Podcasts about organisations

.entry-img img{ display:none !important; } .single .hentry .entry-img{ display:none !important; } Understanding why some companies run short of the one resource they simply cannot operate without, cash in the bank, even when they are hitting revenue and profit targets has become an essential leadership skill. Cash flow problems rarely appear in the headline numbers, yet they can quietly derail growth plans, strain supplier relationships, and, in the worst cases, threaten the survival of an otherwise profitable business. For founders, CEOs, and finance leaders, success depends on looking beyond the profit and loss statement to understand the timing, predictability, and movement of cash. Organisations that master cash flow are better equipped to scale with confidence, navigate uncertainty, and seize opportunities while competitors struggle to meet their obligations. In this episode of The GrowCFO Show, host Kevin Appleby is joined by Scotty Palmer, Fractional CFO and Founder of Palmers Advisors, to explore one of the most common challenges facing growing businesses: why profitable companies still run out of cash. Scotty explains how tight margins, hidden costs, and rapid growth without effective cash flow planning can quickly create a liquidity crisis, even when the profit and loss statement looks healthy. Drawing on his experience advising small and mid-sized businesses in the food and beverage sector, he shares practical examples of how cash constraints can emerge despite strong financial performance. The conversation also explores the tools and disciplines that help businesses strengthen cash flow and improve decision-making. Scotty discusses the role of financial modelling, KPI tracking, and AI-powered forecasting in creating greater visibility over future cash needs. He explains how a better understanding of unit economics, more accurate cost allocation, and challenging assumptions about seemingly profitable product lines can uncover hidden value and improve financial resilience. Throughout the discussion, he demonstrates how a fractional CFO can act as a strategic partner, helping founders balance ambitious growth with the financial discipline needed to build a sustainable business. Key topics covered: How a fractional CFO helps profitable businesses avoid cash crunches by improving visibility into true costs and cash conversion Why food and beverage businesses are especially vulnerable to cash-flow problems due to thin margins and complex cost structures A client case where disciplined financial modeling and KPI tracking helped increase business performance 10x Practical strategies to balance passion for product with commercial viability, including pricing, cost allocation, and product mix decisions How Scotty uses AI tools and spreadsheets to build agile financial models and improve decision-making speed for clients Scotty's longer-term vision of building a specialist team of food and beverage advisors to support more founders at scale Links Scotty Palmer on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Mentoring Timestamps:  0:00:01 – Scotty's background and journey from corporate accounting at Honey Baked Hams to becoming a fractional CFO for food and beverage businesses 0:02:57 – The personal and financial challenges of leaving a stable corporate role to build a fractional CFO practice, and the central importance of predictable cash flow 0:07:14 – Why the food and beverage sector is high-risk for cash shortages despite apparent profitability, and how thin margins amplify operational missteps 0:08:39 – Case study: managing a large retailer opportunity, understanding true costs, and avoiding overextending cash to chase volume 0:22:37 – Using cost analysis, pricing strategy, and product-level profitability to turn around a struggling taproom restaurant 0:29:21 – Leveraging AI (Claude, Gemini, Google Sheets) to power financial modeling and scenario analysis without heavy financial systems 0:40:05 – Advice for corporate finance professionals considering a move into fractional CFO work, including risk, reward, and impact Find out more about GrowCFO If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode. GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here. You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Thankfully… walk into almost any contemporary office and you are likely to find a few strategically positioned plants, a moss wall in reception or perhaps another biophilic feature intended to soften an otherwise corporate environment. Over the past decade, introducing greenery into workplaces has become almost synonymous with employee wellbeing. Yet according to workplace and environmental psychologist Dr Craig Knight, if organisations believe that adding a few plants alone will transform productivity, they have misunderstood the research. Craig's work at the University of Exeter, challenged one of the most enduring assumptions in workplace design, namely that the most productive offices are those that are minimalist and stripped back to their essentials. These highly controlled environments were long thought to minimise distraction and maximise concentration. His research demonstrated precisely the opposite. Employees working in enriched environments containing plants, artwork and opportunities for personalisation consistently performed better than those working in lean, standardised offices. “Wellbeing improved, stress reduced and productivity increased by as much as 15%.” Although plants became the headline of many reports about the research, Craig is keen to put them into context. They are not magical objects capable of transforming a workplace by themselves. Rather, they are one of the simplest and most affordable ways of enriching an environment. This is important for designers, facilities managers and employers to remember. Environmental enrichment can take many forms, including artwork, light, texture and even scent. Plants have proved particularly effective because they are relatively inexpensive, flexible and easy to introduce into existing buildings. Unlike a major refurbishment, they can transform a space almost immediately. The psychology behind their success is equally compelling. Rather than distracting employees from their work, enriched environments provide opportunities for brief moments of cognitive recovery. Looking away from a screen towards a plant or another visually engaging feature gives the brain the chance to reset before returning to the task at hand. These small interruptions help sustain attention rather than diminish it. As Craig puts it, people are happier and more productive when their surroundings offer something meaningful to engage with. Yet as our conversation developed, it became clear that the plants themselves were not the most significant finding from decades of workplace research.The real story is choice. People perform better when they have some control over the environment in which they work. The ability to personalise a desk, influence the layout of a workspace or decide where plants should be positioned may appear insignificant, but psychologically these decisions communicate something much larger. They demonstrate trust. One of the most interesting examples he describes comes from a company in Paris that invited staff to shape their own working environment. Employees created artwork, rearranged spaces, introduced planting and developed breakout areas that reflected their own personalities. There was no substantial design budget. Instead, the organisation trusted its employees to create an environment that suited the way they worked. Productivity increased, but equally important was the sense of ownership people developed towards the workplace. It became somewhere they wanted to be rather than somewhere they were required to attend. This idea of ownership runs through much of his research. Organisations often invest heavily in beautifully designed offices only to prevent employees from moving furniture, repositioning plants or displaying personal objects. In doing so, they unintentionally undermine many of the psychological benefits the design was intended to create. Craig argues that even the best designers cannot predict what will make every individual feel comfortable. A workplace should not simply reflect a corporate identity; it should also allow the identities of the people working there to emerge. "The more you can realise your own identity in your space," he says, "the better that space is."This presents an interesting challenge for architects and interior designers. Design excellence has often been measured by visual consistency and aesthetic control. Yet workplace psychology suggests that highly curated environments are not always the most successful places to work. The role of design may be less about creating a finished solution and more about creating a framework within which people can adapt spaces to suit their own needs. That philosophy extends well beyond office furniture or planting schemes. Craig is equally critical of workplace cultures that attempt to monitor every aspect of employee behaviour. Surveillance software, keystroke monitoring and rigid management structures all communicate a lack of trust, and his research consistently shows that these approaches reduce engagement rather than improve it. Organisations frequently speak about wellbeing while simultaneously removing autonomy from their workforce. The contradiction is difficult to ignore. For those working in Biophilic Design, there is another interesting lesson. The discussion around nature in buildings often focuses on the physiological benefits of plants, daylight or natural materials. Craig does not dismiss those benefits, but he repeatedly brings the conversation back to the social environment. Plants become valuable not simply because they are living organisms, but because they represent care, enrichment and, when employees are involved in choosing and looking after them, shared ownership. It is no coincidence that people often name the plants they care for in the workplace. They become part of the social fabric of an office, small but tangible reminders that the environment is alive and that someone has invested in it. Even preserved planting, increasingly common where living plants are impractical, reflects a desire to introduce texture, colour and references to nature into spaces that might otherwise feel sterile.As organisations continue to rethink hybrid working and the purpose of the office, Knight believes there is an opportunity to move beyond designing attractive workplaces only. The challenge is to create environments where people feel respected, trusted and able to contribute to the spaces they inhabit. His advice to designers:"People first. Design second." It is a principle that sits comfortably alongside Biophilic Design. Creating healthier workplaces has never been solely about filling buildings with plants. It is about designing environments that support human flourishing. Plants remain one of the most effective tools available, but they are most powerful when they become part of a wider culture that values participation, autonomy and wellbeing. In the end, the greenest workplace is not necessarily the one with the most planting. It is the one where people genuinely feel that they belong. To follow or contact Dr Craig Kight visit his Linkedin profile: linkedin.com/in/craigknightidrhttps://www.identityrealization.com His now-famous paper, The Relative Benefits of Green Versus Lean Office Space: Three Field Experiments, co-authored alongside Nieuwenhuis, M., Postmes, T., and Haslam, S., found that introducing plants into office environments could improve workplace productivity by up to 15%. Nieuwenhuis, Marlon & Knight, Craig & Postmes, Tom & Haslam, S.. (2014). The Relative Benefits of Green Versus Lean Office Space: Three Field Experiments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. 20. 199-214. 10.1037/xap0000024. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264395358_The_Relative_Benefits_of_Green_Versus_Lean_Office_Space_Three_Field_Experiments Have you got a copy of the Journal? You can now subscribe as a member of the Journal of Biophilic Design or purchase a gorgeous coffee table reference copy or PDF download of the Journal journalofbiophilicdesign.com or Amazon and Kindle. Credits: with thanks to George Harvey Audio Production for the calming biophilic soundscape that backs all of our podcasts. Listen to our podcast on Audible, Amazon Music, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube and all the RSS feeds.https://www.facebook.com/journalofbiophilicdesign/https://www.linkedin.com/company/journalofbiophilicdesign/https://www.instagram.com/journalofbiophilicdesignIf you like this,please subscribe!

