What Strategy Becomes

“If you want to be a great place to work and you want people to come to work with you… Then really being able to demonstrate that you care about social value as a strategy in your DNA. That really matters to people.”

Our special guest in this episode, Amabel Grant, shared her insights on how to become a great place to work by delivering on social value goals. I am really excited to share this episode with our listeners as Amabel shares insights on the following areas:

• How to become a great place to work, and how doing so will positively impact your clients and employees.
• Focus on social value - what it really means and how to balance it with commerciality.
• The growing importance of ESG in procurement
• Important core focuses when scaling your business.

Amabel is the CEO of Bloom Procurement Services which is the leading public sector fully managed marketplace for professional services.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:40]   Top tips for developing a positive working culture and employee experience.
• [03:40]  Amabel shares their trademark behaviors and how they chose them.
• [07:28]     The working culture’s direct impact on business.
• [09:15]    How Bloom consistently embeds the trademark behaviors within their team.
• [12:55]      Fostering a consistent work culture for startups.
• [19:15]      Amabel discusses what the private sector can learn from the public sector.
• [22:01]     Discussion on Social Value and how it aligns with commerciality.
• [24:26]  How businesses are being assessed under ESG (Environmental Social Governance) credentials.
• [28:58]    Core focuses when scaling a business.

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

As a tech company founder or CEO, how many resources would you invest in the learning and development of your existing talents? Successful companies understand that investing in their teams' learning and development can lead to increased productivity, employee satisfaction, talent retention, and, ultimately, long-term business success.

I am delighted to share this episode with my special guest, Loral Quinn, as we cover the value of providing learning avenues for your talents. Loral is the CEO of CodeClan, a not-for-profit digital skills academy based in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

Loral and I discussed how their organization set up intensive learning boot camps to transform people’s careers and address the digital skill gap in Scotland. We also talked about how investing in upskilling of your team members can increase retention, promote gender equality, and bring a positive overall result for your organization.

• [02:48] Loral shares how CodeClan is transforming people’s careers.
• [05:09] How CodeClan engages within their industry.
• [07:31] Describing the impact - how CodeClan bridges the digital skills gap.
• [10:30] What inspired Loral to join CodeClan?
• [13:22] Biggest barriers to attracting more women in the tech sector.
• [20:13] What is the “On-Demand Program?”
• [27:34] How to retain your talents: an approach that goes beyond salaries. 
• [32:00] How to reach CodeClan, especially if you are thinking about shifting careers.

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

Regardless of your industry, having a talented and motivated sales force can greatly impact the overall success and growth of a company. A good sales team is vital for revenue generation, customer acquisition and retention, market insights, and competitive advantage.

In this episode, I am delighted to have Dr.Yekemi Otaru, an award-winning entrepreneur and co-founder at Doqaru. Yekemi is a published B2B social media author who inspires her audience to achieve great things through her significant online presence. 

Yekemi and I discussed key topics on how sales leaders adapt to digital competencies, critical things to consider when hiring and onboarding salespeople for your team, and how to set your sales team up for success. Doqaru recently published an insightful report on sales skills in the UK SMEs market, which you can download for free on the Doqaru website.

If you are in the process of building your sales team, Yekemi’s insights are essential listening.

Episode Outline and Highlights

•  [01:11]      The Sales Skills Report for UK SMEs - Yekemi discusses the recent report
       they released.
• [03:45]      Why do sales leaders need to adapt to digital skills and competencies?
• [05:51]      What is it about sales skills that Yekemi finds fascinating?
• [11:01]      Key things uncovered: walkthrough on findings on their recent report.
• [16:06]      What you need to know when onboarding and training sales professionals.
• [23:35]      Top tips on investing for the development of your sales team.
• [25:42]     Overcoming the challenge of invalidating opportunities.
• [31:48]     How sales management is different from sales, and what is expected from a sales manager.
• [32:55]     Yekemi shares her thoughts on standing out on LinkedIn.
• [36:47]     The top three things sales leaders need to look out for to maximize their revenue.

