The Change Society Podcast: Recent Episodes
Sullivan & Stanley
A series of conversations with senior executives and change leaders, discussing the future of work and business innovation.
If you’re looking for the benchmark in empathetic leaders, look no further than Phil Anderson. Our guest today is COO of Legal and General who chats with our host Pat Lynes on a wide set of topics across transformation, agile and innovation.
While we try not to talk about covid too much, but the way Phil and his team navigated an incredible flurry of changes both digitally and personally is to be admired. Naturally, Phil heaped praise on his team rather than himself- but it's clear that his calming influence was a major factor in its success.
To boot, Pat and Phil dive into how Phil manages his energy as an incredibly busy executive, as well as his scaling ambition for L&G.
All this to look forward to, so please enjoy the show.
Amidst a crippling pandemic for many industries, Marshall Motors managed to have a very strong financial year. While the market went up 8.4%, MArshall eclipsed it with 19.5%. We were lucky enough to have Marshall CEO Daksh Gupta along with our own Strategy and Transformation Advisor Chris Hafner on the show, discussing some of the traits of leadership that helped them to achieve that. But more impressively, despite those profit figures, the executive team at Marshall decided not to take their management bonuses, as they considered the hardship that many people had endured throughout the past year. Actions speak louder than words for leaders in today’s day and age and that’s what we unpacked today along with the upcoming opportunities in the automotive industry, what a modern leader looks like and what are some of Marshall Motors’ secrets to success. Intro- * Chris Hafner Strategy and Transformation Advisor for S&S * Daksh Gupta - CEO for Marshall Motors Holding PLC * 134 businesses representing 22 brand partners - Audi/ Volkswagen/JLR/Volvo etc * Been CEO since 2008 - in year 14 * Chris - worked in venture capital, spun up and sold two tech businesses * Defining vision, purpose, strategy and transformation road map
Marshall Motors trading update numbers - 36.13 * Despite pandemic, made £21M of PBT (ahead of forecast) * Market was up 8.4%, Marshall was up 19.5% * Because of that, we repaid all the furlough payments claimed in 2020 * Paid back retail grants - lots of media attention because of this * However we decided not to take management bonuses
What are the softer traits and trends driving success in various industries? - 6.30 * Businesses doing the right thing with a strong moral compass * Consumers will move towards moving towards brands that act this way * Leaders who set outcomes for teams to achieve - but not enforcing the ‘how’.
Modern Leadership - 13.46 * The good will and positivity that comes from ‘giving back’ * Marshall - 11 years in a row ranked as a Great Place to Work and UK Best Workplaces * Apply good customer outcomes, you achieve shareholder value. It’s not rocket science * Have to be transparent - monthly management conference with everything on the table * Lead from the front and blaze the trail * Authenticity is something you can’t manufacture - consumers will know * You can only lead if you have followers and you can’t force them to follow you
What are customers' expectations in 2021? - 16.43 * Automotive industry - low margin game, so it’s about service and technology, but more importantly - is this company a business for good? * Are organisations doing the right thing from an environmental perspective?
What are the upcoming opportunities in the automotive industry? 🔥20.38 * Lots of change going on around electric vehicles and emissions targets * Manufacturers need to review distribution * Digitalisation has a huge role to play * How to improve the customer experience when buying a car
Disruption doesn’t discriminate - 25.59 * It used to be pretty straight forward to figure out who your competitors were * Broaden your thinking, start thinking about ecosystems * Have a portfolio of options you can execute based on various futures, gives businesses the ability to pivot * Go back to basics creates tremendous opportunities
Secrets to Marshall success - 30.07 * Grew from £300m revenue to £3bn in 14 years, IPO'd in 2014 * Having a stable management team * Make long term decisions for the good of the business for the long term * Do you live your values? Integrity is a key one, hence not taking the management bonus
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“Unless you address the budgeting process, all the talk about radical change are just nice words”. There probably isn’t a better way to introduce this show than the words of our guest Bjarte Bognses.
Bjarte, winner of the Harvard Business Review/McKinsey Management Innovation award, is the undisputed leader of the Beyond Budgeting movement - the topic of today's episode. Lots of ground was covered in this one, including where the movement was originally inspired, how the adoption of beyond budgeting has increased since the pandemic, how to get the CFO and executive team on board with rolling budgets and how Handelsbanken operate with no budgets, targets or individual bonuses. The topic becomes more than just about the budgeting process. It’s an exercise in challenging traditional management and leadership principles that can unlock the true potential of organisations normally slowed by bureaucracy and red tape. As usual, a ton of value for any executive or leadership team looking to change and innovate.
References:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bbogsnes
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjarte-bogsnes-41557910/
bbrt.org
Implementing Beyond Budgeting Book
1.29 - Intro
- The first time we kicked out the budget, and costs came down
- The beginning of the Beyond Budgeting journey back in 2005
- Enjoying public speaking and podcasting
4.17 - What is Beyond Budgeting? * The purpose is to create a more dynamic, flexible human organisation * Changing the budgeting process, but also the budgeting mindset * We are looking for a better name!
5.44 - Heritage of Scandinavian Management Techniques * Beyond Budgeting is more prevalent because of culture. Informal and trusting * A movement inspired by companies in both Scandinavia and the UK * The idea started in 1998, two years before the agile manifesto
8.24 - The 12 key principles and what they are looking to challenge * Divided into six leadership principles * The traditional models don’t reflect the management processes you need to unlock these leadership beliefs * We have to practice what we preach as leaders * Traditional management built on two principles - can’t trust people and that the future is predictable and plannable. * The pandemic has busted these apart
13.16 - Are you seeing a shift in uptake of Beyond Budgeting since the pandemic from boards? * Every big company is on some sort of agile transformation * Unless you address the budgeting process, wanting to change is just lip service * Everyone loves innovation, but that enthusiasm is limited to tech - not management
18.58 - Using the right language to align groups of executives * We should leave performance management behind as a label * Stop managing performance, and start enabling * E.g. Traffic lights manage performance while roundabouts enable it
20.55 - What are the barriers to transitioning to this new world? * The fear of losing control, although that is often just an illusion * We don’t need targets to evaluate performance * Hitting the target, but missing the point
25.33 - Case Study * Handelsbanken has been operating with no budgets, targets or individual bonuses since 1970. Has never needed a government bailout
26.55 - How to take the CFO and Finance team on a journey to rolling budgets * They initially find it a bit big and scary * Ask ourselves - why do we budget? Set targets, forecast and resource allocation * It created gaming and sandbagging * We can continue to do all three, but we do them in separate processes + Target- an aspiration, what we want to happen + Forecast- what we think will happen + Resource allocation- optimisation of scarce resources
35.28 - What does the future look like? * Like-minded communities are joining forces to spread the word * In 15-20 years, we’ll smile at management in 2021 * Be the pioneer or the laggard
Being customer-centric in 2021 is no longer a choice. But what are the nuances and tips that can differentiate you from the pack? Joining host Jacob Perring on the show was our very own Chief Customer Experience Officer Emma Dark (previously ASOS, The White Company & Soho House) and Mark Baxter (Tesco, P&G). In 50-odd minutes they cover the latest trends they’ve seen the past few years, why your customer must have a seat at the boardroom table, common issues when driving customer focus at a senior level and how to measure it all. Between Mark and Emma there is a boatload of customer experience across industry on a variety of levels, so no doubt you will come away from this with huge value. One not to be missed, so we hope you enjoy the show. 1.12 - Intro * Mark Baxter, Marketing Director specialising in customer data and centricity. * Emma Dark, Chief Customer Experience Officer at S&S, previously ASOS, The White Company and Soho House
2.25 - What trends are we seeing in the past few years as we focus on customers * Buffet- you can tell who’s been swimming naked when the tide goes out * Customers seek authentic brands that resonate with them * Engagement and experienced led product or service is vital * CX is the battleground and differentiator in a digital world * Customer needs to be a strategy across the whole business
7.52 - Customer data and knowing your customer * Two types. Data and being forensic, but also observing with your own eyes * This leads your business on the right path to creating something unique * FMCG and retail, lots of copycats. So you have to differentiate through customer * Knowing them behaviourally and personalise their experience * Need to dispel the myths by researching what they really want 🔥 * Focus on the epicentres where you can extract insights * Customer data isn’t a one-off exercise - it has to become ingrained everywhere 🔥
11.38 - Customer having a seat at the boardroom table * You have that independent conscience of the customer 🔥 * Shine a light when it's not the right decision for the customer 🔥 * A single view of the customer across various organisational functions wins * Set out what the north star strategy actually means and how it resonates * How do they purchase? What is their journey?
17.06 - Measurements and metrics * What is the as-is business across all our touchpoints? * NPS is a strong way of measuring customer satisfaction * Along with competent scores of that customer journey * Having multiple measurements and looking at the whole story * E-commerce is a good way to track that journey and identify problems
22.22 - Customer engagement via social media * Brewdog - they aren’t just discussing their products, they’re telling a story * Content and community strategy anchored in values and purpose * Customer dialogue > advertising * The opportunity to show your company personality * Creating a space for user-generated content
28.54 - Common issues when driving customer focus as a senior level * Thinking you know the customer, but you don’t * Customer centricity not part of your organisation’s culture * They don’t understand their ‘why’ * Metrics aren’t strong enough
34.53 - Speed, failing fast and learning quickly * Case study: Mercadona * Trust the customer and empowering employees to make quick calls * Act upon your insights and be proactive * Where is it practical to get a cohort of your customers involved?