 "You can't be the most expensive and be the most crap at what you do.” Andrew Griffiths Top Five Tips For Why You Should Proudly Be The Most Expensive1.   When you play in the cheap end of town, you are just another transaction2.  If you're going to be the most expensive you have to be the best, and there is no downside to this3.  The right customers are looking for the best, not the cheapest4.  Being the most expensive differentiates you in so many ways5.  Businesses that charge the most build financial resilience TIME STAMP SUMMARY 01:40  Competing solely on price is a lack of creativity and leads to a lack of emotional connection with customers.04:10  Being the most expensive requires delivering exceptional value in every aspect of the transaction.09:20 Rewriting the stories and mindsets that prevent business owners from charging appropriately.15:25   Attracting the right customers who value quality and are willing to pay more leads to long-term business success.20:10  Financial resilience leads to a more sustainable and less stressful business environment. Where to find Andrew?Website                       https://www.andrewgriffiths.com.auWebsite LinkedIn                       https://au.linkedin.com/in/griffithsandrew  Andrew Griffiths Long BioAndrew Griffiths stands as Australia's #1 small business author and global authority on future-proofing businesses. With 40 years of entrepreneurial wisdom, 14 bestsellingbooks published in 65 countries, and over 1,000 presentations delivered across 25 countries, Andrew brings a rare combination of street-smart experience and profound business insight to every stage. What sets Andrew apart isn't just his impressive credentials – it's his ability to see the human element in an increasinglydigital world. Renowned as one of the greatest storytellers in the speaking profession, Andrew weaves masterful narratives drawn from his vast bank of personal experiencesand business observations, delivering powerful lessons that resonate long after the presentation ends. As an entrepreneurial futurist, he champions the power of human intelligence in business, helping organisations and leaders navigate change while staying authentically connected to their customers. His gift for storytelling  transforms complex business concepts into memorable, actionable insights that inspire real change. Drawing from his extraordinary journey from orphan to international business authority, Andrew delivers more than just insights, he shares battle-tested wisdomthat has helped both Fortune 500 companies and small business owners thrive. His presentations blend powerful storytelling with practical strategies, delivered with anauthenticity that can only come from someone who has lived the entrepreneurial journey in all its ups and downs. Organisations around the world including the EuropeanUnion, CBS, Hewlett Packard and Hertz have trusted Andrew to deliver not just inspiration, but actionable wisdom that creates lasting impact. His unique ability to hold a mirror up to audiences, showing them both challenges and opportunities comes wrapped in his signature style of unapologetic honesty and quick wit.Andrew specialises in helping audiences:• Look at their business from a global trend perspective• Embrace human intelligence as a competitive advantage • Use storytelling in a strategic way to connect and influence • Build deeper customer connections in a digital age• Navigate price increases and value positioning• Transform their definition of success• Create bulletproof brands that stand the test of time• Feel inspired by global stories of innovation in businessWhen Andrew takes the stage, he doesn't just leave a warm impression, he catalyses real change. His mission is to help people of substance build businesses of substance,ensuring they remain relevant and resilient in an ever-evolving marketplace.

