Inspirational Insights to Action Podcast

You hear a lot about autism today. Seen through a pathological lens, autism is a brain disorder. Seen as a specialized form of intelligence, it is a huge pool of untapped talent for companies seeking talent particularly in the IT sector. SAP, Microsoft have launched programs to fill all kinds of roles including software testing, data analysis, quality assurance to IT project management, graphic design, finance administration and human resources. Most of Silicon Valley is on the autistic spectrum. Neuro-diversity adds to the workplace extraordinary ability in pattern recognition, attention to detail, sequencing and logic and, by adding training and support, the required social and communication skills.But you don’t have to be a big company to benefit from this pool of intelligence.

In this episode Carol Simpson, CEO of Focus Professional Services explains why adding neuro-diversity makes your workplace better in terms of communication and productivity outcomes while being socially responsible . Focus provides software testing and data quality services to organizations in the Vancouver, Canada area.

The solution that Carol’s company offers is one that recognizes the unique advantage of neuro-specialized intelligence. Carol’s company hires and trains people on the autistic spectrum, provides training, and then delivers software development services to companies ready to up their performance through adding diversity.

You’ll hear:

• A story of one person on the spectrum who’d been ‘failed’ by many workplaces, who finally found one where he was accepted and could contribute (after training).
• Why communication in the workplace dramatically improves thanks to the presence of neuro-specialized individuals on the team who don’t need social approval.
• The personal reason why Carol started Focus Point Pro and what she’s learned from her sons.
• How neuro-specialized individuals benefit client outcomes plus how a sense of contribution and belonging benefits the social and resilience skills of Focus employees.
• How Carol finds overlooked talent.
• About the adjustments team members make to fit into the workplace and what clients learn through the process of adding neuro-specialized individuals to their teams
• How Carol deals with unconscious bias, fear of diversity/difference when marketing
• Tips for employers who claim they can’t find talent?
• Tips for neuro-specialized individuals who have experienced discrimination or abuse in the workplace by insensitive management or co-workers?
• A personal story about a high school teacher’s advice to her autistic son and what happened afterward.

To find out more about Carol Simpson’s company go to her website and watch the video featuring staff and clients): http://focusps.ca 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/focusprofessionalservices/ 

Twitter @focus_ps

Connect to Focus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/6399887

Intro music provided by Mark Romero Music.

Host Dawna Jones provides insights to decision-makers ready to take bold steps forward.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/insight-to-action-inspirational-insights-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Carol Simpson, CEO of Focus Professional Services explains why adding neuro-diversity makes your workplace better in terms of communication and productivity outcomes while being socially responsible . Focus provides software testing and data quality services to organizations in the Vancouver, Canada area.

The solution that Carol’s company offers is one that recognizes the unique advantage of neuro-specialized intelligence. Carol’s company hires and trains people on the autistic spectrum, provides training, and then delivers software development services to companies ready to up their performance through adding diversity.

You’ll hear:

• A story of one person on the spectrum who’d been ‘failed’ by many workplaces, who finally found one where he was accepted and could contribute (after training).
• Why communication in the workplace dramatically improves thanks to the presence of neuro-specialized individuals on the team who don’t need social approval.
• The personal reason why Carol started Focus Point Pro and what she’s learned from her sons.
• How neuro-specialized individuals benefit client outcomes plus how a sense of contribution and belonging benefits the social and resilience skills of Focus employees.
• How Carol finds overlooked talent.
• About the adjustments team members make to fit into the workplace and what clients learn through the process of adding neuro-specialized individuals to their teams
• How Carol deals with unconscious bias, fear of diversity/difference when marketing
• Tips for employers who claim they can’t find talent?
• Tips for neuro-specialized individuals who have experienced discrimination or abuse in the workplace by insensitive management or co-workers?

• A personal story about a high school teacher’s advice to her autistic son and what happened afterward.

