Let's talk Transformation : The business leaders podcast

“ We need to be looking at how the risks are entangled - we can’t think about any of them singly… “Asha and I discuss the current meta-crisis, and the great uncertainty this holds : How can we influence the complex world we live in? What can we see from where we are? What levers do we have for action ? Life is no longer stable, and organisations are still seeking to be ‘robust’, i.e. stable in an unstable world, so different approaches are required to influence any of this - so what can we do ? We also unwrap complexity science, systems thinking and how complex adaptive systems (e.g. social groups, the stock market, generative AI) learn at the edge of chaos and discuss how we can have a stable economic system that can sustain, produce, and distribute what we need.Asha shares her thought leadership as well as her operational experience in what this means for organisations and leaders, from her work with leaders across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       How can we influence the complex world we live in? What can we see from where we are? The current meta-crisis involves two large, intertwined risks: exponential tech (AI, biotech) and our industrial economy and its impact on the biosphere (climate change).-       Both are causing great uncertainty and mean that life is no longer stable, and organisations are seeking to be ‘robust’, i.e. stable in an unstable world, a technocracy. Different approaches are required to influence any of this.-       The (various models of) complexity give rise to systems thinking and complexity thinking:•      Systems thinking looks for patterns and is non-linear - a system is made up of different components with a shared purpose whereby the collective effect is different from the individual effect.•      Complexity thinking looks at the unexpected, unpredictable and random results (produced by complex systems), which are by definition emergent, not controllable and potentially undesirable.-       Complexity science looks at how complex adaptive systems (e.g. social groups, the stock market, generative AI) learn at the edge of chaos and asks how we can have a stable economic system that can sustain, produce, and distribute what we need.-       The concept of a regenerative economy is very interesting, but is it viable and suitable for complex adaptive systems? Our current system is enabling us to flourish at the edge of chaos.-       We need to consider alternatives to globalisation and our current financial system - complexity economics offers answers (circular economy, an ‘adjacent possible’, doughnut economics) but we are not ready to embrace them.-       Geopolitical will is required for change; we are experimenting on a small scale (particularly post-pandemic) but it is still a new, fragmented field; regenerative economics must evolve to be accessible for ordinary people.-       Everyone has personal agency and organisations have a role to play, but how do we navigate the landscape and put in place methods to do so? We must define the purpose and how to measure it, whereby quantifying it easier than qualifying it.-       Value is always contextual and depends on what is needed. There must be the requisite meaning and culture within an organisation for it to make a contribution to something more regenerative. Covid made us do things we thought we wouldn’t due to constraints, which can be likened to a river flowing faster when it’s narrow.-       Individual leaders must determine what is helpful in their context, such as collective sense-making with others; reconnecting with what is important; renewing personal power to find and speak with an authentic voice; improving impact; and coming together to act.-       We need intentionality, an ecology of (developmental) practice, renewal, and a means of taking one step at a time to reach the summit and experience that great feeling together.    Find out more about Asha and her work here : https://www.learningthroughdoing.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/regnerativeleadership/ 

"Are we coming from deep curiosity... are we ready to challenge the norm and become a catalyst for change in our organisations?"Poornima and I had a rich and fun exchange on building powerful communities to create more inclusive environmentsIn a world that is increasingly diverse, the concepts of inclusion, powerful coalitions, and allyship are more relevant than ever before. Poormina isn’t just advocating for these principles; she’s calling for a revolution of active allyship. Given the move towards more networked and interconnected organisations - the need for communities of people collaborating for the greater good has never been more present. Poornima and I delve into the world of allyship through honest introspection and deep curiosity. We discuss the need to confront our biases and privileges - that often lurk unseen, and subtly undermine the very fabric of the systems we live and work in. Just like termites that silently damage a structure from within, these biases can erode the foundation of a healthy workplace. Dr. Luthra invites us to approach such discussions with curiosity rather than defensiveness. It’s not about pointing fingers but about recognizing that we all have blind spots that require attention and that we have both personal and collective agency to create these conditions differently. Poornima shares her stories, research and insights from her work with leaders across the globe as we look more closely at how we can make inclusion a reality for organisations and communities alike. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Allyship is about taking personal action within communities and networks – a lifelong process of building supporting relationships with people from underrepresented groups and with different intersectional identities.