockey-stick-growth#:~:text=Hockey%20stick%20growth%20is%20a,shape%20of%20a%20hockey%20stick.PEXA https://www.pexa.com.au/ Design Thinking https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design-thinking#:~:text=Design%20thinking%20is%20a%20non,solutions%20to%20prototype%20and%20test.Double Diamond https://medium.com/digital-experience-design/how-to-apply-a-design-thinking-hcd-ux-or-any-creative-process-from-scratch-b8786efbf812Miro https://miro.com/app/dashboard/About our guestSamantha Roberts https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-roberts-4205abb3/ was the General Manager - Customer Experience & Strategy for PEXA,  responsible for optimising and transforming customer and employee experiences across all touch points. Over six years she helped taken PEXA from 10% market share to 90%. She’s now a Product and Leader and mentor for emerging start-ups in Australia. Sam believes that exceptional experiences not only fuel growth but also cultivate loyalty and enhance employee engagement.“I’ve had the privilege of developing and delivering voice of customer programs in various organisations.”This has empowered businesses to better understand their customers' needs and preferences.Sam has been part of building an ecosystem of products that transformed an entire industry from traditional paper-based systems to cutting-edge digital solutions. Witnessing the positive impact of these products and services has been incredibly rewarding.“Happy employees equals happy customers”, Sam has championed employee experience programs that have had a profound effect on the entire customer lifecycle. By nurturing a culture of customer-centricity and empowering employees, these programs have not only enhanced customer experiences but also driven operational efficiency. With a curious mindset and a collaborative approach Sam uses her expertise in Customer Experience (CX), ProduFor 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 being able to tell the story. It's using data first of all as the starting point. And being able to use that data to articulate a story  in a way that's easy for stakeholders to understand, if they don't how contact centres work. And let's face it, most people don't how contact centres work. So you've gotta cut through all of that.” Daniele IezziIn this episode you’ll hear about Being brave to quickly learn and showcase new technologies and AI. Instil confidence!Staying close to your data. But don’t just show data, convert to stories and present persuasively with passion.Speaking the exec lingo and always looking for ways connect service language to commercial outcomes.Planning, experimenting, staying agile,  to learn and improve. Never stop to ensure manoeuvrability. Seeking allies from unexpected places, build support, face resistance as one!We hope you enjoy the show!Key links21 Jump Street David Jones Country RoadPurple PeopleAbout our guestDaniele Iezzi is a Customer Service Transformation Strategist.As the former GM Customer Services at David Jones and Country Road Group, and with a retail career spanning over 25 years, Daniele is on a mission to redefine customer service from its traditional operating model to a seamless omnichannel conversational commerce experience, powered by great people and enabled by AI.  Most recently, Daniele established a digital first contact centre for David Jones and CRG.  He’s excited about the opportunity to expand the scope of customer service beyond the contact centre.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)Company Road was founded by Chris Hudson, who saw over-niching and specialisation within corporates as a significant barrier to change.Every team approaches transformation in their own way, also bringing in their own partners to help. And while they’re working towards the same organisational goal, it’s this over-fragmentation that stunts rapid progress at a company-wide level. Having worked as a marketer, transformation leader, teacher and practitioner of design thinking for over 20 years, both here in Australia and internationally, Chris brings a unique, deep and 'blended' skillset that will cohere and enable your teams to deliver ambitious and complex change programs.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/