"In order to transform successfully, you need to take an intentional and deliberate approach above ground with the things you can see as well as below ground with the things you can see to drive transformation"

Matt and I delve into the world of digital transformation, and how to design an operating model that allows adaptability, impact and sustainable transformation. Digital transformation is often misunderstood. It’s best defined as working in new ways with new technology. Technology has rapidly advanced, but organizations need to focus now more than ever on aligning people and processes to leverage these technologies effectively.

We also discuss the importance of aligning people and processes with technology, and explore the concept of scaling effectively through Centers of Excellence (COEs). The shift from project to product to experience ownership is key to driving better customer and employee outcomes. This shift forces organizations to take customer experience design out of a niche marketing function and integrate it throughout the entire organization. However, to do this there is a big cultural and leadership shift that needs to happen, and this needs an intentional and deliberate approach to both visible and implicit (cultural) aspects of transformation. This involves not only implementing new strategies, processes, and systems but also addressing behavioural failure modes, leadership styles and fostering new cultural characteristics.

Matt generously shares his insights and experience from working with leaders all over the globe in scaling digital transformation successfully. What’s your biggest challenge in aligning people, process, and technology to effectively scale growth & digital transformation in your workplace ?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Digital transformation hinges on bringing people and processes up to speed with technological advancements. Simplify the concept to working in new ways with new tech.
• Centers of Excellence (COEs) should be value-generating teams focused on specific areas: build, guide, share, or create. Avoid trying to be all things at once.
• Successful COE implementation starts with identifying the internal customer and their needs, then crafting a value proposition centered on them.
• Shift from project to product ownership by focusing on the experience; appoint experience owners who manage the customer and employee experience.
• Bridge the strategy-execution gap by establishing an operating committee that translates strategy into tactics, with experience owners playing a role.
• Successful transformations address both visible elements (strategy, systems) and less tangible human aspects like culture, values, and behaviours.

Find out more about Matt and his work here :

Website: www.treelinetransformation.com

COE Online Course: https://treeline-transformation.mykajabi.com/COE-course

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mdevans/

Email: matt@treelinetransformation.com

"Music is a unifier, and anything that can or could divide us, music can break through."

Imagine a world where music transcends borders, uniting people through a shared experience of harmony and rhythm.

Rick and I explore the unifying and transformative power of music and how it can be used to transform situations. We delve into the power of collective intelligence , transformational leadership, the unifying power of music and raising human consciousness through performance;

Creative intelligence, something we’re all born with, plays a crucial role. The industrial era favoured hierarchical structures, a “power over” dynamic, while today, a “power with” approach is needed. Music mirrors this shift; it can be structured and disciplined, yet also liberating and creative.

Rick shares his insights on music as a universal language, and how it fosters sustainable social change. We also discuss the vital shift from ego-driven leadership to a more collective, eco-conscious approach. Music possesses a unique ability to connect people, regardless of geographical, ideological, or cultural divides. It taps into something fundamental within us, creating a sense of shared humanity.

How can we leverage music and deep listening to create more inclusive spaces?

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Music’s unifying power transcends borders and connects with fundamental human needs, fostering sustainable social change by promoting shared consciousness and breaking down barriers.
• Raising human consciousness is vital for transformation and leadership, shifting focus from ego-driven actions to collective well-being, supported by leveraging technology to empower individuals to pursue their passions.
• Leadership involves recognizing the ongoing societal transformation from old hierarchical styles to inclusive opportunities, utilizing technology and AI to enable people to follow passions and solve global problems.
• Improvisation in music mirrors adaptability in leadership, requiring a balance between structured knowledge and openness to creative, spontaneous solutions, emphasizing the importance of listening and embracing diverse perspectives.
• Jazz for Peace seeks to create a society that rewards unique artistic expression and leverages technology to support individuals in pursuing their passions, contributing to a more peaceful and unified world.
• Raising human consciousness, even incrementally, can drive innovation and create more regenerative social and economic models, underscoring the power of individual voices in contributing to a collective quest for positive change.
• Recognize the unifying power of music to transcend geographical, ideological, and cultural divides.
• Understand how raising human consciousness can drive sustainable social change and collective intelligence.
• Embrace creative intelligence and let go of ego-driven leadership for a more inclusive approach.
• Utilize technology to support individuals in pursuing their passions and solving global problems.
• Support artists and causes that promote peace and raise human consciousness for a better future.