-       The opposite of active allyship is denial, e.g. the increasing proportion of people worldwide who are anti-inclusion; the majority of people are passive allies of DE&I, i.e. they believe in it but don’t know what to say or do to further the cause.-       The important shift is from passive to active; being a bystander is not an option given that there is much to address. Not speaking up is the same as doing nothing; choosing not to act makes us complicit in allowing discrimination to continue and we all have biases thanks to our brain!-       Seven behaviours characterise an active ally:•      deep curiosity (about our own intersectional identity)•      honest introspection (taking a deep dive into our biases)•      humble acknowledgement (understanding privilege and using it to lift others)•      empathetic engagement (confronting “termite” biases and microaggressions and their profound negative impact)•      authentic conversations (that are deeper, open and more nuanced – this requires psychological safety)•      vulnerable interactions (storytelling, making a difference)•      courageous responsibilities (accepting that we have to do more)-       Gaslighting is very widespread and can be defined as behaviour over time that belittles, discounts and/or invalidates people’s experiences. It is a strong term that requires careful use.-       Micro-gaslighting can be a one-off but you feel it - an active ally will create a safe space to talk about such experiences.-       The allyship comfort zone is about moving away/on from the eggshell zone; it can be likened to a muscle that must be trained/strengthened by starting small, building confidence and then expanding to learn.-       The ‘Amplify, Boost, Connect, Defend’ approach to sponsorship (Rosalind Chow), is aimed specifically at supporting marginalised groups and aims to act as an anti-discrimination voice; we must ask questions without aggression, accusation, etc.-       Rather than ‘fixing the minority groups’, we must fix the system. Systemic bias exists but it is created and upheld by individuals so the change must start with one person and from there it can be escalated and acted upon.-       Leadership as the capacity of human communities to shape their future means that we must learn from our mistakes and challenge the status quo, moving from unconscious to conscious behaviour and choosing the hard path of courage over comfort.-       Education makes the difference and is pivotal in shifting mindsets towards inclusion – it gives us the power to transform society. The world is often about perfection but we are all works in progress. Find out more about Poornima and her work here ; https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-poornima-luthra-she-her-b09128100/?originalSubdomain=dkhttps://www.talented.dk/

"Do we really have the right conversations in our teams ?"Tanvi and I delve into the different conversations that can enable and enhance a deeper, more effective collaboration at all levels of the organisation. We explore the concept of “Deep collaboration” within teams and organizations, revealing how understanding the roots of conflict can reshape the emotional landscape of the workplace. What does ‘being a team’ really mean? What creates collaboration? What does collaboration really mean? It is a very specific concept, transcending who we are as individuals, but has been dumbed down and has become a buzz word. Collaborative burnout and overload are common in matrix structures with multiple stakeholders and realigned business models, as people struggle to collaborate without putting the work in on the courageous conversations and more human aspects to build the inter-relational piece. We must begin by acknowledging failings and accepting that collaboration is inherently tough. Accepting our hypotheses and experimenting to see what works and starting again by asking curious questions to go deeper. If you are committed to creating a thriving work environment, listen to discover more about embracing the intricacies of group dynamics and leveraging them for the success and health of your organization. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Collaboration is a major lever for navigating the transition from hierarchy to interdependence for leaders to create flow in both teams and organisational systems.-       What does ‘being a team’ really mean? What creates collaboration? What does collaboration really mean? It is a very specific concept, transcending who we are as individuals, but has been dumbed down.-       The basic prerequisite is a collaboration infrastructure comprising tools, resources and talent, alongside meaning, contribution and community - there must be a balance between what are you giving and what are you getting - and conversations.-       The link between courageous conversations and the level of collaboration can be fast tracked using CART – clarity, accountability, resources, and trust.-       Divergent views of individuals within a company signals a lack of clarity; a blame culture signals a lack of accountability - flatter hierarchies require more clarity of accountability.-       Collaborative burnout and overload are common in matrix structures with multiple stakeholders and realigned business models – this requires support and shifting the ‘CART’.-       Five main conversations:·      Deep inspiration - a mountain with peaks of inspiration; a purpose-based conversation involving a collection of small moments of purpose that serve the larger purpose, connecting company and team purpose to close the loop.·      Deep learning - understanding each other’s worlds across silos in this age of polymaths and renaissance individuals - AI can connect the dots across disciplines and people must do this too.