Episodes

Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things is changing everything and it very often raises more questions than it does answers. Our guest in this episode is convinced that asking the right questions will help us adapt to this changing world. As leaders are aware of many of the opportunities technology changes are bringing us, but we also recognise the challenges. . In 2014, a Pew Research study revealed that 48 per cent of respondents believed that robots and digital agents will displace...

We live in a digital world and businesses are taking advantage of the increasing marketing channels available, such as mobile, but at the same time we are seeing stricter controls with ad blockers and data privacy regulations. Marketing departments are also facing new challenges. Maybe what is happening today is a result of the media misuse in the past, or are we finally making digital marketing and advertising more ethical and possibly more effective. As consumers, we applaud new privacy regula...

Men hold the overwhelming majority of positions in IT leadership, where women fill less than 17% of CIO. The lack of diversity remains an issue and the numbers are unlikely to improve a lot right away but there is hope. Initiatives like Europe’s 2020 legislation, which has the goal of reaching a 40% gender diversity on the Boards of publicly held companies, has boosted the initiatives for more CIOs. The number of CIO’s in the Fortune 500 has been dropping, from 24% in 2015 to only 15% as of Nove...

In 2016, an estimated 163 million women were starting or running new businesses in 74 economies around the world. In addition, an estimated 111 million were running established businesses. These statistics are more impressive when we consider that women’s entrepreneurship rates increased by 10% on average vs 5% for men. But one thing which has been shown is there is a distinct gap between men and women in their perceived capabilities to start a business. The bottom line is we very often lack con...

In 1956, the term artificial intelligence was used at a conference at Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire, and in the years after that government, corporate and public interest had waned and risen until in 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue became the first computer to beat a human at chess when it defeated world champion, Gary Kasparov. This brought to light the question of what else could we teach a computer to do? Voice-detection technology, suggestive searches, and autonomous cars are just a few of the w...

There are hundreds of different management methodologies. Google management methods or leadership styles, and you'll get plenty of advice but little of which truly covers the entire spectrum of managing a business from A to Z. Business leaders come up with our own methods by based on our years of experience. Good business leaders can instinctively create a leadership and management system focused on deliverables and has a 360 view of the business and customers but it is very often easier to have...

The value of a high-performing team has long been recognized. 90 percent of investors think the quality of the management team is the single most important non-financial factor when evaluating an IPO and this is why the value of high performing teams has long been recognized. Its importance is not about to diminish as digital technology reshapes the workplace. Teams look different than they did 10 years ago. They may be virtual and diverse as we focus on a global economy. The traditional type of...

Sales used to be a structured approach and the heart of the approach was questioning, fact finding, reflecting back and closing. But today customer behaviours and demands have changed. Customers don’t want to spend 40 minutes telling you about their problems and then listening to you while you tell them how you can help them. Customers are also much better-informed today. They research a lot more before they buy. They are more demanding and everyone wants the best value. Social media has also ch...

The expression go the extra mile. can be traced back to the New Testament injunction 'And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain' (Matthew 5:41). Today when we use this expression it generally means going above and beyond the call of duty or using your own efforts to reach beyond normal expectations. But going the extra mile also takes effort. It can mean stepping out of your comfort zone, it could mean giving a little more than you thought you could give and it could mean d...

Everyone agrees that the more diversity there is in politics the more innovative we will be and, the more likely we’ll address the needs and challenges of the diverse communities that are emerging in this Global Economy. But the lack of progress in the representation of some groups, such as African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and other minorities in many industries and in politics is particularly notable, especially in the United States and Europe. This episode celebrates minorities. We take a...

The digital transition has been going on now for over a decade and although we see it and live it every day we will not have made the transition to a fully digital life until the work flows and processes around new technology are modernized and adapted. This means that companies need to look at digital transition with a 360-degree view. They have to understand what digitalization means to sales, marketing, customer relationship management, recruiting and just about every process in their company...

