Do you suffer from proximity bias? Are you a time vampire? And if we are now ‘zedonks’, how do we plan for working in a hybrid environment? In this insightful episode of Leading for Business Excellence, Dr Nicola Millard, Principal Innovation Partner at BT Digital Solutions, talks about leading the future of work.
Spending most of her time collaborating with a variety of experts to imagine and research the possibilities of innovative technology, Nicola shares with us her thoughts and findings on today’s hot topics, including the four-day working week, establishing a presence in a virtual world, and the psychology of innovation.
Listen now to hear what that could mean for you, and the future of your work.
Speaking shortly after attending COP27, it was clear that Emma Howard Boyd's early experience of living on a boat motivated her to combine her career with paying attention to our natural world.
So much so, she was awarded a CBE by Her Majesty the Queen in 2021 for service to the environment, and she continues to influence the field of climate change and sustainability through her various portfolio roles today.
She is a leading voice on how we must develop systems to address climate issues and the intrinsically linked cost of living crisis, women leaders and diversity. Join us now to hear from a truly dedicated expert on how leadership thinking can create a sense of purpose, innovation, and community to build a better future for us all.
One of the UK's most experienced change agents with a career in improvement spanning over 40 years, David Sheldon shares his impressive leadership journey.
From early, instinctive and intuitive problem-solving, to establishing one of the UK's first public sector dedicated improvement functions, and later applying his skills in times of greatest need at the healthcare provider St John Ambulance during the COVID-19 pandemic - we see his real-life hands-on application of the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle of improvement at the core of all he does.
Davids's insight in understanding the customer, the need for pragmatism, and the importance of stakeholder engagement are not to be missed - his story is a great one from which we can all learn. Enjoy!
When Jade became MD of Wilcox Limousines in June 2020, the system worked, but she could see that to remain a market leader, the organisation needed to adapt, and quickly.
By launching an improvement programme which touched every area of the business, Jade led her team through a remarkable business transformation, which culminated in achieving international recognition through the CQI’s prestigious Quality Organisation of the Year Award.
Listen now to hear how Jade inspired her team to work in new ways, with new found confidence.
"Don’t worry about the solution", Tim Schmeisser, VP of Commercial Transformation tells us, "that will come later. First, we must talk about the problem". Or should that be ‘the opportunity'?
Through his technology-based career with companies including Unilever and Kimberly-Clark, Tim has mastered the art of simplifying complex problems to gain a real understanding of what’s not working. Only then can his team explore what they’re trying to accomplish, and aim for an effective solution that turns a problem into an opportunity.
Listen now for his practical advice on developing a motivated and inspired team with the common goal of delivering value for the organisation and its customers, and how what might first be regarded as failure can make you a better leader.
Serial entrepreneur, investor, and CEO of SmartSuite, Jon Darbyshire, specialises in looking at old problems from new perspectives, and bringing fresh thinking to help tackle some of the real-world challenges that many organisations face.
With a career spanning the world of big consulting, high-growth tech start-ups, and the charitable sector, Jon shares his first-hand experience of performance excellence and the lessons he’s learned along the way. It’s fascinating to hear how his mastery of process, combined with a keen sense of both priority and direction has contributed to his success.
Listen now as we explore how teams can be mobilised and scaled at pace, and how to break new ground while ensuring quality of delivery is maintained, as well as finding new and exciting ways to delight customers.
Starting his career as an IT graduate for E.ON, Suraj Patel saw an opportunity for change, and with the support of a much-valued talent development mentor, took a leap into continuous improvement and operational excellence.
Today, Suraj is Director of Operational Strategy at Capital One, where he champions the link between operational excellence and strategy, to drive results for the organisation.
Listen now to hear Suraj talk about the moral responsibilities of the banking industry, what Capital One are doing to support customers to succeed with credit, and who inspired Suraj to understand and carry forward the importance of attending to diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Success in hospitality requires much more than great food alone. Teamwork, flow, individual roles, and clear process ownership are each critical to delivering an outstanding customer experience.
In the latest edition of our Leading for Business Excellence Podcast, we talk to award-winning restaurateur Daniel Crump of the Greyhound Pub and Dining, as he shares his journey from setting up a restaurant in his mother’s garage at the age of 14, to working with renowned chef Gordon Ramsay, and eventually opening his own business.