·      Deep friction - facing a waterfall and having the ability to quickly move in the right direction, navigating conflict in team.·      Deep strategising - the quality of strategy conversations and how they are translated into practice.·      Deep daring - looking at how we think about uncertainty, risk, resilience, failure, etc.·      Bonus conversation: deep (self-)introspection - the intentional, non-linear journey-       Deep constellation principle based on Boris Groysberg’s Chasing Stars, whereby successful people are supported by a network; the right constellation guides us, but we are not the star.-       Latent tension arises from conflict and a lack of conversations; this gives rise to surface tension and deep tension from different sources of conflict, e.g. status conflict, interpersonal conflict, which require different tools for resolution.-       Surface-level conflict is expected but can turn into deep-level friction as it becomes interwoven with emotions and identities and very deep rooted.-       Co-regulation (from the study of human neurobiology and trauma) is very relevant for a human-centred approach in the AI age; our wiring contains muscle memory, feelings, etc. and we can recognise things in each other to de-escalate a situation and reduce the emotional charge (as opposed to co-escalation).-       Advanced conversations are required and the ‘co-‘ concept is vital in leadership as all conversations form a tapestry, provide insight and understanding and facilitate progress – a synergistic system rather than five distinct conversations.-       Begin by acknowledging failings and accepting that collaboration is inherently tough; draw a line in the sand and start again by asking questions and reflecting both as individuals and as a team to bring about transformation.Find out more about Tanvi here : https://leadersupgraded.com/deep/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanvigautam/

" the best way to solving human problems at scale is to focus on what we CAN do, and make sure we are intentionally working to get there"Kate and I delve into the future world of tech, exploring trends and different technology and human enabled ways of meeting business objectives in today's world. When it comes to alignment, it is difficult to bring business, human and digital strands together, in particular in terms of big data and AI, and many organisations do not understand the strands well enough yet. We touch on responsible tech, bigger societal issues and the need to be clear and intentional about purpose and ethics in a world that is becoming more complex by the minute as technology connects us to everything in every way ! We must invest in building trust and repairing division, interacting with people in person, hearing and listening to others. Emerging tech brings with it enormous capacity and scale, but what do we want to scale? How do leaders and organisations answer this question with purpose and optimism, to bridge the digital/human gap intelligently ? Kate shares her research, insights and experience from her books and from working with leaders all over the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       We have an ancient fear of tech taking over our lives/humanity, but it is really a means to meet business objectives; business leaders must align their objectives with human objectives and outcomes and use the alignment to build tech around them.-       When it comes to alignment, it is difficult to bring business, human and digital strands together, in particular in terms of big data and AI, and many organisations do not understand the strands well enough, e.g. C-suite human dynamics.-       Many leaders do not know how to act appropriately in the face of AI – when any deployment could be out of date within months – but it is far less about tech and far more about aligning the organisation, which will outlast any tech deployment.-       Transformation is not led by tech but by strategy based around alignment; it is about serving people well during transformation by having a strategy that begins with organisational purpose – this is a useful north star for organisations and ultimately a very human concept.-       What we do in business is driven by what we want to accomplish and what matters; innovation is what is going to matter and shows us what we need to do to get to a future we want – experimenting with new tech is good, but it should not lead anything.-       Tech for good and responsible tech are on the rise and have seen many different efforts, e.g. hackathons to create tools and systems to serve people, civic tech to help people; tech ethics looks at how businesses deploy tech in support of their products/services in a responsible way to avoid unintended consequences and harm to downstream communities.-       It is vital not to abandon ethical concerns as AI is on the rise and to align business objectives with responsible action. The UN’s sustainable development goals (SDG) can be used as a roadmap for a better, brighter future and to improve life for everyone on the planet.-       Responsible tech needs to become as important as DE&I but it is currently often just a talking point rather than an action plan, but it is at least the start of discourse. It is a challenging time for making big decisions in a changing technology landscape and we must consider the future for bankable foresights.-       Within organisations, there must be individual personal agency, speaking truth to power with compassion, and mirroring inwards what’s being mirrored outwards - a ‘future so bright’ involves addressing the biggest challenges ahead, such as climate resilience, and adapting tech-centric projects for how we live today.