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

Darren is an accomplished CMO that has worked with Fintech and Gaming. Companies he has worked with include Yahoo, Sony Playstation, 4Finance, and most recently LendingCrowd. He has worked with both B2B and B2C sectors and has helped drive record growth for those businesses. 

We discuss:

• How do you get the best out of your marketing team for startups and scale-ups?
• The key lessons he learned from high-growth tech businesses
• Moving from B2B to B2C

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:48] Darren walks us through his marketing career.
• [04:27] Biggest marketing similarities across different industries that Darren has worked on.
• [07:46] Increasing revenue for 4Finance through marketing.
• [13:02] Top tips in building and managing globally present teams.
• [15:07] Key learnings from B2B to B2C marketing segments.
• [19:55] Dealing with the unique marketing challenges of startups and scale-ups.
• [23:00] Culture and values play a big role in your employer branding.
• [26:00] Should marketing recruitment seat with the talent acquisition or marketing department?
• [33:00] Darren shares insights on what startup CEOs should look at in terms of Marketing KPIs
• [36:00] Top three things indicating you are getting value from marketing.
• [38:11] Getting the best out of CEO and CMO working relationships.

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

Are you looking at scaling your business through acquisitions? My special guest, Richard Quinn, is here to share strong insights about this subject. Richard has worked on seven acquisitions with a combined transaction value of $400m in a 3-year period. 

Some critical topics that Richard and I covered in this episode are:

• When scaling through acquisition is the best option
• Challenges and focus areas when scaling your company
• What to look for in a company that you may acquire
• What could be holding your company from scaling
• Leadership qualities that you must cultivate now to scale your business

Richard is the Managing Director of Hahei Consulting Ltd. He was the Chief Operating Officer of Kpler, a fast-growing data analytics business of the commodity markets and has worked for Trustpilot and Wood MacKenzie. 

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [02:10] Richard’s journey to the C-suite role.
• [03:26] Key focus areas when scaling a company.
• [08:41] Case Study - scaling up Trustpilot.
• [13:58] What you need to focus on when scaling.
• [17:00] Insights on mergers and acquisition - when is acquisition key?
• [21:00] What are the things you should be looking for in a company that you might potentially acquire?
• [24:30] How to proceed with a smooth integration during mergers and acquisitions.
• [33:27] Insights on restructuring the leadership team. 
• [39:40] Trust building, clarity, and setting of expectations.
• [49:15] What could be stopping companies from scaling?
• [57:09] Leadership qualities for someone who looks into scaling and acquiring.

About Richard Quinn

 
Richard Quin is an accomplished professional with a diverse and impressive career in the tech and analytics industry. As the COO of Kpler, he was responsible for leading critical functions across the business to ensure smooth operations and continuous improvements. Prior to that, Richard served as Chief of Staff for Trustpilot a customer review platform in which he contributed to strategic transformations of the business leading to growth ahead of their London listing in 2021. Richard's expertise in scaling operations and driving business growth has made him a sought-after advisor and consultant.

• Richard on LinkedIn

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

In this episode, I am delighted to be joined by Csilla Zsigri. You will enjoy hearing Csilla's insights on the evolving landscape of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and blockchain, as well as her role as the Chief Strategy Officer with BTP, a company that helps other companies solve challenges with digital provenance.

Csillia and I discussed the importance of digital provenance and gave case studies of how BTP is helping companies and industries in this field. We also explored Csilla's views on work-life balance, sports, and the value of failing and learning from it.

Episode Outline and Highlights

• [01:33] What does a Chief Strategy Officer do?
• [03:12] Csilla’s journey into the blockchain world - from an industry analyst to a startup.
• [06:46] The evolution of the DLT ecosystem.
• [08:26] What are the biggest opportunities for companies in blockchain to achieve value?
• [11:54] What is digital provenance?
• [16:36] Understanding the value of digital provenance.
• [19:00] Biggest applications in the areas of AI & IoT.
• [22:58] How Csilla fits competitive sports alongside work.
• [24:00] Why work-life balance and sports can benefit your professional mindset.
• [27:00] Embracing the value of failing and learning.