To find out more about Carol Simpson’s company go to her website and watch the video featuring staff and clients): http://focusps.ca 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/focusprofessionalservices/ 

Twitter @focus_ps

Connect to Focus on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/6399887

This episode features the music of business innovation/Academy of Rock wizard Peter Cook. You'll find more of his music and his business cross over work at https://academy-of-rock.bandcamp.com/

Nearsoft is a software development company with a distinct advantage in attracting and retaining talented developers. In 2007 it all started with 8 staff that is now 240 and growing world-wide. Co-founder Matt Perez is viewed as a pioneer in workplace innovation by my colleague Doug Kirkpatrick and in this interview you'll find out why. 

We talk about:

• How the company began - the inspiration for starting up as a self-managed company
• How staff initiated leadership teams function as a dynamic hierarchy
• The role of transparency in replacing assumptions with real information and in reinforcing fairness
• Why there's more structure in self-managed companies than where power is centralized
• The inspiration and benefits to a healthy workplace environment
• The connection between playfulness and creativity
• How to scale freedom to contribute
• How decisions are made in an intentional and structured way

Matt credits the role of Ricardo Semler's book The 7-day Work Week and mentions participation in WorldBlu for freedom-centric companies. At the end, uou'll receive an offer you can't refuse from Matt who is committed and serious about helping other companies both make the transition to workplaces that work for people (including clients). Learn more at www.nearsoft.com 

Much thanks to Doug Kirkpatrick for continuing to steer me to companies leading the way in future workplace design happening today. 

Intro music is provided by Mark Romero Music.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/insight-to-action-inspirational-insights-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about:

• How the company began - the inspiration for starting up as a self-managed company
• How staff initiated leadership teams function as a dynamic hierarchy
• The role of transparency in replacing assumptions with real information and in reinforcing fairness
• Why there's more structure in self-managed companies than where power is centralized
• The inspiration and benefits to a healthy workplace environment
• The connection between playfulness and creativity
• How to scale freedom to contribute
• How decisions are made in an intentional and structured way

Matt credits the role of Ricardo Semler's book The 7-day Work Week and mentions participation in WorldBlu for freedom-centric companies. At the end, uou'll receive an offer you can't refuse from Matt who is committed and serious about helping other companies both make the transition to workplaces that work for people (including clients). Learn more at www.nearsoft.com 

The episode closes with a track provided by business innovation maestro Peter Cook. You'll find more of his music and his business cross over work at https://academy-of-rock.bandcamp.com/

Much thanks to Doug Kirkpatrick for continuing to steer me to companies leading the way in future workplace design happening today.

Companies that mimic life are an emerging genre that operate on radically different principles than traditionally managed companies. The leading exemplars share four distinctive advantages over traditionally managed firms.

They are:

1. More adaptive
2. More profitable,
3. More sustainable,
4. Longer lived.

As clear profit leaders in their global industries, all receive top grades for sustainability and ethical leadership from independent resources. In addition, their average and median ages exceed a century. What is it that these companies do differently? None are tech firms. The research index Joseph Bragdon assembled in 1996 includes companies that are in sectors known for being eco-and social risk laden.

In this episode, we talk about what Jay's research reveals about companies that see themselves as part of the living system that supports all life on the planet and why these companies lead a return to better business. For more information see www.lampindex.com For the book head over to Amazon. Companies That Mimic Life: Leaders of the Emerging Corporate Renaissance.

Intro music is courtesy of Mark Romero: www.markromeromusic.com Track is called Alignment. Mark's music has been verified by a physicist to restore balance and harmony (coherence) to your physical state. 

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/insight-to-action-inspirational-insights-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They are:

1. More adaptive
2. More profitable,
3. More sustainable,
4. Longer lived.

As clear profit leaders in their global industries, all receive top grades for sustainability and ethical leadership from independent resources. In addition, their average and median ages exceed a century.  What is it that these companies do differently? None are tech firms. T

he research index Joseph Bragdon assembled in 1996 includes companies that are in sectors known for being eco-and social risk laden. In this episode, we talk about what Jay's research reveals about companies that see themselves as part of the living system that supports all life on the planet and why these companies lead a return to better business. For more information see www.lampindex.com For the book head over to Amazon. Companies That Mimic Life

The episode ends with a track courtesy of Mark Romero: www.markromeromusic.com Track is called Alignment. Mark's music has been verified by a physicist to restore balance and harmony (coherence) to your physical state.