Find out more about Rick and his work here :

Jazz for Peace: info@jazzforpeace.org

https://rickdellaratta.com

"when you have this amount of change, we’re calling it the fog of change.”"

Are you struggling to create lasting growth?

In today’s interconnected world, the value creation process is no longer confined to individual departments or silos. The unit of value has become smaller, often residing within teams or even individuals. This shift requires a holistic, end-to-end view of the entire value chain.

Tom and I explore how to create growth that truly matters. We explore the myths that leaders need to unlearn, particularly the idea that they can accurately plan for the future. The current environment is characterized by unprecedented change, making it nearly impossible to predict what will happen next. The old methods of strategic planning are now limited. The real challenge is to find ways to see through the change fog, constantly learning and adjusting.

Discover how to build a legacy through value creation for people, organizations, and society.

👉 Learn the pivotal role of adaptability in today’s world.

👉 Uncover the biggest growth myth leaders must unlearn.

👉 Explore Tom’s valuable formula for strategic excellence.

What’s your biggest challenge in creating meaningful growth?

Each person must understand their impact on the whole. From product creation to its end-of-life impact, every step matters. This concept aligns with sustainability principles, where the lifetime value and environmental footprint of a product are considered from the outset.

Tom shares his wealth of insight, experience and foresight from working with leadesr and institutions around the world.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

• Cultivate a growth mindset to embrace change, curiosity, and calculated risk-taking in both personal and organizational contexts, moving beyond the limitations of traditional planning.
• Unlearn the myth of predictable planning. Instead, adopt a scientific approach of trial and error, constantly adjusting strategies based on real-time feedback from the field to navigate the “fog of change.”
• Decentralize decision-making to empower those closest to customers and technology, fostering adaptability and innovation throughout the organization.
• Use the “valuable formula” by focusing on a core value proposition, strategically marketing it, and consciously allocating capital to create sustainable growth.
• Delay seeking external funding until the need is clear and the company’s capabilities are well-defined, retaining greater control and strategic flexibility.
• Embrace AI not just for productivity gains, but for discovering new business opportunities and models, and proactively address potential workforce displacement through upskilling and innovative solutions.

Find out more about Tom and his work here :

https://www.sagepartners.net

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomdoorley/

https://open.spotify.com/show/4xDjK2tRJgHbX5WxSITJcF

"My quest always has been how to make peace more profitable than war… I think it’s going to be my life legacy..."

Imagine a world where creating peace is more profitable than engaging in conflict. A world of 'tech for good' , where technology bridges divides, fosters collaboration, and drives equitable solutions. This vision isn’t just a dream; it’s the driving force behind innovators like Yip, a leader in promoting peace, purpose, and equitable collaboration within the AI and Web3 spaces.

A brilliant conversation full of purpose, curiosity, hope and opportunities. We explore the concept of making peace more profitable than war, the importance of democratizing access to skills and capital, and the vision behind yip's platform, Jedi, in fostering collaboration across emerging technologies. Remaining present and fully conscious of our actions and impact is key to this process.

What if we could understand and implement regenerative economic and societal models that prioritize long-term impact and equity over short-term gains, particularly democratising access for all to more regenerative funding models. We discuss the idea and importance of technical and "human" readiness, to equip and educate people in this common challenge.

Yip is running her first Zebracorn reatreat in June, to start bringing together these systems and minds. Link to find out more : https://www.systain3r.com/

Yip shares her story, insight and dreams of the world she is consciously and collectively crafting to bridge the gap between digital and human for the common good.

