Let's talk Transformation : The business leaders podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

"The path that leads to success is the path where you dare to take on those challenges and question yourself"

A fabulous conversation with karl about crafting our own path in the age of technology. How can we use what technology brings to leaders as individuals and to the workplace ?

Many of us fall into autopilot mode, driven by societal pressures, especially in large organizations, and we discuss work being defined by life experiences rather than the other way around.

Amidst rapid AI advancements, human resistance to change is natural—our survival instincts kick in - but instead of merely managing technological changes, we should embrace them. There is a lack of AI expertise among many leaders and we need to help foster a culture of learning and risk-taking, moving away from traditional education to collaborative learning. This shift promotes inclusive conversations and empathy, crucial elements in a world increasingly influenced by AI. AI should enhance decision-making, not replace human judgment.

Karl shares his stories, experience and insights from setting up his innovation factory and working with leaders and youth all across the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-      Innovation requires an atypical mindset and not accepting the norm – there are always alternatives, which can be more challenging but also more rewarding; taking a ‘detour’ prevents autopilot and keeps the brain active.

-      We have evolved over millennia to follow the norm in order to save energy, avoid risk and survive; it takes a long time to change mental models, particularly compared to the exponential speed of tech and, more recently, (generative) AI.

-      Boundaries and limitations have been removed to make way for AI, but this involves bypassing safety features. What does that mean for humans? We like to feel in control, although we don’t always fully understand the technology.

-      There are inherent problems and risks, and the challenge of AI in business is how it will be managed from a legal standpoint; companies should try out new technology on mock data first, then use AI to make the solution more efficient.

-      We must let AI strategies emerge using synthetic data to then make decisions about which AI-enabled tools will be most beneficial - leaders often do not understand enough about AI and should work closely with those who do.

-      Leaders must be comfortable with not knowing and feel free to ask ‘stupid’ questions on a development journey – the teacher/student approach doesn’t work with AI as everyone must play around with it together to find answers.

-      The hierarchy of leadership will be partly managed by AI (algorithms), i.e. an AI decision support engine, that will redefine boundaries; AI will treat us as humans if we treat it as human.

-      The ‘innovation factory’ initiative is about learning from other entrepreneurs and inventors, and pushing boundaries - cultures can prevent progress and all ideas should be welcome to ‘fail forward’ and add knowledge.

-      Aimed mostly at universities, it goes from no idea, to defining, questioning and pressure-testing an idea in order to reshape and repurpose it, and to develop microproducts along the way (in contrast to an accelerator).

-      Today’s regenerative approach can involve ‘AI for good’, giving us options for us to then make the decisions, e.g. how can AI prevent war? We can instruct an AI solution to help us do good.

-      We still have agency over the technology but will be an AI-enabled society by 2030: AI will help us become more human and less robotic (e.g. robots working in windowless warehouses).

-      When we move too fast, we crash; the current rate of change is very fast and we must be able to mitigate the crash, e.g. reducing our dependency on big tech providers by using multiple power sources, platforms and providers.

-      Constantly collecting data to train models means that we lose sight of threats, such as a virus manipulating us and the data; we must try to guard against these by trusting our (human) intuition and impulses.

-      We can all become ‘micromentors’ to either support someone else or ask for support from someone else - guided conversations are productive and helpful; an education system based on rights and wrongs does not reflect or serve the society in which we live.

Find out more about Karl and his work here :

https://www.karllillrud.com/

https://www.instagram.com/keynotekarl/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karllillrud/?locale=sv_SE

"AI job automation is gaining more and more ground, but emotional intelligence currently remains irreplaceable by AI."

Vladimer and I discuss insights and strategy around digital transformation, marketing and the importance of personal brand in the digital age. The digital revolution has fundamentally altered how companies operate and engage with their audiences. and our discussion sheds light on the pivotal role of digital marketing and innovation in this transformation. With a strong emphasis on personal branding and direct consumer engagement, we discuss how the power has shifted from traditional media to individuals who master social media.

We also dive deep into the importance of active learning, curiosity, and collaboration as well as analytical thinking. AI knowledge, leadership, resilience, and empathy are key factors that will drive success & keep us competitive in the digital age.

As digital transformation continues to reshape the business landscape, Vladimer offers valuable advice for individuals and companies aiming to thrive. His emphasis on personal branding, consumer engagement, and adaptability provides a clear path to success in navigating the complexities of the digital world.