-       The biggest influence of tech on jobs and the future of work will be in relation to employee/ employer contracts and the future of jobs - career paths and the future of education – as well as the future of money and value (e.g. data ownership, new economies, basic income).-       Strategic optimism takes an intellectually rigorous approach to building a brighter future by embracing uncomfortable truths, being positive and having a positive impact – the biggest transformative opportunity ahead is alignment with the UN’s SDGs.-       We must invest in building trust and repairing division, interacting with people in person, hearing and listening to others (to prevent ‘the filter bubble’ effect as described by Eli Pariser) - leaders must be able to receive and accept ideas and provide psychological safety.-       Emerging tech brings with it enormous capacity and scale, but what do we want to scale? Profound discussions are required to answer this question and the clearer organisations are about it, the more likely responsible decision-making becomes.  Find out more about Kate and her work here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateoneill/https://www.koinsights.com/    

"There are two things that allow teams to be more resilient – clarity on goals and psychological safety"Marie-Hélène and I discuss the much debated topic of resilience in today's organisations, and what this means for how we lead - our teams, ourselves and our organisations. Resilience is something of a buzzword in today’s hustle culture and context is key to understanding it. We discuss the existing binary definitions of 'rubber band' resilience, and how we can shift to a more creative, deliberate and developmental form of resilience. However, this doesn't come without discipline, forethought and strategic planning. Marie Hélène leads us through her experience and research to help us reframe the concept of resilience, moving away from thinking it’s part of who we are. How can we develop this mental and emotional agility ? how can we prepare ourselves and other team leaders to shift their mindset from individual resilience to collective resilience and engage their teams to proactively prepare for adversity on the horizon ? Marie Hélène shares her research, mastery and experience from working with leaders around the globe to develop realistic, effective and strategic resilience plans. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Resilience is something of a buzzword in today’s hustle culture and context is key to understanding it. A consistent definition of resilience is the ability to go through adversity, learn from it and come out even stronger.-       It is not a personality trait and therefore we can influence and control it; if we do this, everything gets better – health, happiness, engagement, satisfaction, etc. – and it is an opportunity if presented to people in a way that makes sense.-       The idea is to help us reframe the concept of resilience, moving away from thinking it’s part of who we are; our inaction is often due to having to tick off a ‘checklist’ - we all have to do different things at different times.-       The quadrant of internal and external context (systems): in business, there is a lot of work on context and preparation (e.g. SWAT analysis) prior to a launch, and the same applies to building resilience – it begins the process of making changes, moving to acceptance to take advantage of where we have leverage and claiming personal agency to take action.-       Supply and demand exercise for resilience involves making two lists - demands in life and sources of supply – to provide honest visibility on your situation: Is it aligned with your values? Does it indicate where change is possible/desirable? Does it reveal blind spots?-       As we progress in our careers and lives, natural context becomes less supportive and eventually no amount of supply can match the level of demands – this is embodied by the glorification of hustle culture, to which teams also succumb.-       There are two things that allow teams to be more resilient – clarity on goal and psychological safety. Our mindset must shift from individual resilience to collective resilience and team leaders must engage their teams to proactively prepare for adversity on the horizon.-       Team resilience is only partially the responsibility of the team leader - we are all able to influence the team and therefore positively influence the resilience of the team to improve performance.-       Team language is important too, though, to ask how we learn from (our response to) a mistake and how we grow from it. Small actions make a big difference and every little helps!-       Despite the WHO having defined burnout so that we know where we stand, mental health is still taboo in the workplace – it is uncomfortable, and different organisations are at different places. It is important to pay attention to signs upstream – before things get too bad – and mention/share them.   -       A resilience plan is like any other strategic plan and involves prework of ascertaining values, context and situation, and identifying strategic pillars such as overall directions to reach the goal, along with tactics/actions.-       This can involve bringing the professional and personal together to be impactful and shifting our perspective and preconceived ideas: inspirational, tangible, visible results move people forward and allow them to evolve; we must remain curious and be open to opportunities that are realistically there to take.Find out more about Marie-Hélène and her work here : http://drmarie-helene.com/book/https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmhpelletier/?originalSubdomain=ca

