Arkaro Insights: adapt and thrive in complexity – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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Arkaro Insights: adapt and thrive in complexity

Mark Blackwell

Business & Entrepreneuriat

Fréquence : 1 épisode/24j. Total Éps: 60

Arkaro Insights: adapt and thrive in complexity brings together practitioners and researchers for honest, practical conversations on leadership, change and innovation in a complex, adaptive world.

Each episode gives B2B executives the thinking and tools to lead transformation, not just manage it — whether in agriculture, food, chemicals or any industry where complexity is the daily reality.

We explore four interconnected themes:

The AI Implementation Blueprint — how leaders cut through the hype and embed AI as a genuine organisational capability

The Human Edge — the neuroscience and psychology of change, creativity and decision-making under uncertainty

Outside-In Innovation — customer needs, market signals and the disciplines that turn insight into growth

Strategy for Complex Adaptive Systems — emergent strategy, integrated business planning and leading organisations that learn and adapt

Hosted by Mark Blackwell, founder of Arkaro, a B2B consultancy that works alongside clients in a collaborative 'do it with you' approach, leaving behind sustainable solutions, not just a slide deck.

"We don't just coach — we get on the pitch with you."

Connect With Us

💬 We'd love to hear from you! What topics would you like us to explore in future podcast episodes? Drop us a message or connect with us to learn more about Arkaro's approach.

🔗 Visit us at www.arkaro.com

👥 Follow our updates: Arkaro on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkaro/

📧 Email us at: mark@arkaro.com

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The Steam Engine Mistake Companies Are Repeating with AI — Harvard Professor Joseph Fuller Explains

Épisode 60

lundi 4 mai 2026 • Durée 35:12

"There are no executives alive on the planet today that have ever overseen the implementation of a general purpose technology to their organisations." — Joseph Fuller, Harvard Business School

Most companies are making the same mistake with AI that factory owners made when electricity arrived in the 1880s — bolting the new technology onto old processes and calling it transformation.

Around 60% of companies are treating AI as a technology problem and handing it to the CTO. It is a management problem. In this episode, Joseph Fuller of Harvard Business School explains what to do instead — and why the companies that get this right may not be the ones you expect.

About Joseph Fuller

Joseph Fuller is Professor of Management Practice at Harvard Business School and co-head of the Managing the Future of Work project, which he founded. A former CEO of global strategy firm Monitor Group, he advises leading organisations on AI adoption, workforce transformation, and organisational design.

Joseph Fuller

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephbfuller/
American Enterprise Institute: https://www.aei.org/profile/joseph-b-fuller/

HBS Managing the Future of Work:

Project: https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Pages/default.aspx
Newsletter: https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/newsletter/Pages/default.aspx Podcast: https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hbs-managing-the-future-of-work/id1395603706
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3zUxYNebA2rrEuH0IJcrJ2
Amazon Podcasts: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJJPGGPX
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/project-on-managing-the-future-of-work/

Related Arkaro Insights episodes:

Stephen Wunker on AI and the Octopus Organisation: https://arkaro.com/ai-octopus-organization-stephen-wunker/

Charlene Li on Why AI Transformation Fails: https://arkaro.com/why-ai-transformation-fails-leaders-90-days-charlene-li/

Niels van Hove on AI and Decision-Centric Planning: https://arkaro.com/niels-van-hove-ai-sop-ibp-decision-centric-planning/

Marco Ryan on Rewire or Retire: https://arkaro.com/rewire-retire-ai-leadership-marco-ryan/

Connect with Arkaro:

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn:
Arkaro Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkaro
Mark Blackwell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrblackwell/
Newsletter - Arkaro Insights: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/arkaro-insights-6924308904973631488/

🌐 Visit our website: www.arkaro.com

📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@arkaro

Audio Podcast: https://arkaroinsights.buzzsprout.com

📧 For business enquiries: mark@arkaro.com

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Group Genius: The Science Behind High-Performing Teams with Keith Sawyer

Épisode 59

jeudi 30 avril 2026 • Durée 39:22

What separates a high-performing team from a group of talented individuals who consistently underperform? According to Dr Keith Sawyer, the answer lies in group flow — a state of peak collective experience that goes far beyond individual performance.