Sometimes the biggest challenge isn't having enough data, it's knowing what to do with it.  As agentic AI moves to real-world deployment, our cities and towns are becoming smarter. The mountain town of Vail, Colorado is just one such example of where artificial intelligence is helping streamline services, improve decision making and enhance experiences for residents and visitors alike. This week, Technology Now welcomes Robin Braun, VP, AI Business Development, Hybrid Cloud, to the show to find out:  • How AI has been successfully used in Vail to improve outcomes for staff and consumers• Why breaking down silos helps instigate necessary communication between departments• Why AI is more than just a productivity tool, it's an essential part of modern day infrastructure 

Minister Catherine Ardagh is one of those helping to organise the event today. Her son Darragh has an assistant dog who came to live with the family this year from the group Dog For The Disabled. Catherine spoke to our reporter Laura Whelan.

When most people hear "digital divide," they picture communities without broadband. But in 2026, that definition is dangerously outdated. "The digital divide is no longer just about internet access." These words from Graeme Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of Converged Solutions Group, set the tone for one of the most pressing conversations in technology today.In this episode of Tech Transformed, host Trisha Pillay sits down with Gordon to unpack the changing digital divide, the massive impact of AI adoption, and what it truly takes. Gordon, whose background spans electrical engineering, oil and gas robotics, and three decades of founding and scaling tech companies, says that the new digital divide is about meaningful participation in the AI-driven economy, not just connectivity.“More people are connected than ever before,” Gordon explains. “But connection without capability is just noise.” He points to mobile internet adoption as a case in point. Billions of people now access the internet via smartphones. However, the gap between scrolling social media and using cloud-based AI tools to build products and services remains wide.This participation gap is the new frontier of digital exclusion. The implications stretch well beyond individual users. Organisations, governments, and education systems that fail to close this gap risk being locked out of the innovation economy entirely.AI Adoption Without EducationFew developments have accelerated the digital divide conversation quite like the arrival of ChatGPT in late 2022. Gordon calls it plainly: "ChatGPT has disrupted and transformed the sector," and not just for technologists. The tool put generative AI in the hands of business professionals, students, and everyday users almost overnight.Gordon says it's time to rethink our approach to AI. At a recent event he attended with 100 business leaders in the room, every hand went up when asked if they had used an AI platform in the last 24 hours. When asked who had received any formal training on how to use those tools, not a single hand was raised. This is the core paradox of AI adoption today. The tools are everywhere. The understanding of how to use them safely, strategically, and effectively is not. Without structured digital literacy and education, rapid AI adoption becomes a liability rather than an asset for individuals and organisations alike.Barriers to Digital InclusionGordon identifies several interconnected barriers preventing organisations from fully participating in the digital economy. Let's have a look:Skills gaps remain the most acute. Technology evolves faster than most training programmes, let alone formal education curricula. University degrees and annual school terms were not designed for the pace of AI-driven change.Trust and credibility are equally critical. Gordon warns of what he calls "AI slop", the growing proliferation of AI-generated content and half-built solutions that look polished but lack substance or security. Organisations that rely on AI without proper oversight risk undermining the customer trust they're trying to build.While infrastructure quality is improving globally, it still creates disparities, particularly around data sovereignty. The question of where your data sits, who can access it, and under what compliance framework is no longer just a legal concern. It is a competitive and ethical one.Sovereign AIOne of the most forward-looking concepts Gordon introduces is sovereign AI, the idea that organisations must control not just their data, but the AI infrastructure that touches it. Just as data sovereignty became a boardroom priority, AI sovereignty is now following the same path."Business leaders type sensitive information into ChatGPT or Copilot without thinking twice," Gordon cautions. The solution isn't to avoid AI, it's to build internal AI agents and platforms that interact with large language models without exposing proprietary data to the open web. This is why hyperscaler data centres are appearing in unexpected geographies: latency is secondary; sovereignty is the driver.Gordon's advice to business leaders is refreshingly direct: go experiment. "You won't break anything," he says. The AI-driven economy rewards curiosity, iteration, and speed of learning, not perfection. Leadership teams need to model responsible AI use, invest in upskilling their people, and treat education as a strategic asset. This applies as much to frontline healthcare workers as it does to C-suite executives.If you would like to find out more, connect with Graeme Gordon on LinkedIn.TakeawaysThe evolving digital divide from access to participation.Impact of AI and ChatGPT on business and society.Importance of secure and sovereign AI infrastructure.Role of education in digital literacy for all.Leadership strategies for AI adoption and trust.Barriers to digital inclusion: skills, trust, infrastructure.Practical steps for organisations to implement AI responsibly.Chapters00:00 Understanding the Digital Divide02:49 The Role of AI in Participation06:01 Barriers to Digital Adoption09:07 The Importance of Education11:45 Building a Secure AI Foundation14:51 Trust and Credibility in AI18:11 Practical Advice for Organisations

