DECODING AQ - Adaptability For The Future Of Work With Ross Thornley

David helps make Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) usable.

Not as an elegant theory, not as an annual headcount ritual, and not as a spreadsheet that pretends the organisation is tidier than it is — but as a practical discipline that survives the messy real world of politics, ambiguity, fragmented data, multiple workforce channels, and constant change.

Over the past decade David has built and led SWP inside complex global enterprises (including Ericsson and NatWest), advised organisations internationally during his time at Visier, and contributed to emerging standards as a member of the Workforce Planning Institute’s Global Standards Committee. He's sat in the rooms where the hard decisions are made, and in the rooms where SWP quietly dies because nobody owns the decision, the inputs don’t join up, or the “plan” isn’t connected to how work actually gets done.

David is the author of The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook (Kogan Page): written for practitioners and leaders who want SWP to drive better choices, not just better decks. It blends methods, stories, and field-tested patterns you can use straight away, with a bias for what works when conditions are imperfect.

Ross and David talk about the challenges of workforce planning amidst rapid change, emphasizing the need to look beyond headcount and consider all resources, including robots and AI agents. David highlighted the importance of understanding how work is changing and the role of strategic workforce planning in preparing for future needs. He noted that external factors like wars, political upheaval, and technological leaps often trigger the need for strategic workforce planning. David stressed the necessity for SWP and People Analytics to be relevant to business needs and to demonstrate their value and customer satisfaction by influencing decisions. He advised aligning workforce analytics with the company's strategic goals and finding sponsors by presenting compelling, business-relevant insights. The conversation also touched on the historical, traditional context of workforce evolution and the need for continuous learning and adaptation.

Timecodes:

• 00:19 Intro to David
• 03:38 Planning for Exponential Change
• 07:18 'Workforce' defined
• 11:21 AI and Work Evolution
• 16:13 Strategic Workforce Planning Opportunities
• 17:35 Consequences of missing out on Strategic Workforce Planning
• 19:15 Trigger events for strategic workforce planning
• 22:04 David greatest fears
• 24:16 Driving change and shifting to SWP
• 25:55 SWP's lasting impressions 
• 28:12 Sponsor Presentation Strategy Discussion

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation

Connect with David:

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Dark Artistry
• Email - [email protected]

Emily Kaur and Fred Schoon are co-founders of Seasons Consulting, who bring a contemporary view on how to lead for change within your organisation. Focusing on relationship dynamics, conversations, group patterns and ingrained mindsets and beliefs.

They believe the biggest challenge for businesses today is to deliver results against a defined strategy AND remain open, aware and agile enough to respond to rapidly changing environments. 

The answer lies in developing leaders and building high-performing teams that are expectant of change, open to it and strong and confident enough to perform to their highest potential within this volatile and uncertain climate. 

They want to partner with leaders who are seeking change, pushing boundaries and operating at the edge of what is possible. These possibilities bring excitement and opportunity but also uncertainty, ambiguity and discomfort. At Seasons Consulting, we make a difference to leaders by partnering with them as they take the bold, brave steps needed in today’s business.

Ross, Emily and Fred talk about their work in organizational change and leadership development. The conversation explored why the pair chose to partner rather than work independently, with Emily explaining they wanted to bring allies together and recruit both experienced and younger consultants. Fred shared key transitions they experienced over seven years, including the challenge of developing new consultants who took longer to train than expected and the increasing complexity of bespoke change work versus their initial off-the-shelf models. The discussion addressed how people analytics has evolved, with Emily noting that while knowledge and methods have become more widely shared, organizations still need expertise in behavioral change and psychological aspects of transformation. Fred acknowledged they don't frequently encounter dedicated HR analytics teams in their work, though they do see analytics integrated into engagement surveys. The conversation touched on the challenge of organizations being overwhelmed by data and technology, with Fred describing a recent project helping a German fashion company address organizational paradoxes. The episode concluded with a reflection on unlearning, where Emily shared saying yes to the podcast as a recent first-time experience, and Fred described taking on a challenging project to develop critical thinking skills in a global strategy team.

