Curious Leadership with Dominic Monkhouse

In a world where growth and innovation are the lifeblood of businesses, two seasoned experts unveil a secret weapon for entrepreneurs and business leaders. Matthew May and Pablo Dominguez shatter the perception that lean principles are solely for startups and scale-ups. Brace yourself for a mind-bending twist as they reveal how lean thinking can revolutionise go-to-market strategies for companies of any size. Matthew May and Pablo Dominguez are the authors of the book What a Unicorn Knows: How Leading Entrepreneurs Use Lean Principles to Drive Sustainable Growth. Matthew works for Insight Partners, a private equity VC firm in New York, where he runs the Lean Scale Up program, helping scale-ups remove obstacles to growth. With a background in strategy and a decade of experience with Toyota, Matthew brings a unique perspective to the application of lean principles. Pablo, also with Insight Partners, supports their advisory teams and has a strong focus on sales effectiveness. With over five years of experience working with portfolio companies, Pablo brings valuable insights to the table. Together, they offer practical examples and templates in their book to help businesses of all sizes drive consistent growth and innovation through lean thinking.Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast: Diving into the Unicorn ModelThe five foundational principles of the Unicorn ModelImproving the quote-to-cash process by removing wasteThe value of frontline employeesThe importance of leadership to foster innovation  Follow Matthew May and Pablo Dominguez:Insight PartnersPablo’s LinkedInMatthew’s LinkedInWhat A Unicorn KnowsBook recommendations: GreenlightsJust Because (Chidlren’s book)In Pursuit of EleganceThe Elegant SolutionEnjoyed the show? Leave a Review

Bill Price, President of Dreva Solutions and former VP of Customer Service at Amazon, shares his expertise on creating frictionless customer experiences. He discusses how simplifying customer interactions can significantly boost satisfaction and loyalty while reducing costs. Bill emphasizes the importance of embracing feedback, using innovative strategies like video feedback, and proactive service to enhance customer relationships. His insights into hiring with a 'service gene' and leveraging AI provide valuable takeaways for businesses aiming to improve their service quality.

Feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by the lack of progress in your efforts to transform your company's culture? Fear not, this week, we have an amazing guest on The Melting Pot to bring you proven strategies that can help you achieve true and intentional culture transformation, leading to tangible business results.This week, Dominic Monkhouse talked with and learned from Dr. Jessica Kriegel, Chief Scientist of Workplace Culture at Culture Partners. During their conversation, Jessica delved into the world of workplace culture and challenged the notion of generational stereotypes. Her passion for culture transformation was born out of a negative experience early in her career, which led her to research best practices for creating a positive and impactful workplace culture. In this episode, she debunks the stereotypes surrounding millennials and shares her insights on how intentional culture transformation can drive tangible business results. Jessica offers valuable advice for leaders looking to transform their organisations.Download and listen today to gain a fresh perspective on culture transformation, employee experience and learn how to achieve your desired results through intentional culture building. Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast: A simple way to define cultureDebunking generational stereotypesThe Culture Equation to build a culture that drives resultsCreating intentional experience to drive people’s beliefs and actionsWhy leaders need to foster positive accountability Follow Jessica Kriegel:Culture PartnersLinkedInUnfairly Labeled Book recommendations:The Oz PrincipleChange The Culture, Change The GameThe Way of the PilgrimEverything is illuminated Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review 