40.14 - Purpose over profit * Customers are skeptical, you have to walk the walk * People now actually care about environmental impact of products * Organisations talking about their people creates authenticity and builds trust * Purpose has to become the new differentiator * Stand for something - or you’re in a no-mans land of mediocrity * Big banks disrupted by customer-centric fintechs
If you’re interested to hear more about how Sullivan & Stanley solves the change problem and how we empower companies to embrace disruption to thrive tomorrow, check out our services page. Or get in touch.
As the UK prepares to emerge from the shadows of lockdown, Host Pat Lynes catches up with Chief People Officer Paul Cutler on what is next for individuals and organisations. They discuss how the scale and simultaneous shock of the pandemic have levelled the playing field amongst organisations globally, but also why their return to work strategies are very different. Can organisations offer people the flexibility to manage how they work? Can you build a virtual culture? Does this help or hinder blue-chip companies in the war for talent? They then dive into other aspects of the future of work including portfolio plus, the value of leadership continuity while remaining flexible and what the boardroom of the future will look like. All these answered and plenty more including why human capital is your biggest advantage in the world of open-source technology. We hope you enjoy the show either to watch or listen. 2.43 - Intro * Previously Chief People Officer at Travelex * A former restaurant and nightclub owner (Supper Club)
4.19 - Reflections on last year and opportunity for next decade * Huge shock, but nothing new * AI, Flexible working, robotic process - same topics * Scale and simultaneous shock has levelled the playing field * Unilever CEO saying they will never return to 5 day work week * Remote work will affect the higher paid knowledge works, but factory workers, Nurses and delivery drivers will be harder pressed to adapt
8.24 - How will the return to work settle in the corporate world? * Can organisations offer flexibility to manage how they work? * What job are you in? * What is desirable? * Hybrid is the answer
13.23 - Adapting Organisational Design and Structure 🔥 * The future of work isn’t just about where you work * What collaboration tools and cultural norms and rules * How do you as a leader inspire your people when they’re fragmented * Where is the water cooler?
16.07 - Building a Virtual Culture * Culture is extremely hard to define and control anyway * Build them the same way as you would in the office * Comms, values, recognition and role modelling, leadership etc. * Need to become more sophisticated and fluid in how we think about it
20.44 - What do blue-chip companies need to do now to compete in the war for talent? 🔥 * 1. World is fragmenting and people will vote for their feet * 2. Big corporate is king - they can cherrypick the people they want * Everyone else will be fighting for gigs * CxOs of the future need an employee mix * Take control of the future trajectory of where tech will disrupt you
27.14 - Human Capital * World of open source and cloud-based tech - what is your competitive advantage? Your people 🔥
29.44 - Where Formula 1 can teach corporates to win * Working with McLaren to overhaul analytics at GSK using incremental gains * Concept of winning. What inspires?
32.48 - FTSE backing Long term exec guidance and leadership vs. short-term shareholder primacy pressures * Scaled orgs need continuity of leadership and direction * Startups and agile orgs have the ability to flex, but need continuity too! * Hard to transform with so much executive churn * Never been more important to have the right leader * The paradox of keeping the consistency of leadership, but also need to be flexible
40.10 - Portfolio Plus * Bjarte Bognes on Beyond Budgeting * The dichotomy of corporations vs. employee isn’t the future
44.11 - Wave a magic wand to build a future of work in a corporate setting * Dialogue with leadership, employees, customers and partners * What makes up the DNA of this place? * Minimalist design work and light HR scaffolding * Implement and embed
49.13 - Model Organisations * Brewdog - only seven pay grades between entry and executives * A socially responsible business model * Getting emotional, purpose and business contract - holy trinity for talent
52.06 - Boardroom of the future * Obviously a diverse boardroom - above all, diversity of thought * Being a net contributor to the benefit of our community, society and planet * Get a representation of all cross-section of employees on your board
Fed Kuzel is Tesco’s Head of Group Engineering for Central Europe and this podcast is chock full of value. They discuss Tesco’s history of innovation, how the pandemic has sped up changes in consumer behaviours, how to get product working with technology and finally how to put customer at the heart of development.