Timecodes:

• 00:20 Intro to Emily and Fred
• 02:17 Emily and Fred's business partnership
• 04:02 The companies key transitions and organizational evolution
• 07:45 People analytics and workplace changes 
• 14:02 Dealing with technology crossover, re-skilling and the unknown
• 19:54 Lasting impressions for the upcoming event
• 21:37 Overwhelm and exhaustion
• 26:20 The last time Emily did something for the first time
• 26:54 The last time Fred did something for the first time

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Emily:

• LinkedIn
• Seasons Consulting

Connect with Fred:

• LinkedIn

Ian builds people analytics into a strategic capability — the kind that leaders actually use to make better decisions.
Over the last decade he's led global workforce intelligence, demand/capacity planning and analytics functions across complex, high‑scale environments. Today Ian is accountable for establishing consistent people metrics, insight and governance across a 30+ country footprint — turning fragmented reporting into trusted, decision‑ready intelligence that links talent, capability, cost, productivity and organisational health. 
Ian sits at the intersection of People, Finance, Strategy and Technology: integrating multi‑source data, raising data integrity and privacy standards, and translating analytics into clear narratives that land with executives.

Ross and Ian talk about the evolution and challenges of people analytics as a strategic capability. How data quality perceptions often serve as a barrier to stakeholder buy-in, emphasizing the importance of starting with clear hypotheses from stakeholders rather than presenting open-ended questions. He shared strategies for building trust with senior leaders, including avoiding surprises in public meetings and framing data as enablers rather than barriers to decision-making. The conversation explored the impact of AI and agentic AI on people analytics, with Ian noting the need to control analytics standards while enabling more complex modelling capabilities. Ian concluded by highlighting organizational health monitoring and ensuring people analytics ties into strategic agendas as key focus areas for the coming year, emphasizing the importance of embracing change as a career principle.

Timecodes: 

• 00:10 Intro to the new mini series - People Analytics
• 00:26 Intro to Ian
• 01:57 Getting involved with People Analytics
• 03:26 Challenges with perception around data quality
• 06:48 Aligning with stakeholders and communication strategy
• 10:03 Stakeholder buy-in 
• 12:09 Initiatives that have worked
• 16:08 Data-Driven Decision Making
• 20:11 Blending AI-Powered and People Analytics
• 23:00 What a great next year for Ian would look like - Reimagining Arcadis
• 24:20 Impacts on Ian's career - embrace change

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Ian

• LinkedIn
• Arcadis

Dr. Frank Gonzalez is a culture and talent leader known for turning people strategy into business strategy. With over 20 years of cross-industry leadership, he has shaped large-scale learning ecosystems, redesigned organizational culture, and delivered thousands of learning experiences worldwide. 
A Chief Culture Officer, and deeply human-centered leader, Frank blends data, empathy, and design to build organizations where people and performance grow together.

Ross and Dr Frank talk about 4 day work week, nurturing your time, caring about people, human behaviour, what push and pulls us, building capability, cultural architecture, leadership, how you show up, guiding words, fun building, coaching with fun, aligning, one word for a business, framing, feeling words, filtering decisions, mindset, fears,  C.A.R. & C.A.B. - Competency Autonomy Relationships/ Belonging. The pair also discuss resistance to change, routine seeking, trust in organisations, simplification, AQ before  AI, pre-hiring, thought leadership, capability building, behavioural models,  friction between functions, bicultural, human connection,  people being left behind, efficiency , ethics, influences, AI workflows, AI assistance, clapping & enthusiasm, coaching youngsters, workshops and energy.