The main insights you will get from this episode are :

-      International experience in the tech industry mentoring companies and entrepreneurs to help them remain relevant in the digital world - power has shifted dramatically with social media from big corporations to human beings.

-      Social media gives consumers a voice and a reaction for the first time in the history of marketing and communication and stops brands interrupting while open-minded entrepreneurs communicate openly with clients (e.g. Elon Musk).

-      Personal branding is everything in the streaming economy and is at the heart of competitive advantage - large organisations must rise to this challenge by becoming consumer-centric, not boardroom-centric.

-      In the new world order, David surpasses Goliath with speed, agility, lifelong learning, open-mindedness and open communication – the market decides what is good these days (cf. Spotify, Airbnb, etc. who solve consumers’ problems).

-      Traditional, tried-and-tested (marketing) strategies no longer work; companies must build a great customer experience, reinvent themselves, be experimental/ inventive, think long-term and listen to their consumers (‘listening businesses’).

-      Authenticity and openness are paramount, and content drives business. AI will lower operational costs and replace large chunks of the global workforce by 2030 - the only sustainable option in the digital age is to build a personal brand.

-      Personal brands are built through storytelling, gratitude, consistency, passion, openness, curiosity, communication and transparency – they must educate consumers, become the best publishers of information, and build not sell.  

-      AI will generate followers/influencers and disrupt jobs – this requires organisations to undergo a huge mindset shift towards permanent reinvention and being proactive as opposed to reactive.

-      WEF skills for the future include self-efficacy, working with others, analytical thinking, creative thinking, leadership, social influence, resilience, flexibility, agility, empathy and active listening.

-      Great content can be created and then spread across different platforms to billions of social media users with very few resources and at no cost (iPhone, YouTube, etc.).

-      We can become unicorns through blogging and gaining momentum through consistent hard work - forward-thinkers push us on and provide the right surroundings to succeed.

-      AI is the bloodline of the contemporary business landscape and offers great tools, e.g. Midjourney for web design and graphic media; Mixo for building websites without coding; Descript for video generation; Grammarly for text.

-      AI will automate tasks, analyse data, improve CX, reduce costs and boost productivity; businesses will increase their use of AI and signal a new era of digitalisation.

-      An emotional connection to the world cannot be replaced by AI, which gives us an advantage – we must focus on patience, flexibility, attention to detail, and leadership.

-      AI can improve business efficiency and will create (AI) influencers – to stay relevant, brands should showcase their authenticity and personality and use AI (hyper)personalisation to drive growth and optimise their workforce.

-      To succeed we must start small, build gradually, be patient, and provide value to create content; active daily learning moves us forward as we live through the biggest culture shift of all time – there are 30+ social media channels, so choose wisely and select a few to use well!

Find out more about Vladimer and his work here :

https://www.vladimerbotsvadze.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimerbotsvadze/recent-activity/all/

https://www.instagram.com/vladimerbotsvadze/

@VladoBotsvadze (X/Twitter)

"Don't be fooled by shiny technology... have a look at your business pain points and what problems you need to solve first"

Matt and I delve into the world of driving sustainable digital transformation with all its pitfalls and iterative loops. We unwrap the journey of digital transformation in organisations - which is inevitably fraught with challenges - from enacting organisational change to managing career risks and adapting to the rapid evolution of emerging technologies. Organisational stamina is however one of the biggest challenges we face - not giving up at the first success or failure, but organisations are like people – always looking for a quick fix.

We delve into how taking a systems thinking lens can be transformative, especially coupled with the revolutionary potential of generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) in industries like construction, which have historically been skeptical of technological advancements due to past disappointments. Generative AI and LLMs, despite the challenges exemplified by Google’s struggles with bias, are lauded for their capacity to revolutionise data management and processing. They promise a future where complex data is not just managed but harnessed to drive decisions, optimize processes, and ultimately, catalyze growth. - leaving time for the more complex human elements to be top of mind. For technology implementation to be successful, it must be rooted in continuous progress, systemic analysis, and the dismantling of operational silos through collaboration and empathy.

Matt shares his insights from his career to date, and the model he developed of how to successfully implement digital transformation - work done right !