"When we avoid failure, we also avoid discovery, innovation and accomplishment..."Such a fitting thought for the rich & fun discussion Amy and I had on failing intelligently and learning to thrive. Humans aren’t an exact science, and neither is failing - so how we can change the way we think, act and interact about failure - in organisations, in society and in our personal lives ?  We are all fallible human beings, with assumptions biases and emotions, so how can we reframe our mental models to harness this?In the world of innovation, the spoken mantra is "Fail fast" (and all the variations on this theme) yet everything is geared towards not failing. Leaders still default to ‘failure is not an option’ so then how can we normalise learning from failure ? What are the dangers of failing poorly, not speaking up and what implications will this have for organisations in a future where change is the only constant?We explore the different types of failure, how to be smarter in the way you fail, and the way you can set yourself and your organisation up to create a healthy culture of failure - essential in a fast moving world. Fearless organisations can learn from how systems fail and articulate this as a goal; using creative resilience, emotional regulation and choosing learning over knowing to strive for excellence and thrivingAmy generously shares her stories, research, insights and wisdom on this critical topic. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       The Right Kind of Wrong looks at learning from failure, essential in a fast-moving world. Most failures are not caused by mistakes, but by the undesired results of experiments in new territory – mistakes only occur when prior knowledge exists.-       Failures are divided into three categories:·      Intelligent failures of the kind scientists make as a result of thoughtful forays in pursuit of a goal·      Basic failures with a single cause, usually a mistake·      Complex failures, which are multicausal and due to multiple unfortunate factors (a single factor would have been fine)-       Failures are stepping stones to success and present a greater opportunity, and it is this reframing, alongside context, that are key. The reframing aspect starts with us overcoming our own confirmation biases.-       Context comprises different dimensions, such as the degree of uncertainty and the stakes. Under duress, individuals make mistakes, but teams rectify/compensate for mistakes and therefore perform well overall.-       Do better teams make fewer mistakes? Data shows that better teams had higher error rates but were more open to reporting them as a result of a good interpersonal climate (= psychological safety).-       It is possible to fail fast if the context is right – working fast to fail fast is cost-efficient and a fail fast mindset is good for reasonably low stakes and high uncertainty scenarios (e.g. entrepreneurs, inventors).-       The senior level of organisations tends to be based around fear with no context-appropriate language - leaders still default to ‘failure is not an option’ and ‘only perfection is welcome’, which ensure the absence of a speak-up culture and do not foster good performance.-       In turbulent times, innovation is more necessary than ever, and the messaging must therefore be about striving for excellence, being ambitious, and understanding chaos.-       Excellence in an uncertain world means recognising the default mental model of perfection; it means preventing as many basic failures as possible, mitigating complex failures and embracing intelligent failures – with pivoting as an alternative to celebrating failure.-       Generative AI will have enormous effects on the systems in which we operate – handling this requires humility, curiosity, thoughtfulness, mindfulness, and a smart failure strategy on the right scale.-       We need robust early warning systems for a healthy culture of learning: most complex failures come with subtle warnings, but they are often overlooked. The Toyota production system (cf. Andon cord) is designed for learning and invites input for possible mistakes at an early stage.-       Fearless organisations learn from how systems fail and articulate this as a goal encompassing continuous improvement for excellence; the requisite structures for individual learning; emotional regulation; and choosing learning over knowing.-       We must talk about and learn from disappointments and missteps at work, as well as make it safe to do so – the playing field for failure is not a level one in terms of diversity.-       Creative resilience is about failing well - nurturing capacity for resilience through better self-talk, e.g. disappointing as opposed to catastrophic, being open about failure and helping others embrace it.-       Leaders use intelligent failure to build a healthy culture by being willing to own (up to) their own failures and act as role models – by going back to basics as a fallible human being.Find out more about Amy here : https://amycedmondson.com/https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=6451 

"There is a part in every customer journey where people need to interact with a human being .. "Tom and I discuss the human guided digital Customer journey and how this is evolving as technology evolves. Customers have endless choices when it comes to digital CX today: chatbots, knowledge bases, data bases, google searches etc and as technology moves on so quickly, we are left with this ever growing challenge of constantly bridging Digital and Human in a hybrid world.What different milestones need to be put in place to bridge the gap between digital and human ? Where do organisations need to pivot and rethink the way they craft their customer journeys ? Both upskilling in terms of strategy as well as the operational implications of a digital CX depend on the business model and the existing customer journey – people must be engaged at the design level so as to intentionally drive a conversation and overcome the silo mentality.Tom shares his experience, vision and insights with us from working with business across the globe on their CX digital strategies. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Successful organisations must constantly integrate the physical and digital aspects of their business, e.g. by building instruments for customer journeys that were hitherto non-existent, such as combining a website with a physical store and expert guidance in human form.-       The post-pandemic hybrid model comprises one team in two parts by bringing virtual and physical together - a digital CX must find ways to fill the gap left by digital, i.e. the human input. Leaders must realise that despite leaning into digital, people also want to speak to a human who can offer help/advice when it comes to decisions/complexities.-       Frustration comes from not being able to speak to a human (in CX, for instance) and have in-the-moment human guidance; optimized workflows enable an initial digital footprint to be followed by human experts to improve conversion rates.-       There are emotions attached to decisions, and human connection, even on video, deescalates a stressful process - technology can help us recognise points at which we should blend the channels.-       The gap between digital and human is often filled with fear, and leaders should seek to focus on the human aspects for customer service roles, i.e. the ability to both deliver empathy and problem-solve - customers are taken down an efficient digital path that improves outcomes through human hand-holding.-       There are three different approaches: DIY, do it for you, and do it with you - the latter bridges the gap, is scalable, improves loyalty/business and adds value; emerging technology will allow companies to dynamically create space for individualisation and personalisation.-       Generative AI will be disruptive to jobs but help access lower-hanging fruit; it will bring the agent much further forward in the CX journey and facilitate a human-guided digital CX, ultimately enabling humans to do higher-value jobs.-       The fear around AI comes from the perceived possibility of it running amok - it is vital therefore that it is kept in check and used only when and where appropriate in order to help shift between modalities and elevate the conversation.-       Both upskilling in terms of strategy as well as the operational implications of a digital CX depend on the business model and the existing customer journey – people must be engaged at the design level so as to drive a conversation and overcome the silo mentality.-       Cloud natives and tools use best-of-breed to give rise to a new journey; businesses won’t replace legacy systems but rather extend them to create an orchestration layer to bring different elements to life.-       The human role in transformation is to reduce the level of friction and help customers through the CX journey by showing, helping and guiding each other – the key is to identify where a human can help customers the most, maximise investment in human capital and open up new opportunities.Find out more about Tom and his work here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/thosmartin/https://www.glance.cx/

"Humans should move from fear to curiosity about AI in a business setting and relinquish control in certain areas"A great conversation with Garik about AI strategy and what it means for businesses - how they can leverage AI for business outcomes and the value it can bring to people in the business. We delve into myths on what it can and cannot do, and how leaders can think about what AI means for them and their organisations. AI is based on explicit language to build up intelligence but is only as good as the data it is given; it acts like a type of mirror, giving impressions and reflections of the data fed into it. As with anything new, people fear the cutting edge but there will be lots of new opportunities and jobs in an AI world, and stepping over fear and doing it anyway is the path to creativity. Leaders should talk to people throughout the organisation to canvas opinion and start with ‘non-exotic’ use of AI to simply improve the lives of employees. A culture of adoption for AI can be scaled by channelling or eliminating fear to enhance the human mind because we must be at our best/most creative to deal with AI technology.Garik shares his insights, thought leadership and experience on the subject of AI and the human dimension of technology. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       ‘Programming is teaching the dumbest thing in the world how to be smart’ (Gabe Newell). AI is based on explicit language to build up intelligence but is only as good as the data it is given; it acts like a type of mirror, giving impressions and reflections of the data fed into it.-       Data is the starting point, but AI strategies involve scientific, engineering, regulatory, and business breakthroughs / cycles - democratising intelligence offers massive opportunities for entrepreneurs to take advantage of technology.-       Well-built systems with added AI will offer huge increases in productivity and there is a trend towards mass personalisation/customisation – lots of new tools are being rolled out with seismic effect.-       At present, AI is like a newly qualified, well-educated, hard-working personal assistant; a brainstorming partner and creative asset that only works with very clear inputs and outputs and does not fare well with lack of context.-       The better questions we ask, the better answers we will get, and great expertise is required to ask great questions – it is not about indiscriminate learning.-       Humans should move from fear to curiosity about AI in a business setting and relinquish control in certain areas – this requires intention and discipline about what we input.