Every organisation wants to provide a workplace where people feel respected, safe and valued. Yet despite widespread awareness, robust policies and increased reporting, workplace bullying and incivility continue to undermine employee wellbeing, engagement and organisational performance. In this episode of The HR Room Podcast, Dave and Liam Barton (Commercial Director - Insight HR) are joined by Dr. Renee Thompson, CEO and Founder of the Healthy Workforce Institute, to explore why workplace bullying remains such a persistent challenge and what organisations can do to build healthier workplace cultures where respect becomes the norm rather than the exception. Guests Liam Barton — Commercial Director, Insight HR Renee Thompson — CEO & Founder, Healthy Workforce Institute Topics include: Why workplace bullying continues despite increased awareness The difference between bullying and workplace incivility Why senior leaders often have the greatest influence on workplace culture Common mistakes organisations make when responding to bullying complaints Why policies alone are not enough to prevent workplace bullying The importance of training managers to recognise and address inappropriate behaviour Building a culture where difficult conversations happen early The relationship between psychological safety, respect and employee engagement Key Takeaways for HR Leaders Workplace bullying is no longer primarily an awareness issue—it's an execution issue. Organisations must clearly distinguish between bullying and lower-level workplace incivility. Policies are essential, but culture is shaped by everyday behaviours and leadership actions. Managers need the confidence and skills to address inappropriate behaviour promptly. Leadership commitment is critical to creating psychologically safe workplaces. Employees are more likely to report concerns when they trust the organisation will act fairly. Respect, trust and open communication are stronger drivers of engagement than perks alone. Resources Mentioned Insight HR Irish Workplace Bullying Report 2026 Healthy Workforce Institute Healthy Workforce Culture Framework Enough! Eradicate Bullying & Incivility in Healthcare: Strategies for Front Line Leaders Get in Touch If you're not already following us on LinkedIn, we'd love to connect with you. If you have suggestions for future podcast episodes, or would like to appear as a guest on The HR Room, contact Dave Corkery at dcorkery@insighthr.ie or connect with him on LinkedIn. About The HR Room Podcast The HR Room Podcast is brought to you by Insight HR, where we speak with HR leaders, legal experts and workplace specialists from across Ireland about the issues shaping the future of work. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe, leave us a review, and share it with colleagues or friends. We're always keen to hear your feedback and suggestions for future episodes. For immediate HR support, contact Insight HR on 056 770 1060 or email info@insighthr.ie.    

In Episode 15 of Season 7 of Driven by Data: The Podcast, Kyle Winterbottom was joined for the third time by Vin Vashishta, CEO and Founder of V-Squared, where they discuss why the organisations getting the most value from AI are focused less on models and use cases, and more on outcomes, information architecture and business transformation, which includes;Why AI strategy has become a revenue growth strategy rather than a technology strategy.Why AI is an information product that depends on context, information architecture and data.Why information flywheels will become the defining capability that separates AI leaders from everyone else.Why organisations are moving from buying AI products to forming outcome-based partnerships with technology and consulting providers.Why CEOs and CFOs are now demanding clear links between AI investment, business outcomes and shareholder value.Why meaningful AI ROI requires organisations to transform operating models rather than simply automate existing processes.Why the fastest-growing organisations are extracting the greatest value from AI by creating entirely new forms of value.Why organisations such as JPMorgan Chase and Eli Lilly are turning AI into sustainable competitive advantage.How organisations can begin building information flywheels.Why technical strategy is becoming a core capability for both executive leaders and technical practitioners as traditional management layers disappear.Why ownership of commercial outcomes matters far more than whether AI sits with the CIO, CDO or a Chief AI Officer.Why robotics, autonomous systems and edge AI could soon eclipse today's generative AI conversation.Why LLMs will become just one small component within far more sophisticated agentic systems.Why we'll see LLMs diminish in importance.Thanks to our sponsor, Data & AI Literacy Academy.Data & AI Literacy Academy is leading the way in transforming enterprise workforces with data literacy across the organisation, through a combination of change management and education. In today's data-centric world, being data literate is no longer a luxury, it's a necessity.If you want successful data product adoption, and to keep driving innovation within your business, you need to start with data & AI literacy first.At Data & AI Literacy Academy, they don't just teach data skills. They empower individuals and teams to think critically, analyse effectively, and make decisions confidently based on data. They're bridging the gap between business and data teams, so they can all work towards aligned outcomes.From those taking their first steps in data & AI literacy to seasoned experts looking to fine-tune their skills, our data experts provide tailored classes for every stage. But it's not just learning tracks that they offer. They embed a deep data culture shift through a transformative change management programme.They take a people-first approach, working closely with your executive team to win the hearts and minds. We know this will drive the company-wide impact that data teams want to achieve.Get in touch and find out how you can unlock the full potential of data in your organisation. Learn more at www.dl-academy.com.