 
Csilla Zsigri

Csilia is the Chief Strategy Officer at BTP, a digital provenance company, with a mission to make assets trustworthy. She is also a global blockchain ambassador and has spoken at numerous conferences on blockchain and its application. Csilla created and curates the DLT landscape, an open-source market segmentation initiative.

• Csilla on LinkedIn
• BTP website link
• Hyperledger DLT Landscape

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

Starting and scaling your tech business in the current market environment can be complicated, but having the right leaders to advise and guide you can make scaling up less challenging. In this episode, I am delighted to be joined by Martin Threakall, an experienced CEO, COO, investor, board advisor, and founder. I have had the pleasure of working with Martin several times, and I am excited to share his insights regarding scaling tech businesses and startups. 

You will hear critical scaling topics such as:

• When is the right time to hire a COO?
• When is the right time to expand overseas?
• How to build trust in a fast-scaling environment?
• Top tips for founders when scaling their business.

Episode Outline and Highlights

[01:41] Martin's career and background.

[05:52] When should you get a COO?

[11:33] Actions that Martin took when scaling businesses.

[14:00] How to give meaningful feedback to your team.

[18:15] What advice would Martin give to founders who wish to scale their companies quickly?

[24:06] Exploring the international markets - Martin reveals his key learnings.

[29:29] At what point in a company's journey should you build a talent acquisition function?

[34:40] What are the common failures or challenge points for scaling companies that Martin has observed?

[38:00] How to build trust in a fast-scaling environment.

[44:30] Addressing the growing burn-out issue within the tech sector.

[47:30] Working as an advisor on board discussions – What works in the boardroom?

[55:50] Fintech growth opportunities in the upcoming years.

[58:30] What would be the most impactful piece of advice that Martin received? 

About Martin Threakall 

Martin is a delivery-focused executive leader with extensive experience in startup and scaleup businesses, including starting and growing a business from scratch as a co-founder.

His particular experience and expertise are within Financial Services and Technology, specifically in the Payments and Open Banking domain. He is also an Angel investor in multiple businesses, with a particular interest in sports/health business and those with an environmental or social focus. Outside of work, Martin enjoys spending time with family and is a keen distance runner.

●     Martin on LinkedIn

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

Artificial Intelligence has become a buzzword in today's business world, offering enterprise companies opportunities to transform their operations and redefine success. However, integrating AI into existing products, services, and operating models is challenging. In this episode, we will hear insights from my special guest, Gary Crawford, Chief Innovation Officer of Waracle, on how enterprise companies can leverage AI and what they should consider when adopting it. Gary is a globally experienced leader with the privilege of leading technology, innovation, and business transformation for world-renowned brands. You will hear us discuss some of the emerging AI trends businesses should look for and the steps organizations should take to stay ahead of the curve.

Episode Outline and Highlights

[01:09] What does a Chief Innovation Officer do?

[05:05] How working with Thoughtworks and AKQA influenced Gary's career

[08:47] How economic downturns result in innovation as an inflection point

[11:49] What AI improvement and development means to society

[13:51] Gary talks about "post-traumatic growth."

[15:15] How can enterprise companies leverage AI?

[21:03] Beyond ChatGPT 4, what other things should we have on the radar for AI in the workplace?

[27:41] Ethical considerations on AI adoption

[35:47] What steps should businesses take now to stay ahead of the curve?

[39:11] AI and VR in the healthcare space

How Can Enterprise Companies Leverage AI?

Artificial Intelligence is now seen as a promising innovation that can transform the workplace and a game changer in defining success for enterprise companies. How can organizations leverage AI? Gary shared his insights on this matter as a Chief Innovation Officer. He said, "AI is a technology, but we need to find ways of integrating it into products, services, operating models, and society." He added, "The biggest challenge in the AI space has less to do with technology, but more with human behaviour."

So, what mindset should business leaders have in leveraging AI? Gary stated it well, "This is less about how you can take AI and put it into your existing business and more about how we reimagine business based on the capabilities that AI brings to the table."

About Gary Crawford

A globally experienced leader, Gary has had the privilege of leading technology, innovation, and business transformation for some of the world's best-known global brands. He's at home at the sharp end of digital disruption in traditional industries. He is currently the Chief Innovation Officer of Waracle Ltd and a regular speaker at conferences on digital transformations and AI.