The man insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Bridging gaps through a collective approach to complex problems at societal level. Inspired by Muhammed Yunus’ efforts for (financial) inclusion for unbanked people, overcoming the limitations of capitalism with thoughtfulness.

- Also inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s promotion of compassion in communication and shaping corporate culture by bringing mindfulness to tech companies; a mindset of peace feeding into capitalism and technology to engage with them.

- Constantly reinventing/rethinking and democratising access can change conversations in systems and communities; the vision for the J3d.AL platform is to make peace more profitable than war.

- As an advisory platform, it invites people to become a Jedi or find their inner Jedi, sharpening their intuition and standing up for their values. It helps governments identify collaboration opportunities with each other and the private sector.

- As a (market) intelligence platform, it helps identify opportunities for collaboration in emerging fields of technology not yet mature enough for the mainstream media, e.g. quantum computing, cybersecurity, space technology.

- The philosophy behind it is to generate a body of knowledge and translate it on a semantic basis from one concept to another, facilitating mutual understanding to break down silos for collaboration to accelerate innovation.

- J3d.AI has three areas of operations – technology, health and sustainability. Conferences and workshops teach the skills of foresight, wisdom, compassion, and understanding technology and regenerative systems thinking.

- A ‘zebracorn’ marries a zebra (a company that is both black and white, i.e. both profitable and works to improve society) with a unicorn (a billion-dollar market valuation company characterised by VC funding and exponential growth).

- Zebracorns are totally doable in an age of tech and globalisation as tech brings down costs and its wise use can enable business; they remain open-minded about...

The greatest gift you can give your organization is that you show up with your own cup full, so you don’t need anything from anyone

Pallavi and I delve into the world of self leadership and empowering yourself for joy, fulfilment and better results. Leadership essentially comes from the inner experience not the outer experience. incredible insights on self-leadership ; defining it as having inner clarity, knowing what truly matters to you, and intentionally guiding yourself without needing this external validation. Think about it: How often do we look outside ourselves for answers when we already have the tools within? One shocking stat that really hit home: only 13% of CEOs believe they have the leadership potential available to grow their business today. This highlights the urgent need for leaders to connect with themselves and do the inner work. The next generation requires the skill of self-mastery in a tech-driven world where AI will do the – non-human – rest.

We walk through Pallavi's ATM framework: Arrive in the present moment, Take responsibility, and Make a conscious choice. This is the basis for framing the journey for leaders to break old patterns and create new neural networks, leading to real empowerment and joy.

If you were to ask yourself how much of your leadership potential is available today for reinventing and innovating on the status quo what would your answer be ?

Taking stock of reality, anticipating change and equipping ourselves to lead through the transition curves is key in todays complex environment.

The main insights you will get from this episode are :

- Leadership is an inside job but in the modern ‘hustle culture’, we look for success to give us inner joy and fulfilment; yet all the answers are within us – if we can connect to our purpose and master ourselves.

- The journey of self-mastery, self-transformation and self-leadership requires a framework to transfer what we learn into daily practice to build stronger connections with others and have real tools for change that work.

- It begins with an ability to have inner clarity about who we are and what is important to us and why; and then the conviction to guide ourselves from within without the need for external factors.

- Helping leaders to be intentional about leading with empathy and clarity is based on a strong foundation of inner science and an understanding of who they are, as well as the need to take care of ourselves first to be able to better serve others.

- Empowered leaders do not blame others or the system but take responsibility for crafting their own life first in order to be better leaders. The ATM framework for personal growth gives three steps to unlock true potential:

· Arrive in the present moment

· Take responsibility and know what truly matters to you

· Make a conscious choice

- They can be applied consistently in our everyday lives and also to any challenging or conflict situation because they help break the automatic response that is programmed in our body and mind.

- Small actions that create new neural networks lead to increased confidence and empowerment to choose and do what we really want; stressed teams need clear, calm, joyful leaders who understand this.

- Our attention faces multiple distractions, and we need an adaptive culture to avoid overwhelm and creating more stress for ourselves, i.e. by revolutionising workplace wellness and making work more joyful and...