Engineering continues to be a male dominated profession despite encouragement from women’s groups and the fact that the career has real prospects for women. It is one of the most diverse areas to work in. and the numerous engineering careers offer variety and opportunity. Engineers find new ways of doing things, develop creative solutions for modern problems and help create a better world. So why are the number of women in this field so low? The low number of women in engineering is often attrib...

Now there is no debate that your professional image is important. Normally, when we think of professional image, we think about meeting or seeing someone in person, although in today’s global marketplace we live in a world where contacts take place online. Images are built on social media and on professional online networks. There are many professional online networks where you can develop your professional image, but there is only one professional network that has 467 million members and that i...

Jobs, we need them and when you have one the golden rule has always been never quit a job before you have another job to go to!, but maybe this has now changed. Although this advice seems sensible, it is sometimes difficult to follow when you find yourself in a job or position that you really do not want to be in. Even if it is harder to get hired when you're unemployed, sometimes you reach a point where you can't force yourself to go a job you do not like. You sometimes find it hard to motivate...

What is the VUCA world?It is a global work environment which has volatility, uncertainty, change and ambiguity as a norm and only leaders who can continually transform will suceed.

Big data, it can, can bring big benefits such as targeted advertisements, smart cars and more. It is available in wearables, implantable devices and as artificial intelligence in normal household gadgets. But It can also lead to big privacy problems. We all generate thousands of data points every day about where we go, who we communicate with, what we buy, and when we do this it makes us vulnerable because we do not know where the data ends up. Because of issues like these there have been multip...

What is the VUCA world?It is a global work environment which has volatility, uncertainty, change and ambiguity as a norm and only leaders who can continually transform will suceed.

If you thought you just figured out the Millennials, just wait for the next generation of future leaders. Gen Z-ers are now influencing the world. They are the ones that grew up digitally connected; they’re accustomed to having data and content thrown at them all day and from all angles. As lifelong digital natives, they to have a special affinity for artificial intelligence, specifically because it mimics their natural tendency toward global mobile communication and engagement. In this episode,...

Years ago, if someone had told us that a social media site would be limited to 140 characters and still be successful, none of us would have believed them. But Twitter has accomplished this. With only 140 characters, they have made social media a contextual and personal experience. But why does work so well? Experts say it is because people can get a sense of who you are on Twitter or what your business is about. It reveals what type of things you are interested in; it will suggest things you ar...

It is critical to diligently watch and manage your online reputation in order to ensure business success and growth. It is also important to have a have a well-thought-out reputation development strategy in place for your business, but what does that mean? It means understanding your online presence, engaging your potential clients /customers and managing the entire customer process, including customer feedback. It is crucial to know what your customers/clients are saying about your business whi...

Women make up approximately 50% of the today’s workforce in many countries and 40% worldwide, although most of these positions are in not in management. When they are in management, they are normally below the middle management level and not at the executive level. The number of women in executive positions worldwide is less than 10%. If you look at the Fortune 500 companies, the numbers are even worse, accounting for approximately only 4.2%. So, what is happening? Are women not preparing themse...

It is important for companies to form collective values that can be shared and communicated to their employees and customers. Many companies do this, they have core values, but many companies fall short. Many companies identify core values that very often become part of their vision statement, but unless these values are really lived, they are worthless. They also must be lived and lead by example-from the top of the organization. Core values are what support the vision, shape the culture and dr...

Years ago, leadership development was made up of lectures and presentations, then came, the era of new development programs focused on “horizontal” development (competencies), but with very little time spent on “vertical” development (developmental stages). But today, leaders face new challenges and companies are asking themselves what kind of leadership development programs do we need today? Do we need collective development or individual development programs? Should they be horizontal of verti...

Great leaders have a solid understanding of how their emotions and actions affect the people around them, and this is called emotional intelligence. When leaders have emotional intelligence, they can discern the emotions of others while using information and thought to guide their own behaviour. Studies have shown that people with high emotional intelligent have greater job performance and demonstrate better leadership skills. But do you know how good your emotional intelligence is? Did you also...