1.46 Background
- Head of Group Engineering for Central Europe - Buda and Krakow
- Started in tech in Y2K
4.13 History of Tesco * Innovators - cashless stores/cashier-less stores * Implementing lean and learning organisations
7.48 Putting technology at the heart of your strategy 9.06 Adapting to the 2020 Pandemic * Mobilised incredibly quickly, spinning up multiple distribution centres in 4 weeks * Doubled deliveries
11.48 Accelerated Consumer Behaviour - deliveries * The cost of fulfilment * Optimisation of that journey * Drones
13.26 Biggest competitors in 5 years time * Online retailers (Amazon Fresh) * Industry doesn’t move that quickly * Focusing on our own innovation
16.55 Will Tesco have brand loyalty with the next generation? * Comparison to the fashion industry * Focus on user experience * Experiential stores
20.56 People, community and environment * Decreasing food waste * Working to become carbon neutral
22.42 Putting customer at the heart of product development * Start with why * Who are the target audiences * Metrics related to human experience and business
25.48 How to get product working with technology * A startup called Decision.tech did this very well * Make mistakes and innovate * Internal open-source
29.53 Leadership * Strong engineering leadership in Tesco * Biggest inspiration: Eliyahu Goldratt
33.44 AI writing code * Replacing traditional software engineers
00:06 - Welcome/Intro
00:25 - Theme of today - 84% of transformations fail
01:10 - Jacqueline Introduction
01:48 - Martin Introduction
03:24 - Why are 84% of change initiatives and transformations failing
Digital Transformation as a buzzword
There is a pace of change we’ve never seen before
We can’t predetermine an outcome based on our own actions
06:47 - What are the main traps and barriers in the way of effective change
How we work today vs how we worked 100 years ago
We were educated to think in a linear manner not an exponential manner
Digital Transformation of working practices accelerated 6 years in 6 weeks
12:55 - What is the one thing that needs to change to change the script
‘There is a nice new car in the driveway and nobody knew how to drive it’
Help organisations understand how complex this journey is
There isn’t ‘one thing’ because it’s complex
Getting really strong foundations in place
19:11 - Why are most organisations treating change as a commodity
How do they know what success looks like if you don’t measure it
People are using tools that worked in an era that was yesterday
‘I’d like to know the hindsight upfront’
It must be terrifying being a CEO or COO and seeing that stat of 16%
28:29 - Are people too fearful to start the process in the first place?
Some industries don’t have to think about disruption, but not many.
Every company must have change at the heart of its agenda
Learn, evolve, learn, evolve essentially every 90 days
When you’re shaping the future of work it’s the most exciting place to be
36:46 - What are the secrets behind sustainability and getting change ready
The foundations of change
‘I no longer fear change anymore’
41:11 - Wrap up/What advice have you got for people leading change
Don’t fear change
Servant leadership has never been more important than it has in 2020. And whilst it has been around for a long time, it is certainly having its day in the sun. But what exactly is it?
Along with S&S Chief Strategic Coach Adrian Stalham and host Pat Lynes, the panel debunk the myth that servant leadership is all fluff and uncover the staggering cost associated with a lack of engagement.
They explore why organisations get it so wrong and how vital it is that leaders practice it with their teams in the remote working era that is 2020.
1.17 Tony’s expertise and background
1.58 Dark arts of change (maybe the true art)
3.09 Is technology just hype in regard to change?
5.00 The skills of a leader haven’t changed in 1000s of years
6.54 Why is change so hard today and what could we learn from the past?
10.50 Why military leaders are so effective
11.01 What makes a great change team?
15.03 Why do you love doing what you do?
15.51 What are the eternal truths of change
19.30 How does aligning yourself to power work practically?
20.50 84% of transformations fail – we’ve forgotten the core principles of leadership