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

What does it take to build an effective marketing and product team? Sophie Moule from Pi Datametrics, shares her experience and insights on bringing together these departments to work seamlessly together and drive success. Before heading the Product and Marketing Team of Pi, Sophie had a solid core foundation in marketing. Hear how this strength played out in developing products with the customer in mind.

Episode Outline and Highlights 

• [01:27] Sophie shares her career in marketing and how it laid the foundation for her current role in products.
• [05:30] Skills that Sophie carried forward from her marketing career.
• [06:55] Transitioning from marketing to a product role.
• [10:42] Bringing together a team of product and customer advisory boards.
• [16:30] The value of having clarity of your customer base to maximize your existing product. 
• [21:44] Sophie reveals growth factors for Pi Datametrics.
• [24:33] Sources in enhancing knowledge for product development roles.
• [26:45] What circumstances are ideal for product and marketing to sit under one leader?
• [28:30] How to build confidence when transitioning from marketing to product regarding technicality?
• [33:03] What benefits can an organization get from having a leader with a marketing background lead product development?

The Significance of Having a Customer-Driven Roadmap 

A key topic we covered is the importance of creating a customer-driven roadmap for creating a marketing framework and product development. Sophie shared her insights on what led to them creating a customer advisory board alongside their internal product advisory board. 

How to Transition from Marketing to Product

If you are in a marketing role and looking to transition into a role in product development, what can you do to build your confidence in transitioning smoothly? 

About Sophie Moule

Sophie Moule is the Head of Product and Marketing for Pi Datametrics, a global digital data intelligence company based in the UK. Before her current role, Sophie has core experience in marketing, including 10 years of experience in Performance Marketing across both B2B and B2C and 7 years of driving Product Marketing strategies in a growing SaaS business.

Resources Mentioned

• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't
• EMPOWERED: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products
• Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development. 

Making the Leap: How to Transition from Corporate to Start-up, with Stuart Bell


My special guest, Stuart Bell, CTO of Bloom Procurement Services, shares his own experience on overcoming that challenge. Stuart's career highlights include successfully shifting from working in big corporate tech and financial entities to becoming self-employed and working in the start-up world. He recognizes that this is not an easy jump and advises people to do their homework and be well-prepared for the challenges of making this transition.

 Some of the key topics we covered are:

 ●     What should you closely look at when engaging in the tech start-up world?

●      How do you build an effective working culture for your team?

●      What tools are proven to be effective collaborative platforms for a remote team?

●      How do you design social value contributions for your company?

 All these, and more, are in this episode of The Lucent Perspective.

 Episode Outline and Highlights

 [00:00:43] Stuart's career journey in becoming a CTO.

[03:40] Shifting from big corporate businesses to start-ups - Stuart shares his experience.

[09:30] Working as CTO in Bloom Procurements.

[14:02] How Bloom contributes to social value by design.

[17:54] Stuart shares the project and team they are building.

[22:30] How Bloom's values fit in the culture of their engineering team.

[27:38] Top tips for establishing a healthy working culture within your team. 

[30:00] Effective collaboration tools.

[33:30] Practice meeting up periodically when working as remote teams.

[34:16] Tech development that we should be closely monitoring.

[39:37] Transitioning from a corporate setup to start-ups - Stuart reveals best practices and tips.

[43:50] What to look for in talents when setting up a team for start-ups.

●      Stuart on LinkedIn

●      Bloom Procurement website link

Rebecca Hastings, Founder and Director at The Lucent Group

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hastingsrebecca/  

Would you like to be a guest? Book a time to speak with Rebecca: https://calendly.com/rebeccahastings/discovery-call

The Lucent Group Ltd website - https://www.thelucentgroup.co.uk/

The Lucent Perspective website - https://thelucentperspective.com/ 

Rebecca has extensive talent and executive search experience supporting digital and technology businesses through complex changes and fast-paced scale-up periods. She works with businesses advising on C-level, technical, sales and commercial appointments, workforce planning, strategic talent management, recruitment processes and associated technology and employer brand development.