In this Leader Lounge episode of the People Performance Podcast, Alex Mather explores the Team of Teams concept and why today's leaders need to move beyond traditional hierarchies to build connected, agile organisations.Drawing on the work of Stanley McChrystal, Alex explains how organisations can overcome siloed working, improve collaboration, and make better decisions in complex, fast-changing environments.Discover the five principles of Team of Teams - flag on the hill, information flow, decentralised decision-making, dynamic subordination, and trust - and learn how they can help leaders create more adaptive, high-performing teams.-----Follow The People Performance Podcast for leadership, culture, and high-performance insights:Instagram: @peopleperformancepodcastTikTok: @peopleperformancepod

AI isn't just speeding up recruiting; it's actually forcing companies to redesign work itself, blending human judgment with agentic execution across hiring, mobility, and skills development. As a result, most conversations these days are about AI in the enterprise centre on software development and engineering. Recruiting, hiring, and talent management get far less attention, but they may be where AI's impact is most immediate.In a recent episode of Tech Transformed, host Dana Gardner spoke with Meghna Punhani, Chief People Officer at Eightfold AI, about how organisations are rethinking talent acquisition, workforce planning, and employee development in an AI-driven world. Meghna Punhani's perspective is shaped by nearly two decades at Google, a stint leading employee experience at Palo Alto Networks, and her current dual role at Eightfold AI, where she both leads the people function and helps build the product her team relies on. That vantage point gives her a practical, ground-level view of what works and what doesn't when AI meets HR.Reimagining the Talent Lifecycle with AI Punhani's central argument is that most legacy HR systems were designed for a different purpose, one that has evolved as work itself has changed and the workforce now includes AI agents alongside people. Simply bolting automation onto existing processes, she argues, isn't enough. Organisations that are succeeding are the ones re-engineering roles, workflows, and organisational structures from the ground up, treating this as an operating-model shift rather than an IT upgrade.This shift touches the entire talent lifecycle, from how companies find candidates and evaluate skills instead of just job titles to how they support internal mobility. Punhani points out that skills now have a much shorter shelf life than in the past, which means static job descriptions are giving way to dynamic, skills-based decision-making. AI, she says, helps surface pathways for employees that traditional resumes and titles would never reveal, including her own nontraditional route into HR leadership.How AI Is Reshaping Workforce Strategy Trust is the recurring theme throughout the discussion. Punhani is candid that employees often fear AI-driven decisions, especially around jobs and evaluations. Her approach is focused on transparency first. When Eightfold rolled out digital twins internally, employees were uneasy until leadership explained how the technology worked and used it themselves, which helped build organisation-wide confidence.That same principle shows up in Eightfold's own hiring practice. One example is the company's campus recruiting programme in India, where its AI interviewer conducted roughly 90 per cent of interviews. This enabled recruiting to scale from around eight or 10 university partners to more than 150, and from approximately 5,000 applications to 15,000, without pulling engineers away from their day-to-day duties.Time-to-offer dropped from around six weeks to as little as four days in some technical roles, largely because interviews could happen around the clock rather than around a recruiter's or hiring manager's schedule. Beyond recruiting, Eightfold's internal initiative, nicknamed Project Andromeda, applies the same re-engineering approach across sales and finance, reportedly reclaiming thousands of employee hours through redesigned, agent-assisted workflows.AI and the Future of TalentLooking ahead, Punhani doesn't frame AI as a threat to human contribution, but she frames it as an amplifier of it. As tools become more accessible across every function, she believes the people who will succeed won't be the ones who know the most facts, since AI can answer those questions. Instead, it will be the people who ask better questions, orchestrate multiple AI agents, and apply judgment where the right answer isn't obvious.For HR leaders specifically, Punhani's advice is to claim a seat at the table now, rather than letting AI adoption happen without a people-first lens. This means learning the technology firsthand, demonstrating its value to non-technical teams, and partnering closely with CTOs and CIOs to shape decisions jointly. Her advice for individuals entering this shifting job market is similarly grounded: focus on learning agility over any single technical skill, since the skills in demand today may look different within months.Future of AI in Talent ManagementAcross the conversation, Punhani returns to one idea, and that is AI in talent management isn't primarily a technology problem; it's a leadership and trust problem. Organisations that treat it that way, redesigning work with both humans and agents in mind, are the ones seeing measurable gains in speed, candidate experience, and internal mobility.For HR leaders exploring AI adoption, the takeaway from this episode is to start before you feel ready, build trust through transparency, and let AI handle evaluation and execution so people can focus on judgment, empathy, and connecting the dots across the organisation. If you would like to find out more, visit eightfold.ai or connect with Meghna Punhani on LinkedIn.TakeawaysAI's impact on talent acquisition and management.Reengineering work processes with AI.Building trust and transparency in AI systems.Skills-based internal mobility and workforce planning.AI-driven candidate evaluation and employee development.Chapters00:00 Introduction to AI in Talent Management02:59 Understanding AI's Role in Talent Acquisition06:07 AI's Impact on Workforce Planning and Skills Development10:02 Building Trust in AI for Hiring Processes13:04 Internal Use of AI at Eightfold AI18:58 Measuring ROI from AI in Talent Acquisition25:02 Enhancing Candidate Experience with AI29:53 Future Directions for AI in Talent Management