Dr Sawyer is the Morgan Distinguished Professor of Educational Innovations at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one of the world’s leading researchers on creativity, collaboration, and innovation. A jazz pianist who has performed with Chicago improvisational theater groups, he has spent decades studying how peak creative performance emerges not inside a single mind, but between minds.

In this episode, Mark Blackwell and Keith Sawyer explore the ten conditions for group flow, why improvisation is always a balance between structure and freedom, how problem-finding is fundamentally different from problem-solving and why that distinction matters for business teams, the Goldilocks quality that runs through every one of the ten conditions, why groupthink and group flow are two sides of the same coin, and what jazz and improv theater can teach organisations about building teams that consistently outperform.

Building on previous Arkaro Insights conversations with Roni Reiter-Palmon on creative problem solving and Hilary Scarlett on the neuroscience of collaboration, this episode adds a compelling new layer: the social and improvisational dynamics that allow groups to achieve something greater than the sum of their parts.

Keith’s book Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration is available at https://a.co/d/0aBHbJ0p. His podcast The Science of Creativity is at sawyerpodcast.com and his Substack newsletter at keithsawyer.substack.com.

Connect with Arkaro:

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn:
Arkaro Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkaro
Mark Blackwell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrblackwell/Newsletter - Arkaro Insights: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/arkaro-insights-6924308904973631488/🌐 Visit our website: www.arkaro.com

Why Constraints Make You More Creative, Not Less | Dr. Catrinel Tromp

Épisode 50

lundi 2 février 2026 • Durée 41:24

We're told to think outside the box. But what if the box is your greatest creative asset? Dr. Catrinel Tromp explains the cognitive science behind why constraints drive innovation — and why the most dangerous barriers are the ones you've stopped questioning.

Think outside the box. Blue sky thinking. Start with a blank canvas. It's advice we hear constantly — but what if it's wrong?

Dr. Catrinel Tromp, professor of psychology at Rider University and specialist in the cognitive science of creativity, argues that creativity doesn't flourish despite constraints — it flourishes because of them. Her research, which began at Princeton and was tested in Manhattan's hedge fund world, reveals something counterintuitive: when you narrow the search space, you actually expand the possibilities.

In this conversation, Catrinel shares:

The Green Eggs and Ham Hypothesis — Dr. Seuss wrote a bestseller using just 50 words. Catrinel's own experiments show that everyday people produce more creative results when given random constraints than when given total freedom.

Fixed vs Faux Fixed Constraints — Most of the barriers organisations treat as immovable are nothing of the sort. "That's just how our industry works" is rarely a fact — it's an unchallenged assumption. The best leaders distinguish between genuine boundaries and inherited habits.

The Carryover Effect — People who practise working under constraints don't just perform better in the moment. The creative benefit persists even after the constraints are removed. The skill transfers.

The White Bear Effect — Framing constraints as "don'ts" triggers avoidance and self-monitoring. Framing them as "dos" provides direction and a starting point. Leaders who understand this difference unlock more creative teams.

Constraint Fluency — The best organisations don't wait for a crisis to practise working with constraints. They embed constraint experimentation into daily operations, building the creative muscle before it's needed.

Catrinel also explores why water scarcity produced premium tomatoes and drip irrigation, how the black pearl market was created by reframing a "defect," and why AI prompt engineering is essentially constraint mastery.

The Mother Rule: Why Your Strategy Should Be Simple Enough for Mum | James Michael Lafferty

Épisode 49

vendredi 16 janvier 2026 • Durée 44:52

Jim Lafferty spent 30 years leading in some of the world's most volatile markets. His secret weapon? A test so simple your mother could apply it.

What if the smartest person to pressure-test your strategy isn't a consultant or an MBA — but your mum?

Jim Lafferty didn't follow the traditional path to Fortune 500 leadership. He started as a fitness instructor, built his career across Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland and beyond, and learned that in volatile, uncertain markets, simplicity beats sophistication every time.