Have you ever achieved some success and hired people, only to realise that managing people is not for you? Have you become a disillusioned leader?Being a founder is a wild ride - full of exhilarating highs and crushing lows. After starting a "ridiculous number" of businesses himself, Scott Ritzheimer discovered the secret entrepreneur map with seven stages that nearly every founder goes through: from dissatisfied employee to startup entrepreneur, to reluctant manager, and all the way through to becoming a visionary leader. Scott has been in the trenches and emerged with critical lessons learned that he is keen to share.In a short period of time, Scott has launched over 22,000 businesses and, whilst doing that he has seen over and over again how the patterns of failure and success repeat themselves. But when leaders get through that challenging journey, they can become visionary founders again. In his book, The Founder’s Evolution, Scott dives into the seven stages that every founder goes through and educates you how to take your leadership skills to the next level, to conquer the journey – and you can get it for FREE (see link below). Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast: Recognising the pattern of successThe Ever-Changing Challenges of Growing a Business: From Execution to LeadershipTransitioning from Founder to CEO: Learning to Hire and Lead Executives The Importance Of Recognising The Different Stages In Your Organisation’s ProgressionLearning How To Manage People In a Growing Business Follow Scott Ritzheimer:WebsiteLinkedInThe Secrets of a High-Demand CoachGet your FREE copy of The Founder’s Evolution Scott’s book recommendations: Predictable SuccessThe Founder’s Survival GuideRenegades Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from the founder and managing partner of the CEO Advisory Guru and best-selling author, Adam Coffey. Adam started his CEO journey working for Jack Welsh at General Electrics when it was the biggest business in the world. He's got a new book coming out, Empire Builder, which is a playbook on how to build a billion-dollar business. Adam spent 21 years as a CEO of three national companies for nine private equity sponsors. He's made billions of dollars in exits and completed 58 acquisitions.In this episode, he talks about the difference between buy-and-build and organic growth and how he did that in some of his businesses. He also talks about culture, how to avoid buying the wrong business, how he does due diligence thinking about the CEOs, and the difference between trapping a CEO and letting them run their company post-acquisition. Download and listen to learn more. On today's podcast:  A meticulous approach to acquisitionThe role of the CEO as a motivatorBuilding a sustainable empireEducating about Private EquityCulture and profit: mutually exclusive? Follow Adam Coffey:WebsiteLinkedIn Book recommendations: The Millionaire Next DoorBlue Ocean StrategyGood to Great Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review  

Fully remote work isn’t for everyone. For instance, some people get their energy from having a community at work, whilst others get it from elsewhere. Some can deal with the ambiguity that comes with working remotely, and others struggle with it. Our guest this week believes that working remotely is not just a decision over having an office or not, but an operating system. And that means that you need to curate every aspect of your people operations. This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from Jessica Zwaan, author of Amazon Best Selling, Built for People, and founder of Being People consultancy. She’s also the Chief Operating Officer at Whereby, a calm and user-friendly video call solution that integrates directly into your platform using our API or SDK. In this episode, Jessica joined us to discuss the importance of cultural responsibility and effective performance evaluation within organisations. She delved into the different spectrums of responsibility at different levels, emphasising the crucial role of HR leaders in driving strategic success. She also explores the challenges of traditional HR practices and shares the innovative strategies they’re implemented at Whereby to encourage the team to book holidays in advance.  Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast: Working fully remote. Does it work for everyone?Creating a sense of community remotelyThe three spectrums of responsibilityCalibrating the role of managers in assessing performanceThe philosophy behind Built For People  Follow [Guest Name]: WebsiteBuilt for PeopleLinkedInX Book recommendations: SeveranceCustomer CentricityFour Thousand Weeks Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review 

This week on The Melting Pot, we delve into the world of venture capital, IPOs, and the limitations of traditional investment structures. We learned from Nic Brisbourne, a serial founder of VC firms and founding partner at Forward Partners, which has some rarity value. It's one of only a handful of VC firms in the UK that has gone through an IPO. Every year, they get 4,000 pitch decks, from which they only interview 400. Ultimately, they only invest in 1% of the people they meet. That's a very wide funnel at the top and incredibly narrow at the bottom.In this episode, Nic dives into the complexities of recruitment and the importance of making the right hiring decisions. Along the way, he unveils his proprietary framework for assessing founders and shares valuable lessons on the IPO process and the structure of venture capital firms.  Download and listen to learn more. On today's podcast: Forward Partners investmentsThe recruitment challengeTraditional vs Innovative VCs structureThe CIDL proprietary framework to assess founders Follow Nic Brisbourne:Forward Partners websiteLinkedInTwitter: @brisbourne Book recommendations :The Great CEO WithinBreathThanks for the Feedback Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review

