The Remarkable Project

A short episode to give our listeners an update as why we paused on the podcast and what our plans are moving forward with The Remarkable Project. 

• What have we been working on?
• When are we coming back?
• How can you help?

If you have ANY feedback for us on what content you would like to hear or how we could better serve you, please email us at [email protected].

Learn more about Convoy Collective here. 

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with operations software and outsourcing company PartnerHero’s founder and CEO, Shervin Talieh, about why businesses should be thinking of themselves as a conduit to serve employees along their journey, how trust can transcend physical and cultural borders, and the benefits of approaching sales as a process of mutual discovery.

Shervin Talieh is the founder and CEO of PartnerHero, an operations software and outsourcing company focused on new economy businesses. After seeing how outsourcing was essentially “a race to the bottom” during his time at technology startups and large consultancies, Shervin set out to build something different and focus on the humans at the centre of operations and outsourcing. His approach of “culture leads, success follows” allows PartnerHero to hire exceptional talent from around the world, and attract companies who are looking for more than inexpensive labour.

Prior to PartnerHero, Shervin was the co-founder of Drumbi, a technology startup focused on orchestrating voice and data for new and innovative customer experience applications, and before that was a Partner at Accenture’s Los Angeles office. At Accenture, his responsibilities included developing and implementing the regional go-to-market plans for the Strategy Consulting, Technology, and Outsourcing service lines, and he also acted as a personal advisor to a select number of CXOs.

Shervin is married with four children and two dogs. He volunteers at Life’s Kitchen, where he gets to work with young people who are eager to learn skills that will help them with life. 

REMARKABLE TAKEAWAYS

•  Why businesses should be thinking of themselves as a conduit to serve employees along their journey, not the other way around.
• How trust can transcend physical and cultural borders, and what that means for how humans interact, both physically and digitally.
• The benefits of approaching sales as a process of mutual discovery, when it comes to successfully matching both capabilities and core values.

CONNECT WITH SHERVIN

Find him on LinkedIn

Learn more about PartnerHero via their website

• Why self-awareness and owning your mistakes is so important in enabling you to keep moving forward, in business and life in general.
• How the concept of “Kinder Capitalism” feeds into thinking around what an ideal world looks like, and how organisations can help get us closer to it when governments can’t or won’t.
• The data that shows companies with deeper 

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with Rob Sinclair, CEO of Australian kitchen, bathroom and laundry appliance kings, e&s, about why a willingness to go ‘human first’ can prove a core pillar of competitive advantage, how doing whatever it takes to put the customer in a winning position pays off, and the importance of being close to the customer coal-face when it comes to making effective decisions.

Rob Sinclair is the CEO and business owner at E&S, a family-owned business started by his father Bob Sinclair and his two brothers in 1962.

From a small discount store in the Melbourne suburb of Ashburton, that sold everything from travel goods to furniture and even guns, e&s has grown and transformed, eventually becoming what it is today – a name synonymous with selling kitchen, bathroom, and laundry appliances across nine Melbourne metropolitan stores.

Having grown up around the business, Rob’s experience with suppliers, brands and products have made him an expert in the field of kitchen, bathroom, and laundry appliances. While still at school he worked on weekends and during school holidays in the e&s warehouse and, as he got older, in the Ashburton store, meeting and helping customers with their purchases.

Rob always had a passion to work with his father and to build up the e&s business, so 30 years ago joined it full time with a staff of 12. Over the years many things have changed, including growth to nine stores and over 300 people across the company.

Remarkable Takeaways

• Why even in today’s highly digitised marketplaces, the ability to build real human relationships with real human beings can prove a core pillar of competitive advantage.
• How the flow on effect of always doing whatever it takes to put the customer in a winning position, is what not just more referrals but an empowered company culture.
• The importance of being really in touch with what’s happening on the customer coal face when it comes to making decisions which are both quick and deeply informed.