Timecodes:

• 00:18 Intro to Dr Frank 
• 02:43 The definition of love
• 05:03 Frank's new role
• 09:53 Culture anchors
• 17:14 Adapting to ensure relevance
• 27:34 Merging humans and AI
• 34:43 Different operating systems collaborating
• 39:51 Healthcare and humanoid robots
• 47:18 Exciting things Dr Frank is currently working on
• 48:22 AI simplifier - www.ai-simplifier.com
• 49:34 The last time Dr Frank did something for the first time 

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Dr Frank

• LinkedIn
• TikTok
• Instagram

Anthony Kenneth Spark is a life and business strategist known for helping people break financial ceilings, rewrite limiting beliefs, and build a life aligned with their God-given purpose. 

With nearly two decades of coaching individuals and families toward financial independence and personal transformation, he blends values, discipline, and proven earning strategies to create real, lasting change.

Ross and Anthony talk about working young, working long hours, chance meetings, entrepreneurship, retiring young, finding what's important, coaching, overcoming limiting beliefs, evolving, ethics, being authentic, honesty, integrity,  fighting for people, prisoners of lifestyle, financial prisoners and positions of strength. The pair also talk about flexibility, identity, off-boarding, nothing to gain, limiting beliefs, relationship with money, vision, accountability, family first, priorities, mechanisms for timekeeping, being selective, efficiency, Book - The Middle Passage, purpose, relentless intentionality, Tony Robins, Joe Polish, Building environments for optimal performance, compassion, no limitations, challenging yourself, mindset, fear and singular focus. 

Book mentioned in podcast:
James Hollis - The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife

Timecodes:

• 00:15 Intro to Anthony
• 01:47 Anthony's shift to finding purpose
• 07:07 Compassionate capitalism
• 13:12 Testing ethics and difficult circumstances
• 24:12 What is Anthony passionate about
• 27:47 Day to day and managing schedules
• 35:32 The last time Anthony did something for the first time

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Anthony:

• LinkedIn
• Spark a Change Coaching
• Tel - 6313272241

Hannah Shelton is a global people operations and learning-development leader, expert at turning disengagement into driving force. With deep experience shaping talent strategy, employee experience, and organizational learning for multinational firms, she influences how companies design workforces that learn, adapt, and thrive.

Ross and Hannah talk about thirst for curiosity, negotiating, everyday approaches, thinking differently, approaching things differently, personal transformation, The Strengths Profile, better appreciation, leadership, curiosity, doubt, potential, judgment, value, change management, elevating, personalised knowledge scaling, coaching, supporting the community, building trust, learning from other people, new phases, self service, learning, adaptability, the future of work, variety, engagement, redundancy, advocacy, DIY and Chat GPT.

Timecodes:

• 00:17 Intro to Hannah 
• 01:05 Chris Voss
• 03:30 Learning and self development
• 06:26 Triggers to evolving and leadership
• 10:43 How Hannah designs and adapts programmes
• 14:39 What's exciting Hannah at the moment with dentsu
• 19:38 Transformation and developing in real time 
• 22:33 Next years plan for Hannah
• 25:16 Supporting agents with AI and evolution
• 29:18 Coaching when data is uncertain
• 34:20 Challenging people and management
• 37:57 Upcoming challenges
• 42:01 Sustainability
• 44:21 The last time Hannah did something for the first time

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Hannah

• LinkedIn

Louise has two and a half decades of experience across the HR, coaching, consulting and training space. A deeply passionate person, Louise loves helping global leaders navigate career transitions, role reinvention, and agile workforce mobility. In her happy place when empowering professionals to imagine, align, believe and create next-chapter careers.

Her skills involve Confidence | Empathy | Adaptability | Active Listening | Authenticity | Audience Research | Storytelling

Ross and Louise talk about HR, training, career transitions, playing in a orchestra, great experiences, music, choirs, change, executive change, strong foundations, hiring, brand new roles, creating new teams, positive change, good people practices, new programmes, growth, economy, helping people individually, AI layoffs, jobs no longer existing, big shifts, letting go and acceptance. The pair also discuss helping people career change, severance pay, offboarding, upskilling, reskilling,  taking our own responsibility, contracts, values, standards,  complete change in career, transformations, human elements, putting people first, making people feel better, imagination economy, identity change, collaborations, identity crisis, having value, youth unemployment, gamifying change, unlearning and hope.