-       Open source is very cheap as a means to test the best output - there is an understandable fear of sharing information, but the open AI API does not use your data as training data; it does not record data and can be viewed more as an AI playground for personal use.-       Practical AI is embedded in business by building a culture of adoption, generating excitement and creating a story – not to replace humans but to enhance them. Custom instructions and internal databases can be created to meet company-specific requirements – they can be tested first and then used without requiring human input.-       Up-/side-skilling in terms of an adoption culture must be on a case-by-case basis – it is difficult to add AI to blue collar work (cf. Moravec’s paradox). And reality is infinitely complex and therefore the human brain takes shortcuts - abstract thoughts only work in a vacuum, not in the real world.-       A culture of adoption for AI can be scaled by channelling or eliminating fear to enhance the human mind because we must be at our best/most creative to deal with AI technology - this also compares to other types of transformation that require leading by example, explaining the vision and rewarding progress.-       The culture of AI can be scaled by people understanding the environment or what’s not being said and using their life experience to articulate using their voice and eyes. Engage people by recruiting champions who want to step up; introduce AI as a ‘research project’; facilitate empowered, decentralised decision-making.-       People fear the cutting edge but there will be lots of new opportunities and jobs in an AI world, and stepping over fear and doing it anyway is the path to creativity. Leaders should talk to people throughout the organisation to canvas opinion and start with ‘non-exotic’ use of AI to simply improve the lives of workers.Find out more about Garik and his work here : https://gariktate.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/garik-tate/?originalSubdomain=phhttps://www.valhalla.team/

"the biggest challenge of all is the mindset shift...we need to be doing this 'with' people not 'for' people. "A fun conversation with Jim and David about how to create and lead healthy ecosystems .What does this mean ? How do you create a system where people and business can flourish ? How can we make sure that we retain our competitive advantage, or should it be collaborative advantage ? Healthy ecosystems must combine strategy and leadership in an emergent approach to prioritise and maximise resources in order to flourish – we can only solve critical issues in the world and make progress by collaborating. Is collaborative advantage a better lever for what keeps systems healthy and competitive in today's world and how do we navigate this landscape in terms of strategy and leadership ? We discuss how the measurement of value could be seen through a different lens and what it takes for companies to develop interdependent leadership to allow for a more fluid model of business operations and partner relationships where people and business can flourish.Jim and David generously share their insights, research and experience on this critical topic for businesses and leaders across the globe. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       Healthy ecosystems must combine strategy and leadership in an ‘anti-business school approach’ to prioritise and maximise resources in order to flourish – we can only solve critical issues in the world and make progress by collaborating.-       To create and lead a strategy for sound ecosystems requires a mindset shift from competitive advantage to collaborative advantage – we must find the right partners who contribute in the right way so that we can create something sustainable together.-       We must think more expansively - organisations must recognise that we are better off if we interact; we have to ask questions and talk to people if we are to be viable, resilient and sustainable.-       Reimagining the entire value chain means asking: what does success look like for everybody? What does everyone contribute? How is it managed and led? Interdependence is major: not a hub-and-spoke model but concentric circles with a shift to interdependent leadership.-       TVG (total value generated) asks who the key stakeholders are and how they define value, and measures experience and output objectively; it is about relationships and the value they generate; it identifies ecosystem partners and focuses on their health.-       Research reveals three crucial factors for successful relationships: reciprocity (best interests at heart on both sides), trust (built slowly over time), and frequency (how often do we interact and is it often enough) - we must change the narrative to measure critical factors for the system as a whole.-       Flourishing is about holistic human wellbeing (physical, mental, social, spiritual, etc.) and is influenced globally by organisational strategy and public health, which should consider all dimensions to create inclusive systems for healthy ecosystems.-       Competitive advantage in a healthy ecosystem is measured by looking at every player in the value chain with a unique value proposition that is enhanced by the other players, e.g. sustainability, triple bottom line, both profitable and prosperous.-       Continued viability: involves the competitive intensity of the local supply chain and the collaborative intensity of capacity; depends on healthy collaborators (in the supply chain); and builds a collaborative infrastructure that leads to increased stability and cost efficiency.-       In the ‘viability to survivability framework’, collaboration is key to providing different revenue sources and strong relationships as opportunities for growth and innovation – there must be sufficient net resources in the bucket to cover the next outflow.