Zero Trust has transitioned from buzzword to basic necessity. As AI has transformed the cybersecurity landscape, becoming a tool for both attack and defence, organisations are being forced to rethink how thy protect themselves, their users, and their networks. Technology Now welcomes back friend of the show Jaye Tillson, CTO Security and HPE Distinguished Technologist to discuss:• The impact of AI on cyber threats as well as cybersecurity• How Zero Trust can contain breeches if they cannot be prevented entirely• Why limited access is more important than ever in a distributed network

Send us Fan MailThis week we had some excellent news..we've made the Longlist of the #BritishPodcastAwards 2026 in the factual category.. your time listening and suggestions for stories are really appreciated! Welcome to this episode where young reporter George Woodward and dad Tony catch up with Paul Middleton aka 'Piglet' the Director of Mechanical Engineering at North Yorkshire Moors Railway during filming for his new Channel 4 television series 'Steam Train Diaries'Sharon Gregory  takes a 'Railway Rideout' to Amerton Railway in Staffordshire and finds out about the 'Railway that never was' and Alasdair Stewart heads to one of London's hidden railway gems The Kempton Waterworks Railway to find out about its origins carrying coal to feed the triple expansion steam pumping engines that supplied water to London, through to the dedicated volunteers who are operating and developing it today!LISTENERS' CHOICE AWARDS #BRITISHPODCASTAWARDSWe are thrilled to be on the this year's Longlist of the British Podcast Awards 2026.If you would like to vote for us in the Listener's Choice Category you can do so  HERE . The first round is open until July 23rd 2026Links below to the Railways and Organisations we have mentioned:Steam Train Diaries Channel 4Paul Miller aka 'Piglet' - North York Moors Amerton Railway Hampton & Kempton Waterworks RailwayMWB No4 - Project websiteThis podcast is produced by Laura Raymond and presented by Alasdair Stewart and Sharon Gregory. Our 'Making Tracks' music is with kind permission of composer and musician Richard Durrant. It is a unique piece inspired by the rhythm of the historic rolling stock on the Ffestiniog Railway on the scenic journey from Harbour Station to Tan y Blwch. You can listen and download the full 'Tan y Bwlch' Ukulele Quartet here: Thank you to voice artist David King - for the Railway Ride outs voice over. Ukulele Quartet No. 1 "Tan y Bwlch"  Ukulele Quartet No. 1 "Tan y Bwlch" Richard Durrant · Single · 2019 · 3  songs.    

A tough job market rewards the people who can say, in one sentence, why they, and not the other thousand applicants, should get the role. This episode turns into a live coaching session. Dr. Kyle Elliott, a tech career and executive coach, walks Ben through the exercise he uses with senior leaders across Silicon Valley: gathering feedback from people who knew you as a child and people who know you now, then finding the overlap. That overlap, in Kyle's language, is your fabulousness, the specific and provable things that set you apart from everyone else with a similar background. The episode moves from theory into practice quickly. Kyle coaches Ben live, drawing out how Ben's own friends describe him, then pressing for the proof behind each trait: not just positive, but the specific week a deal fell through and Ben kept going anyway. That gap between a personality trait and a concrete story is where resumes and LinkedIn profiles usually fall flat, a problem Sales Engineers, Technical Consultants, and Customer Success leaders run into constantly once a market tightens. The conversation also covers the part of hiring nobody agrees on right now: how much AI is actually reading resumes, and how much a candidate should let AI write theirs. Kyle's answer, drawn from clients inside Google, Amazon, and other large tech companies, cuts against the assumption that bots decide everything. He also unpacks his cake and frosting framework for balancing the qualifications a role demands against the individuality that gets someone remembered, and how to talk about weaknesses in an interview without hiding them or handing the interviewer a reason to say no. Dr. Kyle Elliott, is a tech career coach and executive coach at CaffeinatedKyle.com, working with senior managers, executives, and job seekers across Silicon Valley and the wider tech industry. He is a member of the invitation-only Forbes Coaches Council and a consultant with the Myers-Briggs Company, and his coaching has been featured in Business Insider, Fortune, and the Harvard Business Review. Show notes footer: Listen and subscribe: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1yU6AcoCLySqE1wGn80HOT?si=649d8f8c3d8b47a3 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tech-world-human-skills/id1674003078 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techworldhumanskills/podcasts Newsletter and archive: https://www.techworldhumanskills.com Connect with Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpthoughts Technical Storytelling for Individuals: https://www.elevatedyou.live/individuals Technical Storytelling for Organisations: https://www.elevatedyou.live/organisations Dr Kyle Elliott: https://caffeinatedkyle.com/freebies/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylecromerelliott/