Timecodes: 

• 00:18 Intro to Louise
• 01:21 Being a backing violinist for Lisa Stansfield
• 04:37 Louise's typical clients
• 06:24 Support Louise received during her own company transitions
• 10:57 Significant moments during emigrating
• 15:21 How Louise adapts and navigates  
• 17:08 Tips for employers laying off people due to AI
• 19:46 The worst way organisations lay people of and how to avoid
• 23:04 Help for people who have be sacked
• 27:34 The main problem Louise is trying to solve in companies
• 32:43 Louie's phrase and framework - Imagine, Align, Believe Create
• 38:14 A picture of Louise's best year going forward to 2026
• 42:11 Ideal candidates to collaborate with Louise
• 43:44 Volunteering
• 48:40 The last time Louise did something for the first time

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Louise:

• Linkedin
• CareerMovers
• Email -  [email protected]

International Keynote | Restorative-Justice, D&I Speaker | TEDx Storyteller | Ex-Microsoft

Shelley Winner’s life is proof that second chances create world-class talent. Today she leads Winner’s Circle, a movement equipping justice-impacted people with the skills, mindset, and job placements they need to build thriving careers—while convincing employers that fair-chance hiring is a competitive advantage.

Her mission is threefold:

1. Empower with career-focused training and mindset coaching
2. Bridge the gap between talent and companies willing to invest in second chances
3. Shift the narrative around fair chance hiring and drive systemic policy change

During her eight-year tenure at Microsoft, Shelley excelled in B2B sales, earning top honours  in performance and demonstrating what’s possible when companies bet on potential over the past.
Shelley’s powerful message has resonated with audiences across sectors, challenging leaders to move beyond token opportunities and build truly inclusive workplaces. Her work continues to inspire change, helping employers transform hiring mindsets and justice-impacted individuals transform their futures.

Ross and Shelley talk about prison, incarceration, rehab, interviews, mastering sales, rewiring, rethinking, success, sales reps, teaching, mindset, turning your life around, prison programmes, fear, forgiveness, outside comfort zone, turning life around, mistakes, digital programmes, personal development, the law off attraction and attracting opportunities. The pair also discuss operating at a higher frequency, energy changing, getting into tech, job readiness programmes, criminal records, proof of rehabilitation, hitting walls, sense of hopelessness, shame, society, trust, new laws, hard interviews, fair chance employment, gratitude, work ethic, loyalty, company policies, scaling, manifesting, doing important work and improv classes improving confidence.

Timecodes:

• 00:16 Intro to Shelley
• 01:19 Shelley's 'Winner's Circle' Rehabilitation 
• 04:40 Becoming 'categorically whole'
• 10:17 How rare is recovery and rehab from prison
• 12:27 Differences in prisons and some being unique
• 14:58 From prison to Microsoft
• 19:36 Background checks
• 26:11 Having job offers rescinded
• 27:05 Fighting back discrimination & battling Microsoft
• 35:02 Winning a case and manifestation
• 39:15 How can companies unlock their potential
• 45:36 Legacy mindset
• 46:46 Ways to get involved with 'Winners Circle'
• 50:12 What would make it Shelley's best year ever
• 54:50 The last time Shelley did something for the first time

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Shelley:

• LinkedIn
• Website
• Website 2
• Email - [email protected]
• Facebook
• Instagram

Jason Desentz - Chief Human Resources Officer @ Toshiba | Human Capital Advisor | Keynote Speaker

Jason has honed his craft turning under-dog divisions into high-performance powerhouses. From towing-tech at Horizon Global to private-equity turnarounds at Glacier Advisory Partners. Today, as CHRO of Toshiba’s North-American operations, he’s steering a century-old brand through AI-driven transformation while championing people-first growth. An analytical coach at heart, Jason brings board-level rigor and shop-floor empathy to every culture he rebuilds.