Do you want to create a customer-centric culture that prioritises exceptional customer experience? This week, we enjoyed learning from the internationally sought-after speaker, author, and organisational consultant Joseph Michelli. Joseph started his consultancy journey working for the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle. Since those early days in his career, he's worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Starbucks, Zappos, Mercedes Benz and Ritz Carlton. In this episode, Joseph shares some great stories about excellent customer service he has seen throughout his career and how leadership plays a pivotal role in prioritising a customer-centric culture. He dived into his work at Ritz Carlton, Mercedez Benz and Starbucks, all experiences from which he wrote fantastic books. If you want customer service to be at the heart of your strategy. Joseph explains what do you need to do. How to map out the customer journey, finding those high-value touch points.  An energising conversation. Download and listen to learn more. On today's podcast: A passion for being of service to othersThe Ritz Carlton's standard of serviceThe pivotal role of leadership in customer serviceExploring the power of emotionShifting towards technology-aided service Follow Joseph Michelli:WebsiteLinkedInFish Throwing at Pike Place Fish Marketplace in Seattle Book recommendations: The Experience EconomyThe Airbnb wayThe New Gold StandardThe Starbucks ExperienceThe Zappos ExperienceDriven to Delight Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review  

This week on The Melting Pot with Dominic Monkhouse, we learned from David Shonthal, ward-winning Professor of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Kellogg School of Management and co-author of The Human Element. Overcoming The Resistance That Awaits New Ideas. You will know this feeling if you're an entrepreneur or an innovator inside your business. Something that makes sense to you is being resisted by everybody at every turn. It's often why people leave larger companies and go to smaller ones. Or start up their own where they feel there would be less resistance. It's true for a while, but some of these elements will creep back in if that business succeeds. David has been involved in entrepreneurship, design and innovation for over 20 years, and his work has led to the creation of over 300 products, services, and new ventures worldwide. In this episode, he dives into the four types of friction that stand in the way of new ideas going forward. He also explains why it is important to recognise human behaviour to drive change, whether in B2C sales or B2B. A fantastic conversation with David about how to take your idea and move the organisation to adapt to the change. Download and listen to learn more. On today's podcast: There's more than one flavour of entrepreneurshipThe Friction Theory FrameworkThe four frictions against innovationHow recognising human behaviour can drive change Follow David Shonthal:WebsiteLinkedInTwitter Book recommendations: The End of AverageDemand Side SalesCompeting against luckA Man's Search for Meaning Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review 

Combining great leadership with strong relationships can be a game-changer in our professional and personal lives. Did you know that your early years' experiences can significantly shape your beliefs and behaviours? Uncovering these influences can give us valuable insights into our personal growth and how we manage our relationships. Effective communication and managing expectations are critical in maintaining healthy interactions. Seeking out diverse perspectives can encourage growth and prevent us from falling into the trap of thinking in an echo chamber. Understanding these aspects allows us to propel ourselves towards better leadership and stronger relationships.This week on The Melting Pot, we learned from Wouter van den Berg, the trailblazing neuroeconomist with a passion for understanding the human brain and its impact on performance. From early dreams of being a professional footballer, Wouter has traversed an unusual path that has led him into the field of neuroscience. His stint at a Dutch football academy gave him invaluable insights into peak performance and the intense focus it demands. Wouter's educational journey includes a PhD where he researched predicting success and understanding why people make certain decisions. His work has evolved into Brain Compass, a revolutionary platform that brings together multiple fields to aid people in reaching their peak potential. Download and listen to learn more. On today’s podcast: From a football player to Neuro-EconomistCan we predict success?Defying our default mental modelsThe impact of our self-limiting beliefsUnderstanding the Attachment theory Follow Wouter van den Berg:BrainCompassLinkedIn Book recommendations:Synaptic Self Enjoyed the show? Leave a Review