This long-form episode of Wicked Problems is a practical conversation about AI adoption after the initial hype. Toby Corballis and Marcellus Lindsay look beyond the promise of automation and ask what happens when AI is introduced into organisations that cannot yet govern its cost, risk, data, accountability or human impact. The discussion moves between real-world implementation, change leadership, AI literacy, trust, hallucinations, token costs, agentic AI, and the familiar pattern of technology running ahead of organisational capability. The point is not that leaders should avoid AI. It is that they need enough understanding to ask better questions before they scale it. Marcellus brings the perspective of a consultant implementer: someone who can work with senior leaders while also understanding what happens on the ground. Together, he and Toby argue for controlled speed, domain expertise, human-in-the-loop review, and governance that helps organisations move quickly without building on flawed foundations. Key themes - AI governance, risk and accountability as leadership responsibilities, not technical afterthoughts. - Why many corporate AI initiatives fail to produce clear return on investment. - The gap between exponential technology change and slower organisational change. - How AI hallucinations, confidence and error rates create hidden implementation risk. - Why human trust in AI can exceed human trust in other people. - Token pricing, cost controls and the danger of unbounded AI usage at scale. - The role of domain expertise in judging where AI should and should not be applied. - Why agentic AI needs stronger guardrails than simple chat-based experimentation. - How flawed assumptions early in a programme compound into expensive failure later. - Why AI literacy should be basic, practical and principle-based for senior leaders.   To register intrerest in one of the forthcoming webinars mentioned, sign up at Strategic Flow

Heute geht es um Neid, Missgunst und stille Konkurrenz in Organisationen.Ausgangspunkt dieser Folge ist eine Zuschrift einer Führungskraft aus den USA. Sie beschreibt eine Teamdynamik, in der zwei fachlich starke Mitarbeitende zunehmend in einen verdeckten Konkurrenzkampf geraten.Was zunächst als Talententwicklung und Förderung gedacht war, entwickelt sich zu einer angespannten Situation: Informationen werden nicht selbstverständlich weitergegeben, Ideen werden kritisch abgeklopft und im Team entstehen erste Lager.Armin Ziesemer und Thomas Böhlefeld gehen der Frage nach, welchen Anteil Führung an solchen Dynamiken haben kann.

Instead of backing shiny new projects, The Boring Fund is raising money for - as the name suggests - the "boring bits" like rent, power, accounting and administration costs that are often the hardest to cover.

3 ans d'appels d'offre passés au crible

Farmers who graze their livestock on what's called Common Land in England were being excluded from the government's new farming environmental support schemes - not because they didn't qualify, but because the Rural Payments Agency's computer system wasn't up to the job of processing their applications. However, campaigners say that the system's being changed and commoners will now be able to apply.Changing sea temperatures, rising fuel costs and offshore windfarms are all challenges for the fishing industry. All week we'll be exploring the state of the sector. We start off by asking the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations about fishing stocks, recruitment and an octopus bloom off UK waters. ,The combination of higher fertiliser and fuel prices, and challenging weather mean farmers have their thinking caps firmly on their heads when considering long-term options for how they farm in the future. Should they use less fertiliser and fuel, to save costs and help the environment and can they do that, while still producing enough of the food we all need? We bring to together a buying cooperative, a university professor and a potato grower to discuss.Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Bei Volkswagen geht es mal wieder hoch her: Während Berichte über einen möglichen Abbau von bis zu 100.000 Stellen die Republik aufschrecken, sorgen Gerüchte über Werksschließungen in Zwickau, Emden, Hannover und Neckarsulm für zusätzliche Unruhe. Gleichzeitig arbeitet der Konzern offenbar an weitreichenden Plänen zur Neuaufstellung seiner Produktions-, Organisations- und Softwarestrategie. In dieser Folge WAS MICH BEWEGT sprechen Pascal und Yannick über die wohl tiefgreifendste Transformationsphase in der Geschichte des Volkswagen-Konzerns. Was steckt hinter den Sparplänen von Oliver Blume? Warum geraten selbst traditionsreiche Standorte unter Druck? Weshalb könnte ausgerechnet China zum Vorbild für die künftige VW-Strategie werden? Was bedeutet das überraschende Ende der Automated Driving Alliance zwischen Cariad und Bosch für die Software-Ambitionen der Wolfsburger? Und geht die eigentliche Herausforderung für Volkswagen womöglich weit über Personalabbau und Kostensenkungen hinaus? Denn die Frage lautet plötzlich nicht mehr, ob sich VW verändern muss – sondern wie viel von Europas wichtigstem Industriekonzern am Ende noch übrig bleibt. Diese Folgen hätte das Aus von Audi- und VW-Werken: https://www.automobil-produktion.de/produktion/diese-folgen-haette-das-aus-von-audi-und-vwwerken/2689843 Bosch und Cariad beenden ADAS-Allianz: https://www.automotiveit.eu/autonomes-fahren/bosch-und-cariad-beenden-adasallianz/2689643 Mehr zu Pascal und Yannick finden Sie auf LinkedIn: Pascal Nagel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pascal-nagel/ Yannick Tiedemann: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannick-tiedemann Hinweis: Die im Podcast getätigten Aussagen spiegeln die Privatmeinung der Gesprächspartner wider und entsprechen nicht zwingend den Darstellungen des jeweiligen Arbeitgebers