Connect with Rob

Email him on [email protected] or even text him on 0409 700805!

Find him on Linkedin

Learn more about e&s and what they do different via their website 

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with Jack DeLosa, Founder of Australia’s Largest Business Coaching and Training Company – The Entourage about the experience of the modern day entrepreneur and how their role shouldn’t be to market, sell and deliver a product or service, it should be to build a business that can do all those things without being dependent on your operational involvement. We also discuss how COVID has forced us to pay more attention to our inner state of being and fulfilment and focus on the areas that matter. 

Jack Delosa builds businesses. He is the founder of Australia's largest business coaching and training provider, The Entourage, which has a community of over 550,000 members. Since 2010, The Entourage has helped their members add over $2 billion in value to their businesses. Under his leadership, The Entourage has been awarded the 4th Best Place To Work In Australia, and Top 50 Australiasia, by AFR's Best Places To Work.

Prior to The Entourage, Jack co-founded MBE Group, which helped small to medium sized businesses raise money from investors. MBE enabled their clients to raise over $300 million from investors and would go on to become one of Australia's fastest growing companies. 

Along the way, Jack became an investor, investing into companies spanning biotechnology, luxury real estate, finance, ecommerce, food retail, recruitment and even aviation, including one company that become what's known in Silicon Valley as a "unicorn" – a business that goes from $0 to $1 billion within ten years.

In recognition of being one of the country's top entrepreneurs and investors, Jack has been listed in the AFR Young Rich List five times

Jack's first book, UnProfessional, was highly acclaimed, reaching best-seller status within three weeks of launching. His latest book, Unwritten, outlines the unconventional wisdom he's become known for, to living a life on purpose and making the world a better place. Unwritten became Australia's best-selling business book in one week.

Remarkable Takeaways

• The role of an entrepreneur shouldn’t be to market, sell and deliver a product or service, it should be to build a business that can do all those things without being dependent on your operational involvement
• Pay more attention to your inner state of being and fulfilment and operate from that place.
•  Being driven by negatives and trauma means the process is empty even when you reach your goal – if you can make the journey driven by joy, purpose and inspiration, your time is better spent and you do a better job.
• Empathy map – how does your customer feel at every touchpoint of your customer journey.  Address the emotions they’re feeling with relevant examples.

Connect with Jack

Follow him on Instagram

Explore and join The Entourage

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with Sendle chief James Chin Moody, about why asking customers how disappointed they’d be if your product or service disappeared can be so telling, how partnerships are where stakeholder capitalism can really come into its own, and Sendle’s five virtues-based H’s and their impact on the business. 

James Chin Moody is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sendle, Australia's first 100% carbon neutral courier service, specifically designed for small businesses in the eCommerce space and the country’s first technology B Corp.

Sendle has levelled the playing field for small businesses by offering affordable, flat-rate shipping for less than standard parcel post with no hidden fees, lock-in contracts, or minimums required. They pick up parcels from front doors Australia-wide, with the benefits of free tracking, affordable international rates, and sustainable shipping.

 James has previously held roles as Executive Director, Development at the CSIRO, Australian National Commissioner for UNESCO, member of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Advisory Board and Trustee for the Australian Museum.

He is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software and Society, holds a PhD in innovation theory from the Australian National University, and was Chief Systems Engineer for the Australian Satellite FedSat – the first Australian satellite to be launched in 30 years. 

The book ‘The Sixth Wave: How to Succeed in a Resource-Limited World’ saw him take on the role of co-author.

Three Remarkable Takeaways

Why you’ll know if you’re solving a painful problem successfully by asking how disappointed customers would be if your product or service disappeared.

How common value created through partnerships is where stakeholder capitalism can really come into its own. 

The five virtues-based H’s of Sendle and how they show up an within the business as part of a journey, not a destination.