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

-       Work Done Right is a collection of lessons learned from various industries with common themes of how best to achieve or not to achieve digital transformation.

-       Society needs infrastructure but is not good at providing it on time and on budget; we must improve processes using technology to help project leaders get it right first time.

-       The Work Done Right methodology is about process, culture and systems thinking – we must view projects holistically as interconnected wholes rather than in silos.

-       Within the system, we must define the quality we want and the systems we need to achieve it but work quality requires a speak up culture, akin to speaking up about health and safety for the greater good.

-       Human error can cause problems but there are rarely systems in place for errors to happen, i.e. people do not speak up about quality/process failures - tech and engineering are very knowledgeable but fail to take account of human factors that are part of the processes/system.

-       Translatability of ways of working from one industry to another is very beneficial, e.g. energy companies approaching other industries that have a good track record for safety of operations in hazardous environments, e.g. aviation.

-       Systems engineering and systems thinking can be used to ‘engineer out’ value risk. Any large organisation naturally builds up silos over time due to specialisation and bureaucracy but derisking is important as doing things differently entails risk.

-       There are competing elements of culture and technology at play in the explore-exploit scenario - change is often initiated for the sake of it without recognising the good reasons why systems are put in place.

-       ‘Splashy technology syndrome’ describes situations in which people desire digital transformation but are distracted by the current tech hype cycle, e.g. crypto, IoT, AI, etc. – FOMO takes over in the rush to use new tech, but any disappointment in the result reinforces the conservative bias.

-       GenAI can be transformational but should not be used for long-term business decisions. There is a widespread data problem in that most data is not used, but LLMs can make sense of messy data, and using 60% of data instead of 10% equates to a huge competitive advantage.

-       Long-term, there will always a place for humans - human decision-making and experience are irreplaceable, but success will depend on using gen AI and LLMs to improve our decision-making.

-       The OODA (observe, orient, decide, act) loop designed by the military can be applied to any competitive endeavour, can be incentivised and is iterative (build, measure, learn) - it aligns incentives with successful implementation and offers organisations the opportunity to develop a learning mindset through repetition.

-       Organisational stamina is the biggest challenge we face - not giving up at the first success or failure, but organisations are like people – looking for a quick fix.

-       Organisations must determine failure points and rectify them there and then before progressing, with no blame game and no catastrophising - identify why a business objective is not being reached and deploy the OODA loop repeatedly to move forward.

Find out more about Matt and his work here :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kleimanmatthew/

https://cumulusds.com/

What is the place of resilience in leadership and how can we stop overplaying our strengths for more sustainable growth ? 

In this episode of Let's talk, Deepa and I discuss how to 'rethink leadership'. Growing leadership in a sustainable way that allows you to have both success and well-being, has never been more topical. The current pandemic has given leaders the time to go inside and tap into bigger questions they have, and their larger vision & purpose. We discuss rethinking the paradigms of leadership, and understanding how to shift the paradigm around who you are as a leader as well as understanding your drivers, to find the balance between your strengths and the limits of those strengths, as well as the duality of 'thrive versus strive'.

Deepa shares her wealth of experience and insights from her work with organisations big and small, as well as her methodology on sustainable leadership and personal transformation.

The main insights from this episode :

• Understanding people and change is about understanding the human brain, facing challenges and being open to personal growth and development
• Everyone has potential but we must be prepared to reach deep within ourselves to unlock it and accept an alternative version of ourselves 
• To achieve lasting change, leaders must defy the conventional (corporate) definition and perception of talent - people are more than data, expertise and solutions
• High-achievers must strike a balance between ambition and reflection; COVID has brought more time for the latter as life has been forced to 'slow down'
• This duality of 'thrive versus strive' broadly reflects the difference between Eastern and Western philosophies; getting off the hamster wheel requires courage to overcome the fear of asking for help
• Transforming leadership means engendering co-responsibility, taking time to enjoy stillness and increase one's awareness - epiphanies often come out of the blue!  
• The value of giving and receiving requires putting the ego to one side and tapping into our intuition: is the way I function sustainable? and, arguably most importantly, can I enjoy life?

“How can mindsets play a role in the way we advance sustainability ? How do we become more diverse ? “

In this episode of let’s talk, Nicole and I discuss these pivotal questions. COVID has highlighted the success of female leadership and this should be fostered to encourage positive change for both the planet and humanity. We discuss the power of connections and the need for different models, as well as the importance of collectively developing the necessary skills for women to be 'at the top table' and have a positive impact on policy- and decision-making in the future.