Ross, Mike and Jason talk about guidance, not being alone, everyone is figuring things out, challenges with tech, de-centralisation, auditing, compliance, consultancy, influencing people, building trust, understanding, asking key questions, buying in, pulling solutions from people, un-programming, taking care of employees, leading by example, practice what you preach, employment loyalty changing, pivoting core values, shifting values, building strong connections, incentive programmes, creating value and building purpose. The pair also discuss how we are perceived, support, enabling mistakes, rewards, jobs being offset, shifting  learning, readying mindset, dealing with ambiguity, project management skill sets, agility, AI capabilities, curriculum building, learning environments, success, never stop moving forward, pro active teams, safe spaces to work, building trust, influencing people, curiosity, supporting youngsters and don't sweat the small stuff.

Timecodes:

• 00:22 Introducing Jason
• 01:08 Intro to Mike
• 01:40 The upcoming Oasis concert
• 03:18 UNLEASH (HR leaders) conference
• 05:58 Things which have startled Jason this year
• 07:35 Jason's 'Listen, Learn & Lead'
• 13:03 Jason's thoughts on Unlearning
• 16:34 Unlearning against your values and challenges
• 20:02 How Jason is preparing the new generation
• 23:32 Mentoring and coaching
• 27:46 Humanoid robots and replacement
• 31:25 Jason's Toshiba University's impact and human skills
• 34:10 Getting access to Jason's university
• 37:38 What would make this Jason's best year ever
• 41:46 Jason's top three fixes (reaffirming values)
• 44:57 Challenges with buying in and ROI's
• 47:31 The last time Jason did something for the first time
• 49:08 Mike's closing thoughts
• 50:14 Jason's final advice

Connect with Jason:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation 

Connect with Mike:

• LinkedIn

From the mailroom boy who kept replacing himself with machines, who was the ex-president of adidas Canada, and terms leading roles at scotiabank, and learning the art of diplomacy with 4 years at KPMG. Alim Dhanji is a globally recognized HR leader with over 25 years of experience driving transformation across Fortune 100 companies. Now Alim finds himself as the CHRO at TD SYNNEX, an IT ecosystem powerhouse with 24,000 team members. He shapes high-performance, and inclusive cultures that fuel innovation and growth. 
A Harvard Business School alum and board advisor, Alim brings a strategic, people-first lens to global business leadership.

Ross and Alim talk about optimism, investments compared to cost, purpose, scaling up, preference shifts, accelerating talent, future of work, crisis, rejuvenation, CHRO's, human resources, human inability to adapt, HR becoming CEO's, leadership, transformation, risk tolerance and upskilling. The pair also discuss sacrifice, psychological safety, being vulnerable, confidence, being open, Imposter syndrome, diplomacy, influencing people to support you, servient leadership, custodian's, redesign of work, AI disrupting jobs, learning to learn, AI inspiring people, curiosity, embracing fear and growth. 

Timecodes:

• 00:15 Into to Alim
• 01:26 Surprises from recent leadership event
• 02:50 Investing in people and the pay off
• 04:57 Balancing whitespace with over planning
• 07:01 Key themes Alim is focusing on for leadership
• 08:36 Leadership challenges
• 10:30 Practical ways to help leadership initiatives
• 14:38 Blending IT and people through tech education
• 16:19 Evolution drivers
• 18:49 Pressure bringing opportunites
• 21:59 Diverse networks, adaptability skills and role diversity
• 23:18 AQai's Model - Ability, Character and Environment
• 24:48 Unpresidented role changes
• 28:32 What would make 2025 the best year ever
• 32:03 Preparation for exhaustion
• 34:44:12 Investing in learning and growth mindset
• 36:36 Earn, Learn and Serve
• 37:41 When Alim interviews for jobs
• 41:27 The last time Alim did something from the first time
• 45:02 Final thoughts

Connect with Alim:

• LinkedIn

Connect with Ross:

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Moonshot Innovation