When you swipe your card at your local coffee shop it takes 3-5 business days for the transaction to take place. Will blockchain change that? Blockchain tech refers to mutually distributed ledgers that underpins cryto-currencies like Bitcoin. 

Michael Mainelli started designing shared distributed ledgers 20 years ago . He’s a leading thinker in fintech and Emeritus Professor of Commerce at Gresham College, London. He is also the co-founder and Chairman of Z/Yen, the City of London’s leading commercial think-tank established in 1994 to promote societal advance through better finance and technology. 

In this episode you'll learn:

• What blockchain is and isn't and what it means to you.
• How blockchain will impact you and other possible applications. 
• How disruptive will blockchain tech be and how are financial institutions responding.
• What applications are emerging out of mutual distributed ledgers.
• Will blockchain change the transaction fees charged by banks? 
• What difference will blockchain make to the 2.5 million people who don't have official identity?
• How blockchain tech can be a force for good. 

BLOCKCHAIN DEFINED A mutual distributed ledger – more simply referred to as a blockchain is a computer data structure with the following capabilities: n Mutual – blockchains are shared across organizations, owned equally by all and dominated by no-one; n Distributed – blockchains are inherently multi-locational data structures and any user can keep his or her own copy, thus providing resilience and robustness; n Ledger – blockchains are immutable, once a transaction is written it cannot be erased and, along with multiple copies, this means that the ledger’s integrity can easily be proven. Another way to think of blockchains is as permanent time-stamping engines for computer records. Timestamps can be used to prove that data elements were entered at or before a certain time and have not been altered. - M. Mainelli from www.longfinance.net 

To learn more about the movement toward long term economics go to www.longfinance.net

Host Dawna Jones also interviewed Bernard Lietaer on complementary currencies as a way to stablize the monetary system. How about Reinventing it... on the Evolutionary Provocateur on iTunes. 

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/insight-to-action-inspirational-insights-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liz Alexander is a futurist with a mission to help people be in charge of change through realizing their potential. Similarly companies gain the edge when they become future smart rather than feeling like victims of changing market conditions or circumstances outside of their control.

Liz and Dawna talk about how you can prepare for the future when nothing is predictable and everything is complex. You'll hear about whether robotics is really a threat to jobs, why Japan is ahead of the game, the relevance of history to how trends develop, the value of rethinking self-imposed rules on about how the world works. Liz shares the story of an outlier who understood more than the experts in treating polio and why experts make mistakes. She poses the question: Should the C-suite be automated?

You will find more about Liz at LeadingThought.us.com. For her thought leadership book mentorship go to DrLizAlexander.com

intro music is courtesy of Mark Romero: www.markromeromusic.com Track is called Alignment. Mark's music has been verified by a physicist to restore balance and harmony (coherence) to your physical state. 

Host Dawna Jones provides decision-making insights to support personal to global change. Find her at FromInsighttoAction.com or on Twitter: EPDawna_Jones

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/insight-to-action-inspirational-insights-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Ervin Laszlo and Dawna talk about the evolution of human consciousness and business.

Humanity has arrived at what science terms a bifurcation- a radical change in the trajectory of a system. Linear evolution is at a transition point: collapse or transform into a holistic view consistent with the laws of complex systems. They discuss:

• Supercoherence: the state where personal coherence internally (heart and mind) is in a harmonic state with the outer world. 
• Reconnection to the wider system so that the intelligence that holds things together vibrationally is fully appreciated. 
• The new reality and map of consciousness. 
• Will we collectively take the path of transformation rather than that of extinction?

Dr.Ervin Laszlo is generally recognized as the founder of systems philosophy and general evolution theory. His work in recent years has centered on the formulation and development of the new conception of cosmos, life and consciousness emerging at the forefront of the contemporary sciences. 

Intro music is courtesy of Mark Romero: www.markromeromusic.com Track is called Alignment. Mark's music has been verified by a physicist to restore balance and harmony (coherence) to your physical state.  

Host Dawna Jones believes that humanity can be better in the world and that the ultimate calling is to expand consciousness and compassion to all life. She also believes that business can lead the way to restoring and regenerating ecological systems civilization relies on but has taken for granted.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/insight-to-action-inspirational-insights-podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.