In this conversation, Jim shares:

The Mother Rule — If your strategy is so intellectual that the person buying the diapers doesn't understand it, you don't have a strategy. You have muddled thinking.

The Bumblebee Principle — You can coach almost any skill, but you cannot coach desire. Jim explains why he'd rather hire someone who shouldn't fly but does than a polished graduate who lacks fire.

A Principle Isn't a Principle Until It Costs You Something — Jim recounts the night he was offered a $7 million bribe, and why saying no hurt more than he expected.

The Church Sampling Story — How Jim secured Vatican approval to distribute products at 3,500 Polish church services — and grew the business 35% in a single year.

Getting Fired with Dignity — What it means to leave standing on your feet, not on your knees.

This is leadership without the polish — raw, practical, and forged in markets where complexity isn't a theory but a daily reality.

Connect with James:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-michael-lafferty-2737071/
Website: https://jamesmichaellafferty.com/

Connect with Arkaro:🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn:Arkaro Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkaroMark Blackwell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrblackwell/Newsletter - Arkaro Insights: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/arkaro-insights-6924308904973631488/🌐 Visit our website: www.arkaro.com

Rewire or Retire: Why AI is a Leadership Issue, Not a Technology Problem | Marco Ryan

Épisode 48

mercredi 14 janvier 2026 • Durée 46:11

You cannot just be a leader that takes a can of digital paint and paints over the analogue cracks of your business. It will not survive the disruption that's coming.

In this episode, Marco Ryan, former Chief Digital Officer at BP and co-author of Rewire or Retire: AI for Leaders, challenges us to rethink how we lead in an AI-driven world. Marco argues that AI isn't fundamentally a technology issue—it's a leadership issue. And the choice facing every leader is clear: rewire your approach or retire gracefully to let others lead.

We explore why most executives are "nearsighted" when it comes to AI, how to find the AI whisperers already in your organisation, and why wisdom and judgment don't always sit at the top of the table. Marco shares practical advice on using AI as a "strategy buddy" and explains why digital curiosity—asking "what if?"—matters more than technical expertise.

Whether you're overwhelmed by AI or just getting started, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at what leadership demands in the age of artificial intelligence.

If this conversation pushed your thinking, subscribe, share it with a colleague who’s wrestling with AI strategy, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Then tell us on LinkedIn: where will you rewire first?

Marco Ryan is a Non-Executive Director, author, and former Chief Digital Officer at BP with over 30 years of experience in digital transformation and board-level leadership. He has held senior roles at Wärtsilä, Thomas Cook, and Accenture, and is currently Cyber Leader in Residence at Lancaster University Management School. Marco is the co-author (with Alastair Lechler) of Rewire or Retire: AI for Leaders and 51 Essential AI Terms for Leaders.

Links & Resources

Marco's website: marcoryan.com
Book: Rewire or Retire: AI for Leaders – available on Amazon

From Technical Fixes to Adaptive Solutions: How Arkaro’s Approach Transforms Technical Problem-Solving Cultures (AI voices Arkaro content)

Épisode 47

lundi 5 janvier 2026 • Durée 20:41

Welcome to the Arkaro Insights podcast. This episode is based on original content developed by Arkaro. At Arkaro, we're committed to innovation in everything we do—including how we share our insights. We've utilised advanced AI technology to transform our written expertise into this conversational format, making our content more accessible and convenient for our busy B2B audience. What you'll hear is a two-person discussion generated through AI voice technology, designed to deliver our insights in a more engaging way than traditional reading. As we continue to evolve this approach, we genuinely value your feedback. Thank you for listening to Arkaro Insights, where professional expertise meets innovative delivery.

Full article: From Technical Fixes to Adaptive Solutions: How Arkaro's Approach Transforms Technical Problem-Solving Cultures

The greatest obstacle to transformation often hides in plain sight. For technically brilliant B2B organizations—especially in agriculture, food, and chemicals—it's not technical capability that stalls strategic initiatives, but the failure to recognize when you're facing an adaptive challenge rather than a technical problem.