Connect with James

Find him on Linkedin
Learn more about Sendle and their story on their website
Purchase The Sixth Wave here

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with customer care and support  expert, Sarah Hatter, about why the best communities give members a voice, how listening, caring and acting are key to driving repeat business, and the reason replicating the CX of a brand you admire may well miss the mark for your organisation.

Sarah Hatter is the founder of CoSupport, a customer experience coaching and consulting firm founded in 2011. She wrote ‘The Customer Support Handbook’ back in 2014, and has since travelled the world training CX teams for startups and legacy brands like Disney, Dropbox, and Atlassian.

CoSupport’s mission is to bring excellence in customer care and support to every startup, software company, and web dev team in the world. So far, they’ve reached over 300 of those companies and are still going strong. Sarah leads the team in helping businesses become more efficient, have a better understanding of their metrics, and wow customers with every engagement.

She also produces ElevateCX, an event series focused on growing the next generation of customer experience leaders. Through ElevateCX, Sarah has built up an engaged community of over 1,800 CX professionals, and produced over 30 ElevateCX events in 14 cities and three countries around the globe so far.

Three Remarkable Takeaways

• Why the best communities, those that thrive long term, are the ones that have great engagement because they give the people involved a voice.
• How to turn real warmth, authentic outreach and proactive problem resolution for our customers into special outcomes, online and off.
• The reason you can’t just replicate the customer experience of your favourite brand and expect it’ll work in the same way for your business.

Connect with Sarah

Find her on Linkedin

Learn more about CoSupport and ElevateCX via their website

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with UGURUS founder, entrepreneur and author, Brent Weaver, about why minor tweaks to your niche can have major business impacts, how a killer community is the safety net you need as you scale, and the benefits of building out your own interactions engine.

Brent Weaver leads the vision for UGURUS, a platform and set of educational programs which help digital agencies get more leads, win higher-value clients, and delight customers in a way which allows founders and owners to scale their businesses, whilst creating freedom in their professional and personal lives.

He built his first website at 15 and created his debut web-design business just two years later. That company grew into a successful 14-person web agency that was acquired in 2012, with Brent since going on to help thousands of other web professionals master business skills and make more than $10m as an entrepreneur himself.

Written during one of the most disruptive times in history, with people floundering around where to focus their buying power, his 2020 book ‘Get Rich in the Deep End’ looked at how to commit to a niche, own a market and “audaciously” scale an agency. Equally targeted at digital marketing agency owners concerned about how to stay essential and anyone else running a client based business, the book drives home a solution based on becoming a specialist in everything you do, but at the same time knowing what not to do, and why.

Married with two sons, Brent enjoys his road bike and swimming laps, and as for his favourite program…Google Chrome.

Remarkable Takeaways

•  Why making even minor changes to your niche can have a major impact the downstream elements of your business as well as your marketing position. 
• How finding your core community of comrades and confidants offers a valuable safety net of expertise and emotional support as you scale.
• The benefits of creating and fuelling an engine which increases ongoing interactions with customers or clients.

Connect with Brent

Email him here! 

Learn more about UGURUS via their website

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with brand architect and author, Kate DiLeo, about why finding your sweet spot as a business or brand is what attracts the ‘right’ customers for you, how conversations trump stories when it comes to compelling buyers, and the value of identifying where your ideal customers already hang out.

Kate DiLeo is a brand architect and #1 international bestselling author, whose approach is rooted in the belief that brand is the path of least resistance to revenue. She advocates for the elimination of complex and ineffective storytelling, by delivering simple yet provocative messages that tell prospects what you do, how you solve their problem, and how you differ from the competition. Brand conversations that convert being the outcome.

‘Muting The Megaphone’ is the title of Kate’s book on this topic, which discusses why, as far as she’s concerned, we need to stop telling stories and start having conversations in order to bring in new work and better serve our customers and clients.