-       Stability means having adequate dedicated resources; resilience means having multiple ways to achieve inflow/outflow, an expansive business model and flexibility in relationships to bring in the human systems across ecosystems.-       Scaling relationship maturity means intentionally creating interdependent skillsets; conducting a gradual process to transform relationships by spanning boundaries and leading across them; building respect and trust, creating commonality, disrupting and transforming.-       Jim and David’s article - Leading Towards A Healthy Ecosystem – looks at how strategies must be implementable and people must be ready; a winning leadership strategy must foster a conscious collaborative culture to guide people through the change process.-       Know where you’re starting from, what you’re trying to do and what the change will require of people; look for pockets within the organisation that are advanced/behind as it is not a homogeneous process; have small focus groups for diagnostics and enquiry; and bring creativity on the fringe into the core.Link to article in DLQ : https://developingleadersquarterly.com/leading-towards-a-healthy-ecosystem/Find out more about Jim and David here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-ritchie-dunham-32837/Institute for Strategic Clarity https://isclarity.org/, The Human Flourishing Program https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/ and https://centerforworkhealth.sph.harvard.edu/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dinwoodiedavid/?originalSubdomain=esBarcelona Business School https://www.eada.edu/en/faculty-and-research/departments/strategy-leadership-and-people/david-dinwoodie, Centre for Creative Leadership https://www.ccl.org/cco.org

"you always have choice - choose to be an agent of change in your life, to build your own castle, to devise your own methods, and to think intentionally about your legacy..."Rick and I have a fun conversation that takes us through English castles, into manufacturing and lean methodologies and circling back through our inner game as leaders in a Business as UnUsual world. What do we need to navigate this complex world and motivate our people ? What tools and approaches work for you as a leader ? how do you ensure that you remain an agent of change in creating your future ? Rick shares his insight and experience as well as the main concepts in his new book on leadership, culture and business in the post COVID world. The main insights you'll get from this episode are : -       UnUsual is to be understood as the ‘new normal’ post-pandemic and stems from the author’s belief that everyone has the potential to be an architect of change, a catalyst in an ever-changing world.-       Eclectic leadership blends various theories, styles and approaches with multiple perspectives from different industries; eclectic leaders are not bound by one model and can adapt to different strategies, demonstrate flexibility, and leverage the strengths of different types of leadership by choosing the most effective tool from a large toolbox.-       The book uses a castle as a metaphor as it is a structure that everyone can imagine, but differently. The British take of ‘an Englishman’s home is his castle’ stands for home, safety, refuge, strong foundations, nobility, worthiness, honour, respect, legacy, community and impact.-       The book talks about 8 structures within the castle: the stronghold/inner keep, which has 4 towers that support each other: the tower of purpose (values, legacy, life goals, north star); the tower of life force (how you manage your HERBS – health, energy, rest, balance and stress); the tower of mind (how you show up, habits, behaviours, kaizen); and the tower of self (self-confidence, self-efficacy, self-worth, self-motivation).-       The dungeon of the castle represents coaching, which often inflicts pain to bring about growth and is about stretching and going beyond our comfort zone, being on the rack – and this requires trust.-       The bailey is expandable and consists of 3 buildings: the great hall (community, culture, leadership); the stables (looking forward, searching for satisfaction, transforming); and the treasury (finances, income, net worth).-       The inner keep formula is ‘the know and the go’. The know relates to self-confidence (knowing and trusting in yourself), self-efficacy (believing in your own ability to succeed) and self-worth (believing you are worthy of success and bring value to the world). The go relates to self-motivation, as motivation is the reason humans do things.-       Kaizen in the tower of the mind is about lifelong learning and a growth mindset. Nothing is perfect so we must embrace never-ending improvement of ourselves and all we do - be curious, ask why and reflect to reconsider, thereby embracing an infinite mindset.-       Life is about thinking well, feeling well and doing well. Life force is not in endless supply, and it requires a holistic approach to keep the different elements in balance to prevent stress. A good place to start is with tower of life force to find habits to strengthen and improve it.-       The notion of pivoting in uncertain times requires ‘alternative’ VUCA leadership: overcoming volatility by inspiring Vision; overcoming uncertainty by creating Understanding; overcoming complexity by driving Clarity; and overcoming ambiguity by using Agility. Using different, positive words gives cause to pause and think and provides a good framework for leaders.-       We are not just participants in the world, but architects shaping its course – we must embrace and define change and transformation starts with you.Find out more about Rick and his work here : www.rickyvanovich.com