Drawing on insights from Mark Blackwell at Arkaro, we explore this critical distinction that determines success or failure in organizational change. Technical problems exist in what systems thinker Dave Snowden calls the "complicated domain"—where cause and effect relationships can be discovered through expert analysis. These challenges respond to the sense-analyze-respond approach that engineering cultures excel at. Adaptive challenges, however, live in the "complex domain" where solutions can't be predetermined but must emerge through experimentation and learning—requiring a probe-sense-respond mindset.

The consequences of misapplying technical approaches to adaptive challenges appear everywhere: strategy implementations falter despite solid analysis (with only 28% of executives able to list three strategic priorities), Integrated Business Planning systems struggle despite perfect process design, innovation initiatives stall despite structured methodologies, and customer-centricity programs fail to change organizational behavior despite comprehensive market research. The root cause? Technical leaders trying to solve adaptive challenges requiring cultural shifts and behavior changes using the same toolkit that made them successful with technical problems.Arkaro's four-step methodology offers a path forward: Understanding (moving beyond problem definition to challenge recognition), Co-creating (shifting from expert solutions to collective learning), Enabling (building adaptive capabilities alongside technical skills), and Sustaining (embedding these capabilities for future challenges). Through their "do-it-with-you" approach, Arkaro works alongside organizations to build internal capability while solving immediate challenges—creating a bridge between technical excellence and adaptive leadership.Take an honest look at your organization today. Where might your established technical expertise actually be hindering your ability to adapt to complex, ambiguous challenges? Connect with us to explore how building adaptive leadership capabilities might be the missing piece in your transfo

Niels van Hove on Human-AI Collaboration in S&OE, S&OP & IBP

Épisode 46

jeudi 1 janvier 2026 • Durée 42:35

Niels van Hove joins Mark Blackwell to explore how AI is transforming S&OP and IBP from bureaucratic box-ticking to decision-centric planning. Discover why planners waste 50% of their time on low-value tasks, how automation and augmentation differ, and Niels's bold vision for AI-powered "decision avatars" that could revolutionise executive decision-making.

____

Is your S&OP process more painful than productive — a "monthly trip to the dentist" as our guest puts it?

Niels van Hove, globally recognised thought leader in integrated business planning and human-AI collaboration, joins Mark Blackwell to discuss how AI is reshaping supply chain planning. Niels has defined the current era as the "third wave" of supply chain planning technology, and he argues that the competitive advantage lies not in technology alone, but in creating a culture of human-AI collaboration.

In this conversation, we explore:

- Why planners spend 50% of their time on data crunching and low-value work — and how AI can free them to focus on what matters

- The critical distinction between automation (handling repetitive tasks) and augmentation (advising on decisions) - Explainability versus trust — Niels's contrarian view on whether we really need to understand AI to use it effectively

- Decision avatars: a vision for AI-powered executive teams that can debate scenarios and recommend options at unprecedented speed

- Practical advice for CEOs looking to modernise deteriorating S&OP processes

Key insight: "Anything that can be automated will be automated. The competitive difference will be in human-AI collaboration."

Niels challenges listeners to take personal accountability for learning with AI rather than sitting back and demanding explainability. As he puts it: "AI is here to stay and will only get better. You can't sit back and say, show me how it works, without showing any interest yourself."

About our guest: Niels van Hove is an expert in IBP, S&OP, and the emerging field of human-AI collaboration in supply chain planning. He advocates for decision-centric IBP — working backwards from decisions rather than focusing solely on forecast accuracy. His work emphasises that future planners must adapt to collaborate with AI or self-select out of the role.

How to Use AI Without It Going Wrong | Ray Eitel-Porter, Author of Governing the Machine

Épisode 45

vendredi 19 décembre 2025 • Durée 45:06

How can your organisation use AI without it going wrong? With 95% of organisations failing to see a return on their AI investments, this question has never been more pressing for business leaders.

In this episode of Arkaro Insights, I'm joined by Ray Eitel-Porter, co-author of "Governing the Machine: How to Navigate the Risks of AI and Unlock Its True Potential". Ray has spent over eight years helping companies implement AI responsibly. He previously led Accenture's global responsible AI practice and currently advises multinational companies and the public sector. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the Intellectual Forum, Jesus College, Cambridge.