Nicole shares her story, research and experience from institutions and networks across the globe. 

The main insights you will get from this episode :

• Women Leaders for Planetary Health (WLPH) seeks to bring the innate and unique skills of women to bear on major problems facing our planet
• globally connecting policy-makers and researchers for the good of public health and sustainability on a multi-cultural and multi-institutional basis - embodying the power of community and personal relationships
• COVID has highlighted the success of female leadership and this should be fostered to encourage positive change for both the planet and humanity, capitalising on it currently being high on the public's agenda to take care of each other as well as the planet (BLM, climate change, womens' rights); this should be engendered from an early age through formal teaching on e.g. biodiversity, ecology, etc.
• the skills of negotiating, sharing knowledge, garnering results and applying them collectively are vital in the struggle for women to be 'at the top table' and have a positive impact on policy- and decision-making
• a collective and collaborative approach is essential, as is the diversity of participants and their attendant experience, knowledge and cultural background
• WLPH has UN backing and offers mentoring for young professional women, attracting female mentors from all over the world willing to share their expertise and create change agents, thereby growing a powerful and highly respected network
• the 'global self' movement is conceived to inspire and bring about positive change in health and sustainability across the world and tackle root and branch reform of women's place in the world to empower them for the greater good
• harnessing technology to have a wide reach and offer a platform for connection, which is particularly pertinent in times when travel is not possible, e.g. during a global pandemic

In this episode of let's talk, Robert and I discuss design sprinting, how design sprints can be used to establish human connection, and the overriding aim to create impact and engage people around a particular topic on a global scale . We also discuss how this is changing to adapt to the virtual space and explore the different skills sets necessary to facilitate this process, to allow creativity and bring people together to collaborate more effectively. 

Robert shares his insights on design sprinting and his experience from carrying out design sprints virtually and otherwise in organisations big and small. 

The main insights you will get from this episode :

• design sprints (DS) are all about bringing people together, and the COVID-expedited shift to virtual working functions well here given that the overriding aim is to create impact and engage people on a global scale
• virtual design sprints showcase both people and their skills and strive for cross-collaboration and innovation, focusing on skills and learning, and thereby engendering camaraderie and respect amongst the participants
• the GVDS event-based programme uses both online and asynchronous offline work and can adapt very easily to changing circumstances, offering the right solution for the right people, at the right time
• the DS process is based on a structured template that has matured and grown organically over time to provide what people need: overwhelmingly the human connection - it is all about creating relationships and making people feel comfortable, both with each other, in the virtual space and with the tools they are using
• DS rely on a good facilitator, maybe also a co-facilitator with a complementary skillset, to make the best use of the online resources and to encourage people to experiment with, improve on and integrate the components of the process that work for them

“What is that they’re doing that is so different ? What can we learn from the unicorns ? “

In this episode of let's talk, Elvin and I have a great conversation on implementing, driving and scaling innovation in organisations. We discuss the need for innovation to be integrated back into the overall business strategy, how to calibrate culture for outcomes, and the need for leaders to learn to let go of the status quo to allow organisations to build more capability and space for innovation and continuous change to thrive. 

Elvin shares his research, insight and experience from working with organisations of all types across the globe.

The main insights you will get from this episode :

• innovation is the future and all organisations must think this way to succeed; leaders must choose to show a veritable commitment to it if they are to demonstrate good stewardship, and this involves asking questions and examining capabilities
• leaders must show the way by funding and rewarding innovation, offering a safe space for people to try out their ideas, whether they succeed or fail; after all, innovation is all about courage, embracing the unknown and looking to the future
• how to innovate is a difficult question to answer, but it starts with defining a strategy, then a process, then practical tools for implementation; it is ultimately a process of continuous change
• Strategic drivers are at the heart of a framework for "turning on" innovation in an organisation
• 'old school' approaches, all too common within big organisations, no longer cut it and the will must exist to change the organisation's outlook, starting at grass roots level with leaders encouraging and welcoming any and all good, albeit unusual, proposals
• the focus should be on creating innovators internally, and large companies could learn a lot from their born-digital counterparts, which thrive on exploring and thinking 'outside the box'
• the culture of an organisation is likewise critical to success; it must be anticipatory, adventurous, creative and supportive yet also realistic, which means holding fast to future innovation plans

"The digital age confronts us with one of the most important questions of all, which it seems after 200 000 years we ‘re still unprepared to tackle, and that is what does being human mean ?"