The term “accidental” is one Kate herself has used to describe her own journey as a brand strategist. She originally intended to pursue a PhD in Anthropology, yet discovered the power of branding during her first sales job. In the pursuit of making quota, she realised that cutting through the noise with a message that would compel prospects to want to have a conversation was crucial. In that case, it was learn fast or be out of a job.

After honing her craft, Kate went on to successfully manage millions in pipeline by throwing out long monologue sales scripts and unsubscribing leads from complex story-based marketing campaigns. Instead, she focused on delivering simple pitches (centred on what she calls “The Brand Trifecta”) that invite prospects to engage in compelling conversation.

Having pursued her branding side hustle throughout much of her agency and corporate, Kate turned it into a full-time business in 2019. She has now partnered with more than 200 organsations across 20 sectors, helping them craft brands that bring more prospects to the table, more users who click, and more customers who buy.

Remarkable Takeaways

• Why finding your sweet spot as a brand attracts customers who are easier to work with, make faster decisions and trust what you’re doing.
• How conversations, more than stories, compel people to buy, and the three things they'll need to know about you before engaging in one.
• The importance of identifying which rooms, physical and digital, your ideal customers are in already, and how to join them there.

Remarkable Quotes

“When you’re serving your customers, your clients, they can smell a mile away if you hate it.”

“Smack them between the eyes to say “I get you”, I understand the pain you’re going through and here’s how I solve that pain.”

“If you’re a red pen, don’t go write in a blue pen – number one, your brand has to sound and feel like you.”

Connect with Kate

Find her on Linkedin

Learn more about how she helps businesses grow via her website

In this episode of The Remarkable Project Jay speaks with Sam Tatam, author and behavioural science guru at global ad, marketing and PR giant Ogilvy, about why the question “where has this been solved before?” is so powerful in developing solutions, how businesses can enhance client trust by better understanding behavioural science, and the value of moments which communicate investment in customers.

Sam Tatam is the Global Principal and Head of Behavioural Science at Ogilvy Growth & Innovation. An awarded strategist and recognised pioneer of applied behavioural science, his experience stems from a background in Organisational / Industrial Psychology and advertising strategy, and a passion for understanding consumer behaviour at both a macro and micro scale.
 
 Australian born but now UK-based, Sam leads a global team of talented psychologists and behavioural economists to bring this thinking to key Ogilvy and WPP clients, developing interventions and shaping the communications of some of the world’s most influential brands and organisations.

From New York to Nairobi, Sam has led behaviour change projects across virtually every category and continent, including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, Walmart, British Gas, American Express, Ford, WRAP, Kimberly Clark and Costa Coffee. Before joining Ogilvy in London, Sam was Head of Behavioural Science for Ogilvy, Australia, and previously worked in Organisational Development for Macquarie Group in Sydney.

He is also a published author, with his recently released book ‘Evolutionary Ideas: Unlocking Ancient Innovation to Solve Tomorrow’s Challenges’ exploring how behavioural science and evolutionary psychology can help us solve tomorrow’s challenges, not by divining something the world has never seen, but by borrowing from yesterday’s solutions – often in the most unexpected ways.

It discusses why, when faced with fresh challenges, it’s easy to feel our solutions need to be equally unprecedented, before asking whether this mindset is actually a big mistake. Just as millions of years of evolution have helped craft the wing and dorsal fin, thousands of engineers, designers, marketers and advertisers have toiled to solve many of the problems we face today.

Over time, through intent, design, social learning and sheer luck, we have found what works, and so, armed with an enhanced ability to see these patterns in human innovation, we can now systematically approach the creative process to develop more effective ideas more readily and rapidly.

Remarkable Takeaways

• Why giving yourself permission to ask the question “where has this been solved before?” can be so powerful to solution development.
• How the broader business community could enhance client trust exponentially through deeper understanding of Behavioural Science.
• The value of creating moments which communicate investment in the customer, to their overall experience with your business.

Connect with Sam 

Find him on LinkedIn

Follow him on Twitter

Learn more about ‘Evolutionary Ideas’ here