"The secret to great EQ is to follow the platinum rule, not the golden rule."

A fun conversation with Faris about leadership, life and sustainable impact. What is the magic formula to success and does it look the same for everyone ?

Whilst EQ may be where all attention lies, FQ can be just as important and impactful. To achieve success, balance a strong strategy (IQ) with emotional intelligence (EQ) for team buy-in, and focused prioritization (FQ) to avoid spreading resources too thin.

To be successful, it’s critical to have a balance of three components: a great strategy (IQ), emotional intelligence to bring others along (EQ), and focus through prioritization (FQ). Many companies only have one or two of these in harmony. A good strategy involves having a well-thought-out plan. Emotional intelligence is needed to excite others about the idea. Focus is about prioritizing and removing barriers to success.

We also look at what AI brings to this formula - it is most helpful in IQ by coming up with hundreds of ideas; for FQ it can help categorise competing priorities; it is less helpful in EQ as empathetic communication and human connection are still key to creating meaningful relationships, and ideas still have to be sold to other human beings.

Listen as Faris sparkles his gold dust into our ears and eyes from working with leaders and organisations around the globe on this formula for success.

The main insights you'll get from this epsiode are :

- Experience of teaching children around the world helps in a business context to solve problems through people – it brings emotional intelligence to decision-making, which in turn makes delivering a strategy more likely.

- Shiageto means to sharpen a tool but is applied to human beings in this context: we can always be sharper, and the same techniques can be used as to teach, such as making things entertaining, simple, etc.

- Three components are required for success: a) IQ, a great idea/strategy/plan, b) EQ, to take everyone with you on the journey, and c) FQ, to focus, prioritise and remove anticipated barriers; of these, FQ is often the missing piece.

- Deployment as a consultant is often more for EQ than FQ, but the three are interlinked. Cultural differences across the IQ/EQ/FQ formula sit within EQ and questions must be asked to understand/overcome them.

- Teaching IQ across the globe requires adapting delivery of the content to take account of culture by using different tools and approaches – time must be invested in meeting every individual at multinational board meetings, for instance, in order to create a more level playing field.

- Small businesses looking to have more impact must define what this means for them. Consider maximum impact by asking, for example: What is a 15% better idea? What would my nemesis do? How will I measure it? What are my assumptions?

- Advice that is applicable to all organisations is to team up and get to know each other by creating random meet-ups, lunch/job swaps – this opens up conversations and increases success by creating connections.

- The effect of (gen)AI on the formula: it is most helpful in IQ by coming up with hundreds of ideas; for FQ it can help categorise competing priorities; it is less helpful in EQ as ideas still have to be sold to other human beings.

- The disadvantage is the weakening of the EQ muscle, e.g. young people are often reticent to speak on the phone - asynchronous is easy but synchronous requires real EQ; having both difficult and casual conversations is good for collaboration, but a tool (AI) is just

"In Digital transformation the disconnect that exists across teams, frameworks and deliverables is always very clear."

Michael and I discuss this trio and what it means for successful transformation. Digital transformation initiatives often suffer from disconnects across teams, frameworks, and deliverables, and many organisations face complexities arising from disparate people, technologies, and data that have evolved without a unified plan. This confusion inhibits effective collaboration and knowledge sharing among teams, with employees often lacking a comprehensive understanding of the broader organisational landscape.

We discuss Michael’s Process Inventory Framework which ensures that even seemingly non-core processes are accounted for, as they can significantly impact how the organisation operates. By building a complete inventory of processes and validating it across all levels of the organisation, businesses can create a common language and understanding that promotes alignment and drives effective transformation. We discuss measuring the success of digital transformation initiatives as well as managing data driven decision making and the need for accountability & empowerment.

Digital transformation is not just about tech, it is about value and creating value differently. The integration of AI will bring with it other opportunities to integrate processes and data and to create value differently also.