Listen now to hear Dan’s story, including how he is leading the way with the Greyhound Hospitality Programme, introducing young people to the hospitality industry and promoting his passion for a culture of process excellence.
In this episode, we’re joined by Claire Miles, Chief Executive Officer of Yell, the organisation that provides innovative digital marketing solutions to help UK businesses thrive.
Claire joined Yell 2.5 years ago with the remit to establish a turnaround strategy. She talks candidly about her approach to this, including her assessment of the organisation and the steps that she went through to understand what the priorities were. Just six months later, the pandemic hit and the organisation faced the challenge of adapting the strategy to adjust to the new environment.
It’s interesting to hear how the impact of the pandemic levelled the hierarchy, and how new communication rhythms enabled Claire to more closely integrate with her teams.
Listen now to hear our great conversation about measuring the end-to-end customer journey and how to deliver the very best experience for them.
Our latest guest is Bob Pragada, the President and Chief Operating Officer for Jacobs Engineering Group. Jacobs is a Fortune 500 company, with 55,000 people in 29 different countries who work across a wide range of areas including intelligence, water, infrastructure, health, renewables, and many more.
Interviewing Bob was a truly inspiring experience. He demonstrates a great sense of caring about the company he works for and their clients, by providing the very best service. Bob’s take on leadership goes well beyond the typical day-to-day management approaches. It’s fascinating to hear him talk about so many different subjects including, for example, diversity, inclusion and mental health.
After listening to Bob, we hope that you will feel as inspired as we were, to do something different to create meaningful change and better workplaces.
In this months episode, we’re joined by Linda Linteau, Head of Global Continuous Improvement for SGRE Service, the global market leader in offshore wind power.
Linda is an improvement expert with a fascinating career, having applied her skills and knowledge to enable social and technical integration, to develop effective systems of change.
Today, she shares with us her insights on the application of business excellence in a variety of organisations, who has been her biggest influence, and how she’d like to release her inner diva.
In this episode, we’re joined by Matt Lindley, a commercial airline and former RAF trained fighter pilot, who also flew the royal family for ten years. He’s completely invested in inclusive leadership, and these days is a sought after human performance specialist, keynote, and TEDx speaker.
Matt talks about the shift change in leadership behaviour in the aviation industry; the human performance factors that are in play and human limitations under pressure, and what we, as business leaders, can learn from this.
Listen out for his thoughts on how leaders can develop trust, enable people to speak up, learn, and improve. He speaks with passion about what systems and processes are needed to make this happen - not just occasionally, but always.
In this month’s episode, we’re joined by Joanne Humble, Global Head of Business Improvement at Catalent Pharma Solutions.
Joanne is an expert in change, having worked in the pharma industry in a range of improvement and transformation roles.
She shares her practical experience of making change happen, engaging people in the process of change and developing sustainable programmes. Listen out for her insights and advice on the importance of the role of leadership in providing the mandate for improvement, and the need for a systemic approach.
In this episode, we're joined by David Callaghan, former Senior Vice President of Oracle EMEA, President of the British Quality Foundation until 2019, and B2B business leader in Executive and Non-Executive roles.
David describes his career in I.T. as a happy accident, but it’s quite clear that he’s thrived in the world of technology and enjoyed being part of the industry's evolution over the last 4 decades. He talks with passion about the role of a leader, the need to listen, learn and improve.
Listen out for David’s thoughts on the importance of creating teams who will challenge you as a leader and also of developing connections between business and the local community, and how the benefits really are two-way.
Burger King (UK)'s Chief Marketing Officer, Katie Evans, talks about her experience of driving customer-focused Performance Improvement.
Listen out for her take on putting the customer front and centre, working in partnership with the supply chain to achieve better results and engaging stakeholders in transformative change.
Learn how agile processes have enabled Katie to lead a team successfully and consistently without stifling creativity.
Hear Estelle’s fascinating stories, from how an untimely bout of chicken pox at university set her on a path to the quality career she has excelled in and the range of challenges she has applied business excellence tools and methodology to. Listen out for her example of what good quality looks like – it’s an absolute gem!