Igniting Innovation

Samatha (Sam) Emery is a formidable change agent - a genuine "force of nature" within the financial services industry in the UK and beyond. Having held prominent positions at RBS, the FCA, Lloyds Banking Group and Swift, she is a frequent speaker at many of the financial services events I attend, and from the very […] The post Banking Monsters and Myths with Samantha Emery appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

How do you cross the yawning chasm of lack of context in today's remote-first, distributed working environment? If you're in a management position, you might not even be aware of it or even worse, you might be dealing with it in a way that alienates your employees! It's no secret that I'm a huge fan […] The post The Context Chasm in today's remote first working world – with Leda Glyptis appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Theo is saddened, angry and frustrated by the very real Monsters she has encountered as a woman in the workplace over the last three decades. Sadly the solutions put forward so far have all been Myths - there has been no Magic to dispel them. The post Theo Lau on Monsters and Myths faced by Women in the Workplace appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Well it was bound to happen sooner or later on a show that hosts changemakers - Ajit Chambers turned the concept on its head and took a contrarian view of who the Monsters are and how manufacturing Myths can help you to achieve your goals. Ajit is a seasoned Banker (but please don't hold that […] The post Ajit Chambers takes a different view of who the monsters really are appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Thea Loch has significant experience of driving change and transformation from "both sides" of the fence - initially as a consultant and currently as the Head of Group Optimisation at Lloyds Banking Group in the UK. She's seen, and overcome, a myriad of Monsters and Myths in her time and undoubtedly will conquer many more […] The post “the one with the cult” – Thea Loch appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

The problem with ideas is that they're not really useful if you're solving the wrong problem in the first place! That's just one of the many insights shared by Nikolas (Nik) Venios, Founder of The Ideas Agency, in this session. As a fellow change maker / disruptor / innovator, Nik has faced a myriad of […] The post Nikolas Venios talks about the problems with ideas appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Transformation is tough - there, I've said it! People are naturally resistant to change and when a transformation project is announced, many people will immediately hide behind their barriers and throw obstacles in the path of change. I saw a tweet thread a while back that called on people to list 5 topics they could […] The post Lou Smith talks Change and Transformation appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Have you encountered the Imposter Syndrome Monster yet? Have you ever felt that your skills and experience are simply "not enough" for you to open your mouth and provide an opinion in front of your peers? Or perhaps you've passed up the opportunity to apply for a promotion or ask for a raise at work […] The post Imposter Syndrome Monsters and Myths with Tara Halliday appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Pedro Pinto is a Technology Leader whose teams have been responsible for many groundbreaking innovations across multiple industries over the years. As is always the case with the Tribe of Troublemakers (aka fellow innovators), this means he has come face to face with many Monsters and Myths (barriers and obstacles) in his path. How many […] The post Technology Monsters and Myths shared by Technology Leader Pedro Pinto appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Sales is the biggest monster I have faced and have yet to overcome. We ALL have to "sell" at some point in our life - to get a job or promotion, to find a romantic partner, to get investment or support of an idea, to be accepted in a team - and many, many more […] The post Tony Hughes shares the top Monsters and Myths of Sales appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Prof. Jason Mars PhD is one of the world leaders in the realm of "conversational artificial intelligence" (THE world leader by my personal assessment!). He is on a mission to have a meaningful impact on the lives of every human and if you take a look at what he and his team at Clinc.com have […] The post Jason Mars shares Artificial Intelligence Monsters and Myths appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Stan Horwitz is an internationally certified and accredited Master OD, Change and HR specialist (UK CIPD Fellow equivalent) who has encountered many Monsters and Myths over the course of his career. In this interview he shines the light on :- the "Myth of Digital Transformation" - that is widely perpetuated these days the "Monster of […] The post Stan Horwitz shares Digital Transformation Monsters and Myths appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Becky Downing is a serial entrepreneur who started trying to change the world way back when she was still in school (it didn't go as planned - you'll have to watch / listen to find out what happened). She went on to be one of the few female founders globally that has raised in excess […] The post Becky Downing shares the biggest Monsters and Myths encountered by Entrepreneurs appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Kent Vorland is no stranger to Change and Transformation. Having started his career in the Norwegian Air-force, progressing on to gaining an Economics degree in the USA after which he spent time on Wall street before moving to the UK to start his own consultancy and then taking on the position of CEO at SimplyPayMe, […] The post Monsters And Myths impact mental health of entrepreneurs and founders – Kent Vorland appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Rosie and Faris Yakob are the geniuses behind the nomadic creative consultancy Genius Steals. They have traveled the world and worked with amazing individuals and organisations of all sizes, accumulating a long list of accolades and achievements along the way. To me they are the epitomy of creativity and as creativity is a core component […] The post S2E010 Rosie and Faris Yakob – Creative Monsters and Myths appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Adrian Holt has had a long career in the military, where he was a founding member of the MOD's jHUB innovation facility before moving onto his current role as Head of Defence at Capita Consulting. I met Adrian at an event where he had shared a fascinating presentation about the challenges of open innovation and […] The post S2E09 Adrian Holt – Innovation Monsters and Myths appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Robert (Rob) Wood embodies innovation, although that's not something you will ever hear him say about himself! This former Marine turned Drinks Iconoclast has a slew of awards under his belt gained via his grounbreaking and entrepreneurial achievements and yet he introduces himself as "a bartender" ....... which in my personal opinion is akin to […] The post S2E08 Robert Wood – Innovation Monsters and Myths appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