In this episode of Let’s talk Samie and I discuss the growing and urgent need to bring more humanity to business. The onset of digital continues to underline the need for us to look at how we understand our collective role in humanity, and how we hold multiple perspectives to practice more conscious leadership and create an environment where humans can thrive. 

Samie generously shares his rich experience and insight from his work with businesses big and small from around the globe. . 

The main insights you will get from this episode :

• the key role of inclusion in building a healthy culture for people to thrive going forward. 
• being conscious, or aware, and indeed present is vital for achieving powerful and authentic human connections and relationships, as well as for demonstrating empathy and conscious leadership
• lasting change is difficult and gradual, and requires open and honest conversations, things that are easily forgotten in our fast-moving, constantly connected digital world
• COVID has affected the entire planet - what greater opportunity could there be to bring people together, create something good from something bad and make us all global citizens by thinking collectively, acting humanely and aligning our values to strive for a healthy culture and a better, more inclusive world for all?
• transformation first requires people to change, to be courageous and break away from the pack, and to take small steps in which others can follow; 
• we would all do well, as leaders and individuals, to slow down and take time for reflection in order to bring about a positive 'cultural' and mindset shift and to make the best decisions we can

"Coaching is dead, long live coaching ! "

In this week's episode of let's talk Fred and I discuss the changing practice of coaching and the way coaching is morphing at all levels of the organisation. We look at the move towards a more hybrid model, and from individual to systems coaching. We also discuss the changing philosophy of work and the different role of the mental and technical game for leaders in changing the business landscape to create a more innovative and agile working environment. Fred shares his rich experience, insights and research on the future role of coaching in organisations.

The main insights you will get from this episode : 

• the entire coaching industry is changing as a result of (digital) transformation across the board - it is now about platforms / IT and more "systems coaching"
• there is a need for more industry-specific coaching with 'insider business knowledge' as well as coaching skills to offer more insight and enable agile coaching and coaching for innovation in the business environment
• the use of platforms changes how we steer our investment and platform-based coaching programmes are becoming more and more prevalent. 
• these platforms provide organisations (and HR functions) with valuable data to reveal hidden dynamics, provide learning records and offer a solid foundation for talent roadmaps, also offering an aspect of sustainability in a fast-moving world
• the emotional appeal and the “heart-set” is far more important than the cognitive appeal when coaching transformation. 
• increased coaching conversations build a learning environment for all and offer leverage for ROI
• nudge technology will undoubtedly feature in the future of coaching for the benefit of all, both collectively and individually.
• the ability to understand networks and how they shape, form and function in organisations is going to be key to competitive advantage
• be the "challengers" not the consumers of coaching

Now more than ever, leaders have to be clear as to how their "best selves" can show up with all their stakeholders, and how they are ‘being’ as leaders. 

In this episode of let's talk Keith, Tessa and myself discuss the art of transformative facilitation and it’s place in today’s business world. We discuss the orthodoxies of facilitation, the role of dialogue in organisational culture and facilitating the shift from ‘doing leadership’ to ‘being’ a leader and facilitating this shift for sustainable transformation. Keith and Tessa share their methodology, insights and rich experience on this subject. 

Here are the main insights you’ll get from this episode : 

• transformative learning is about making leaders into effective facilitators so that they can bring about courageous conversations and foster dialogue
• In many cases facilitation gets in the way of learning happening as both facilitator and learner are unwilling to take the uncomfortable step
• all must recognise their individual contexts and strengths, and feel able to express any thoughts they might have without judgement
• businesses can only be transformed if those leading it are similarly transformed by leaving behind bias and orthodox management 'structures'
• the process of learning is internal and very individual; all concerned must embrace each other's differences and personal potency to bring about convergence
• The shift from driving the organisation through a structured process into recognising when there’s a need to focus on the ‘being-ness’ of being a leader is key
• One of the key characteristics needed for facilitators today is courage - the courage to step in
• learning goes way beyond business, it is about helping humanity by forming communities, sharing knowledge and demonstrating generosity of spirit