I am so pleased to welcome Orian Mendes a business development manager with a vast experience of evolving businesses in Europe and Africa. Orian has worked in engineering, publishing and the clothing industry. We talk about what makes a business grow, how businesses evolve to match market need and the continual pushing and pulling of demand in the ever-changing business landscape. We contrast this market matching approach between socialist and capitalist systems and look at the demands on the planning system in a socialist market, that are simply taken care of by price in a capitalist system. We consider the customer experience and the feedback that organisations receive as they evolve, how a business can set itself apart from its rivals and how a business can find its purpose. We also talk about the community viewpoint, something that is very often considered in Africa, solving a problem together as a community, known as ubuntu.

I am delighted to welcome Ani Magill as my guest. Ani has provided inspirational leadership as CEO of a growing Multi Academy Trust, and in her previous roles as head teacher and “super head",  turning around failing schools.

Ani's journey as a transformational leader in education illuminates invaluable lessons for CEOs and aspiring leaders across sectors. Through her unwavering commitment to clear messaging, accountability, and servant leadership, Ani has orchestrated tangible and lasting change within the educational landscape. Her steadfast dedication to prioritising the needs of educators and students alike has fostered a culture of excellence and innovation, driving positive outcomes throughout the organisation.

Today we look at the important topic of Systems Thinking. Is it useful for most problems and why? What does systems thinking do to help us move complex project forward? Hope does it help us manage risks and opportunities? 

In the UK the Post Office is being investigated after the system that it introduced to 18,000 branches in the 1990s was found to be faulty and did not report the correct figures. Between 1999 and 2015 the Post Office prosecuted 700 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses. Another 283 cases were brought by other bodies including the Crown Prosecution Service. Most, probably all of those people are innocent of all charges. This system destroyed the lives of the post office staff and their families. It led to people giving the Post Office their life savings to correct discrepancies that were not real.

How is it possible that a £1bn system could have so many faults? Why did it take 25 years before the innocent people were believed? What type of toxic culture does it for this to happen and how do you change toxic cultures?

I am very happy to welcome Professor Mike Bourne, who is well known to anyone in the field of Business Performance and Governance within the UK. Mike is based at Cranfield University and is Director of the Project Leadership Profession Programme (PLP). 
 
 Mike shares insights into his journey in the metrication of organisations, exploring the challenges and opportunities that come with designing and implementing performance measurement systems.
 
 In the episode we talk about the importance of trust and respect in project governance, and how a well-thought-out approach to metrics is crucial for successful outcomes. 
 
 Mike sheds a great deal of light on the dark art of managing projects, the impact of metrics on behaviour, and the need for a nuanced approach in diverse sectors, from infrastructure to government initiatives. 
 

I had a really interesting conversation with Sophie Jackson, a seasoned systems thinker with a biology background, bringing profound insights into the world of strategic thinking and organisational change. 
 
 We also talk about:
 
 Challenges of Strategic Thinking: The common struggle with strategic thinking, identifying biases and evolutionary traits that hinder our ability to focus on long-term goals.
 
 Real-Life Example of Systems Thinking: Learn how implementing a systematic approach, including a calendar system, transformed a time-dependent work scenario, optimising core hours and reducing overtime.
 
 Comfort, Fear, and Decision-Making: Now this was a big one! Exploring the discomfort associated with strategic thinking, rooted in our inclination toward comfort and fear of the unknown!!
 
 Importance of Self-Discovery: Uncover the power of continuous self-discovery using tools and understanding oneself proves instrumental in making informed decisions and enhancing strategic thinking.
 
 -Daily Practices for Clarity: Gain practical insights into daily, weekly, and monthly practices that centre around asking the fundamental questions: "What is the point? What am I trying to achieve?" These practices contribute to improved focus and resilience.

Happy New Year. 

In this episode I will look back on how some of the interviews from 2023 fit within the context of Systems Thinking. We will particularly look at learning journeys and how we can use good systems approaches to change people, and therefore change organisations. 

I will also look forward to 2024, to my discussion with Professor Mike Bourne about applying organisational metrication well, and to my talk with Sophie Jackson about what holds people back from making great decisions.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you. For the last episode of the year, I am exploring a timeless classic – A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. What does this have to do with Evolving Enterprises? Well making changes involves changing people. It is really worth considering how was the transformation of Scrooge so effective, and so quickly executed. Can we learn and apply a little bit of this approach to help encourage our stakeholders to make changes for the better, whether or not they are miserable old skinflints!

Next week I will be taking a break with my family. I will return on the 2nd January to look back at some of the key things we have covered in the 2023 podcast series. And I will also look forward to the amazing line up of podcasts for 2024. I hope you will be able to join me.

Georgina is one of the most passionate and empowered people I have met. Georgina shares the story of the beginnings of her journey towards becoming CEO of BUD Leaders. Georgina began by understanding the people and the market place that BUD would one day work in. Based on this immense knowledge of the marketplace, Georgina found her passion for inspiring and enhancing leadership. Georgina has built an incredible company, one dedicated to growing leaders. Georgina talks about how proud she is of her team in being able to do this. Georgina confesses that “I'm not an easy CEO to work with … I really see the potential in people and I continuously try to pull out that greatness that's in them.” Georgina works in a fast-paced organisation and yet she encourages her team and her stakeholders to learn with laughter.

Georgina talks about trusting the process of systems thinking to deal with holistic and challenging problems, she says “It will feel scary and we will need to become comfortable feeling uncomfortable”. Georgina aims to encourage companies to change in a way that is self-sustaining. To do this we all need holistic, transformational change. This takes time. BUD aims to gets an organisation to a point of being able to self-sustain a change and this only comes as a result of a holistic transformation.

We talked about one of the biggest challenges that Georgina is inspiring - creating more equity in finance by putting more wealth into black and brown led organisations. Challenge X2 2030 aims to double the revenue of 2030 black leaders by 2030 through BUD’s partners. This amazing transformation will empower more black leaders and lead many more people to have opportunities to change the world.

Today I am immensely pleased to introduce Ruby Lyon a famous actress on stage and the small screen. Ruby was a core cast member of the popular New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, playing the role of Ashley Whitley.

Moving organisations forward involves changing people’s view of a situation. This is exactly what an actor does – during a performance the actor engages us and we journey with them through a play or a production. We all have to win people over, we all have to present and pitch for things, and so we all need a bit of the craft of an actor.

Ruby talks about how to engaging an audience through a camera and in a theatre - speaking directly to one person is important and getting the audience to see you as a person. Confidence is so essential in building that relationship with an audience. Ruby talks about how to ensure that the audience feel that they can trust you and how important preparation is. Whether we present something that is well scripted, or we ad lib at bit, having material that we have rehearsed to fall back on is essential to maintaining confidence. Confidence is one of the most important ingredients for success. Ruby talks about the balance between craft and truth. At any moment we need to be fully engaged in the part we are playing, but also we need to develop awareness of how we are perceived by the audience or the camera. Maintaining that awareness will help us to deliver the best presentation possible.

If we can present well then we can encourage others to work with us and learn from us. This learning is a vital part of the holistic approach to enhancing organisations.

Systems thinking and holistic approaches will help us find what could be done to improve an organisation. Encouraging stakeholders to activate an improvement plan is done through learning journeys, and these are only possible if we can engage our audience – a company board or a group of key stakeholders.