There's a common misconception that AI governance blocks innovation. Ray challenges this view head-on. For him, AI governance is precisely what allows organisations to innovate confidently – the framework that helps you scale AI whilst knowing the right questions have been asked and the right safeguards are in place.

We explore the striking gap between executive ambition and workforce reality: 80% of executives believe AI is core to their strategy, yet only 15% of employees share that belief. Ray shares practical examples of how organisations have closed this gap, including a UK public sector body that transformed workforce trust in AI from 25% to over 90% through effective training.

Ray brings the discussion to life with case studies from PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Shell, showing how AI governance can reinforce brand values and enable responsible scaling across global operations.

We also tackle the shadow AI challenge – up to 90% of employees using personal ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini accounts for work – and why technical controls alone cannot solve this problem.

Looking ahead, Ray explains why AI agents represent the next frontier of governance risk, and why automation bias – our tendency to over-trust accurate AI – may be the most counterintuitive danger of all.

A key message: AI governance isn't just for large corporates. The principles scale down to SMEs. Where a multinational needs sophisticated platforms, a smaller business might achieve the same ends with clear ownership and an Excel spreadsheet.

70% of People Are Wrong About Creativity | Yale Researcher Dr Zorana Ivcevic Pringle Explains

Épisode 44

mercredi 10 décembre 2025 • Durée 37:10

Do you believe creativity requires complete freedom? You're not alone — 70% of people think the same. But Yale research reveals the opposite: constraints actually enhance creative output.

Dr Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, Senior Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of The Creativity Choice, joins Mark Blackwell to explore why creativity is a learnable process of decision-making, not a gift reserved for geniuses.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Why the most creative teams spend 53% of their time on problem framing, not idea generation
How to match your mood to different creative tasks — use grumpy mornings for critical evaluation, upbeat afternoons for brainstorming
When to tap weak network ties versus strong ones in the creative process
What AI can and cannot do creatively — and why top human performance still outpaces machines
Three practical actions leaders can take to unlock team creativity

Links & Resources:

The Creativity Choice by Dr Zorana Ivcevic Pringle: https://www.amazon.com/Creativity-Choice-Science-Making-Decisions/dp/1541704320
Dr Pringle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zorana-ivcevic-pringle/
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence: https://www.ycei.org/
Read the full article: https://arkaro.com/creativity-choice-decision-making/
Subscribe to Arkaro Insights: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/arkaro-insights-6924308904973631488/

Constraints, Playfulness & Ethics: 3 Lessons for Leading in the AI Age | Dr Vlad Glaveanu

Épisode 43

samedi 6 décembre 2025 • Durée 40:22

Dr Vlad Glaveanu shares three essential lessons for executives navigating AI: embrace constraints, foster playfulness, and keep ethics at the centre.

Read more on: https://arkaro.com/ai-leadership-creativity-constraints/

_________________________

How should leaders think about AI and creativity? In this episode, Mark Blackwell speaks with Dr Vlad Glaveanu, Professor of Psychology at Dublin City University, founder of the Possibility Studies Network, and editor of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible.

Vlad introduces Possibility Studies — a new field exploring how individuals and societies engage with what could be — and explains why constraints are essential to creativity rather than obstacles to it. He makes the case for "slow AI", arguing that the waiting and incubation that drive real innovation are at risk in our rush for instant answers.

The conversation covers:

• Why there is no creativity without constraints
• The ethics of possibility — just because something could be, should it be?
• How AI is reshaping our conception of creativity
• The "bad idea brainstorm" technique for building psychological safety
• What managers should prioritise when entering new markets or launching products

Vlad closes with three takeaways for any executive managing a team in the age of AI: welcome constraints and resistance, foster playfulness and trust, and never delegate to AI the business of humans.

Guest: Dr Vlad Glaveanu

Professor of Psychology, Dublin City University
Adjunct Professor, University of Bergen
Founder & President, Possibility Studies Network
Author of Wonder and Creativity: A Very Short Introduction

Resources mentioned:

Possibility Studies Network: possibilitystudies.net
Possibility Bots (Ron Beghetto)

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