Michael shares his insights and experience from creating and implementing his framework and from working with leaders across the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Most organisations have a clear disconnect across teams, frameworks and deliverables and the same patterns: complexity, evolving situations, unforeseen/unplanned outcomes, and a high degree of confusion.

- Teams working in silos have little understanding of what other teams do, inhibiting collaboration and knowledge – there is no unifying thread, which is essential for successful transformation.

- The book focuses on this unifying thread by seeking to establish what the business does and codify it (at both strategic and detail level) in one framework for common understanding and vertical/horizontal alignment purposes.

- The process inventory framework covers every single core and non-core process, starting at the top and working down through the organisational hierarchy to the process level (also increasingly with the help of AI to integrate operational data).

- Employees formally attest to the inventory, working upwards from the bottom of the hierarchy, to create an accurate basis and semantic structure for planning transformations and driving programmes.

- The requisite clarity comes from an exhaustive list of processes, followed by a digital initiative – transformation entails profound change and digital integrates new technologies to fuel efficiency.

- A clear roadmap with an environment analysis (external – trade, economic, competition; and internal – strengths and weaknesses) optimises the change budget and permits precision to flow down through the rest of the programme.

- Data-driven ways of working come with enormous volumes of data and the challenge of data lineage with a lack of traceability and documentation - data must always be in a proper business context.

- Operational leaders can use data analytics to empower people and create workflows, cascading goals down to individual processes from the overriding strategic imperative and providing clear accountability.

- Operational...

"Great leadership is about extracting the potential from others"

A brilliant dive into playfuness and leadership and how they can together help us to grow scalable and impactful businesses. Tracy and I have fun exploring how leaders can unlock untapped potential within themselves and their teams. A general lack of understanding of the impact leadership has influences performance - multipliers in the ecosystem and (accidental) diminishers in the ‘egosystem’, with huge blind spots. After all, leadership is about leading yourself first.

Discovering the power of playfulness, self-awareness, and challenging limiting beliefs to drive growth can create a multiplier effect in leadership. Tracy and I go through actionable insights for founders and leaders seeking to transform their approach and scale their businesses effectively.

Tracy shares her experience, insights and stories from working with founders and leaders across the world.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- After successfully scaling an international business – involving enormous highs and lows and major challenges – the realisation that insufficient attention had been paid to the people was a pivotal moment.

- Subsequent ‘treasure hunt’ in the world of coaching was based on asking: what helps people move to the next level and unlock latent potential? Settled on the field of leadership after reading about Liz Wiseman’s multipliers and diminishers.

- General lack of understanding of the impact leadership has - multipliers in the ecosystem and (accidental) diminishers in the ‘egosystem’, with huge blind spots. After all, leadership is about leading yourself first.

- Leadership of self is crucial, and at different levels, e.g. self-awareness of what we do and think. Like a tree: the trunk is the strategy and actions; the invisible roots are the mindset and thinking, giving rise to the concept you hold of yourself (that influences your actions).

- The multiplier mindset is about extracting, expanding and leaning into possibility. Tracy has distilled six indicators of success:

· deep-rooted clarity

· conviction as the rocket fuel for challenges

· commitment to deepen resourcefulness

· trust as the invisible ingredient for belonging, productivity and momentum

· courage to look inwards

· playfulness (intense curiosity, radical open-mindedness, proactive experimentation) to dissolve fear and amplify the multiplier mindset.

- While developing the leadership scorecard, it was vital to intuitively include playfulness and get others to lean into it; to foster courage to overcome negative stories and a fear of failure; to look for alignment with vision and values (i.e. authenticity).

- The scorecard process is a continuum as opposed to a journey and the model works at different levels, starting with looking in the leadership mirror and understanding the feedback, also from others.

- Leaders must take ownership of the type of leader they want to be (as opposed to the vision) and also seek to bring out the best in others, often by staying quiet, asking questions and listening to the answers.

- Effective leaders give people space to reveal their (hidden) treasures and create psychological safety to permit playfulness. The ‘zone of genius’ is not static