I've known Marc for many years - ever since he was (unfortunately for him) assigned as my "CIO Advisor" by the organisation he was working for at the time. I quickly grew to trust his advice and I valued the many and varied conversations we've had over the years - and not just because he […] The post S2E07 Innovation Monsters and Myths – Marc Dowd appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Katryna Dow, CEO and Founder of Meeco.me specifically requested that we resord this episode on Friday 13th ........ not just any Friday 13th, but a Friday 13th in 2020!!! Given how the year has gone so far I figured "what the heck - it can't get any worse now can it??". Thankfully the interview went […] The post S2E06 Innovation Monsters and Myths – Katryna Dow appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

With a PhD in Politics, you might wonder what Leda Glyptis is doing on a show about Innovation - although Monsters, Myths and Politics sort of go hand in hand don't they .......? But make no mistake about it - Leda has over a decade of experience leading organisation change and transformation and heading up […] The post S2E04 Innovation Monsters and Myths – Leda Glyptis (Part1) appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

I've interviewed many people from different walks of life in my career, but this is the first time I've ever interviewed a bona fide, guitar toting ROCKSTAR!! James Dodkins used to play in a multi-award winning heavy metal rock band and he now brings that same passion and energy to keynote stages, workshops and customer […] The post S2E03 Innovation Monsters and Myths – James Dodkins appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Dr Anette Broløs is a highly qualified consultant, researcher, public speaker, moderator and published author but perhaps most relevant of all to this topic is that she has a PhD in Collaborative Innovation - meaning she has encountered her fair share of Innovation Monsters and Myths in her life!! Anette introduces us to her monsters […] The post S2E02 Innovation Monsters and Myths – Anette Broløs appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

The Monsters and Myths series kicks off with Customer Experience Professional Roland Naidoo I met Roland in 2017 at a Customer Experience event in South Africa where he delivered a superb keynote about "raising" an AI (Artificial Intelligence) and since then we have become firm friends and co-conspirators. Roland introduces us to his pet peeves […] The post S2E01 Innovation Monsters and Myths – Roland Naidoo appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Innovation is a blend of Art and Science and it takes place in a broad and messy ecosystem that has far more in common with making moonshine that you might think :-) The post Ep10 The Art and Science of Innovation appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Everyone focuses on the obvious benefits of innovation activities - but there are many more implications to being known as an innovative organisation that will have an impact across your company. The post Ep9 Innovation benefits beyond the obvious appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

The fear of failure is one of the most common reasons why people don't want to be associated with anything to do with innovation. In this episode, I share some of the activities that have helped me overcome the inherent fear of the unknown that many people have in the hope that you find it useful too. The post Ep8 The Fear of Failure appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Measuring the impact of your innovation initiatives is crucial to maintaining momentum and funding within your organisation - but innovation measurement is also a controversial and hotly contested topic - I don't have all the answers, but hopefully some of my questions will help you to communicate the impact you are having. The post Ep7 How do you measure innovation impact? appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Innovation takes place in an eco-system and that there are multiple process that contribute towards making an organisation more innovative - (just) having an "innovation funnel" doesn't cut it! The post Ep6 Innovation Myth Busting appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

In recent years, the media has hyped the role of a “futurist” as “someone that predicts the future”. Most people don’t consider themselves capable of envisioning the kinds of futures posited by leading futurists and they stand in awe or are bewildered by the thought process required. In this episode I share a simple technique […] The post Ep5 How do you envision the future? appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

Analyst group Gartner considers Corporate Culture to be the biggest threat / impediment to innovation and I agree! The goal should not be to “do” innovation but rather for the entire organisation to “be” more innovative in everything they do.But this often requires a dramatic cultural shift across the company - which is particularly difficult the larger the organisation and the longer people have been there.So where do you start? I share a few ideas - listen on! The post Ep4 How do you stimulate an innovation culture? appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

How do you know what you don't know? This isn't a trick question and it stems from something a previous CEO said to me. Many of the people that I speak to simply have no idea where or how to start looking out for the things that might have an impact on their work and […] The post Ep3 Do you know what you don’t know? appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

n this episode, Martin poses a bit of a trick question as the answers cover organisation, physical space, geography and a whole lot more! The post Ep2. Where does Innovation take place? appeared first on Andrew Vorster.

In this first episode, Martin and I discuss what innovation is and perhaps more importantly, what it isn't necessarily The post Ep1. What really is Innovation? appeared first on Andrew Vorster.