22.52 The word transformation in 2020
24.32 The word digital
25.37 Agile is just a tool
26.38 Why companies treat change as a commodity?
30.38 Best leadership advice you’ve ever received
1.04 - Introduction and background 1.49 - How has the CIO role evolved over the last decade * The needs of the business and what you can do with technology * Support and enable change in the business
5.30 - How do you wake up the board and take them on a journey? 9.20 - Communicating in Nespresso 10.55 - Is the role as CIO become more alignment of the board and germinating transformation? 13.26 - 9% of FTSE 350 board members have a tech background 17.00 - Having the right kind of IT people 19.03 - CIO role in the coming decade. What part will they play in the fourth industrial revolution? 24.20 - The best CIOs own the innovation and change agenda 28.46 - Experience as CIO at Selfridges* work done there 28.53 - Biggest challenge at Selfridges 30.40 - Biggest accomplishment at Selfridges 31.18 - Retail - where is it heading? 35.46 - Advice for Retail board members - logical steps to succeed * Understand your current customer and drive strategy
38.09 - Advice you would give yourself 15 years ago before first CIO role 40.13 - What’s next? CIO Grocery retailer in Saudi Arabia
1.03: Career background 1.50: First Challenge: Funding. Finding someone who believes in your vision 4.03: Second Challenge: Find people around you with complementary skills and work ethic 4.38: Advice on finding those with high net worths for funding 6.56: Using Crowd Funding Platforms 8.33: When to recognise you can’t do everything yourself - building a team 11.30: Your early employees need to be broadly talented 13.30: Entrepreneurs have a million ideas - delivered and contained 15.16: Balancing your time as Founder and CEO across the business 17:10: Maintaining the element of ‘it’s going to be alright’.. .even if it maybe isn’t 19.05: What are the indicators you need to grow, scale or invest 22.16: The power (and difficulty) of using data 24.47: The data showing you where in the organisation a touchpoint is looking wobbly 25.43: How fast you need monitoring systems at the beginning 27.33: When is the usual time to consider investors (PE and VC) 30.19: Later rounds of investment changes the relationship with business owners 32.09: Investment starvation 36.10: Cashflow is king. What are the growing pains? 38.53: Where do you go for your third party advice? 41.20: Planning your exit 45.28: Parting thought- use data to be in control
1.10 - Yacht captain background 2.05 - how to create a startup culture - what are you trying to achieve? 4.00 - Converting an in-house team to an incubator * Needs a mix of SME and external expertise to avoid company think.
5.23 - How do you make the best team? * Leadership. Who’s setting the tone and pushing it forward
7.14 - Where does the sponsorship come from? 8.35 - Project Owners to Product Owners 10.04 - What are the attributes of a great Product Owner? 11.19 - How culture dictates reporting lines, or lack thereof 12.37 - How D&G have succeeded here -professionalism, leadership and relationships 14.07 - How to distil goals into objectives while innovating 17.05 - Patience with failures and people not developing 18.21 - Setting the non-negotiables and principles 20.33 - The advantage and disadvantage of a startup within a corporate 22.46 - Running more than one startup at a time 24.51 - Handling the jealousy of new fancy and well-funded project 27.05 - How long do you give it before you call it a day? 29.14 - The learnings you get, even if you don’t get the outcome 31.14 - Taking an innovative idea and turning it into something operational 32.48 - Startup technologies switching the wider corporate tech approach 34.48 - Freedom within a framework 37.09 - Focus on DevOps early 38.43 - Leadership whether its a big corporate or startup
Host Ken Towning chats with executive leader Nigel Lemmon on corporate social responsibility and the key work he's done in the space with British American Tobacco (yes really) and Nandos as their Global CTO.
Host Pat Lynes chats with Technology Leader Adrian Wakefield on how he became the accidental interim, as he discusses his journey from permanent work to portfolio and providing practical tips along the way.
If you are thinking of making a similar change to your career, please contact Host Pat Lynes: pat.lynes@sullivanstanley.com
Host Pat Lynes chats with former Brigade Commander and change expert Rufus McNeil on a new style of leadership that needs to emerge during this crisis.
3.28 Home truths for businesses
6.02 The Future of Work accelerated
7.59 Remote work challenges for leaders
15.16 Creating Clarity
23.09 What is expected in this new environment
26.35 Structure and Support – Set a rhythm
31.26 Servant Leadership
34.48 The Value of People
46.02 Campaigning for Change
48.47 Extreme Change
Host Matt Bradley sits down with Simon Hamblin, former Chief Technology Officer at ASOS and currently with Emirates Group.
Simon has had an interesting journey working for some big names like ASOS and Emirates whilst also founding his own company in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space.
Host Matt Bradley sits down with Craig Strong, A Chief Technology and Product Officer specialising in growth and innovation.
Craig is a Forbes Technology Council Member, a global speaker at lean, agile and technology conferences and has recently co-authored a book 'The Lean Product Lifecycle'.
S&S Founder Pat Lynes catches up with CxO and fintech transformer Mark Allcock on delivering largescale programmes, entrepreneurship and digital transformation.
Founder Pat Lynes chats with portfolio executives Malcolm Lambell and Christian McMahon about how to take the leap into the executive gig economy.
Our very first podcast show on International Women's Day 2017, where we discuss Jacqueline Shakespeare's journey from a corporate career, to starting a family and using interim management to get back into a challenging leadership position.
Matt Bradley sits down with Mik Quinlan and Ahmed Syed to discuss the Agile mindset as well as tips for building purposeful and passionate teams.