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Die erste eigene Wohnung in einer neuen Stadt und viel Zeit alleine, weil sie eine Fernbeziehung führt: Für Lisa ist das gewöhnungsbedürftig. Mit Podcasts blendet sie die Stille aus. Wir können Alleinsein üben, sagt eine Entwicklungspsychologin.**********Ihr hört: Gesprächspartnerin: Lisa, ist ungern allein mit ihren Gedanken, lenkt sich lieber ab, z.B. mit Podcasts Gesprächspartner: Kilian Hampel, Organisations- und Jugendforscher, Sozialwissenschaftler, Autor, Mitautor der Trendstudie Jugend in Deutschland Gesprächspartnerin: Susanne Bücker, Entwicklungspsychologin an der Universität Witten/Herdecke, forscht zu Einsamkeit, soziale Beziehungen, psychische Gesundheit Autor und Host: Przemek Żuk Redaktion: Anton Stanislawski, Anne Bohlmann, Yevgeniya Shcherbakova, Christian Schmitt Produktion: Gunda Herke**********Quellen:Yun, R. C., Fardghassemi, S., & Joffe, H. (2023). Thinking too much: How young people experience rumination in the context of loneliness. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 33(1), 102–122. Wilson, T.D., Reinhard, D.A., Westgate, E.C. et al. (2014). Just think: The challenges of the disengaged mind. Science, 345(6192), 75-77.Bücker, S., Horstmann, K.T. & Luhmann, M. (2023). Lonely Today, Lonely Tomorrow: Temporal Dynamics of Loneliness in Everyday Life and its Associations With Psychopathological Symptoms. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 15(2).Nguyen, T., Weinstein, N & Deci, E. (2022). Alone With Our Thoughts: Investigation of Autonomy Supportive Framing as a Driver of Enjoyment During Quiet Time in Solitude. Collabra: Psychology, 8(1), 31629.Ledford, H. (2014). We dislike being alone with our thoughts. Nature.**********Mehr zum Thema bei Deutschlandfunk Nova:Date mit uns selbst: Wie trauen wir uns allein etwas zu unternehmen?Psychologie: Warum wir das Alleinsein brauchenEinsamkeit: Alleine in der neuen Stadt**********Den Artikel zum Stück findet ihr hier.**********Ihr könnt uns auch auf diesen Kanälen folgen: TikTok und Instagram .**********Meldet euch!Ihr könnt das Team von Facts & Feelings über Whatsapp erreichen.Uns interessiert: Was beschäftigt euch? Habt ihr ein Thema, über das wir unbedingt in der Sendung und im Podcast sprechen sollen?Schickt uns eine Sprachnachricht oder schreibt uns per 0160-91360852 oder an factsundfeelings@deutschlandradio.de.Wichtig: Wenn ihr diese Nummer speichert und uns eine Nachricht schickt, akzeptiert ihr unsere Regeln zum Datenschutz und bei Whatsapp die Datenschutzrichtlinien von Whatsapp.

Wie verändert generative KI die Rolle klassischer IT-Dienstleister, und welche Effizienzpotenziale entstehen dadurch für die deutsche Wirtschaft? Diese Fragen ordnet Benedikt Bonnmann, Vorstandsmitglied von adesso, ein. Er beschreibt, wie KI heute in Unternehmen eingesetzt wird und warum sie inzwischen weniger ein Technologie- als vielmehr ein Organisations- und Integrationsthema ist. „Die Technik ist ready, jetzt ist es Zeit, dass die Organisation ready wird.“ Außerdem spricht er darüber, wie Künstliche Intelligenz die Rolle von Entwicklerinnen und Entwicklern verändert, wo die größten Produktivitätsgewinne liegen und was digitale Souveränität für ihn bedeutet. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI is making our technology smarter… but it's also making it much, much hotter. With higher demand for HPC and enterprise AI, data centres are having to adapt to meet the changing demands on the modern world. This week, Technology Now is joined by Jason Zeiler Principal Product Manager for Next Generation Infrastructure and HPC/AI Liquid Cooling at HPE to find out:• The efficiency benefits of liquid cooling compared to air cooling and why that isn't always enough to convince enterprises to switch• Whether future data centres will be built from first principles around liquid cooling infrastructure• How higher operating temperatures are feeding back into microchip manufacturers' designs for the next generation of chips

Becoming a new leader is one of the most dangerous promotions in business. The person who was promoted for hard work, strong KPIs, early starts, late finishes and personal accountability suddenly becomes responsible for other people's performance. That sounds like career progress, but it can become a trap. Many new managers in Japan, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the US receive little or no formal leadership training. They are expected to work it out alone. The problem is that the skills that earned the promotion are not the same skills needed to succeed as a leader. The new game is leverage, coaching, persuasion and building capability through the team. Why do new leaders struggle after promotion? New leaders struggle because they keep doing the work that got them promoted instead of learning how to lead others. They remain top performers, but they fail to multiply performance through the team. This is common in sales, finance, operations, technology and professional services. A strong individual contributor becomes a team leader and still tries to personally save the numbers. That works for a while, until the organisation raises the target and individual output hits its limit. A leader with ten people has access to eighty hours of team effort in a single day, while one heroic manager has only sixteen hours at most. The leverage is obvious, but many new leaders miss it. Do now: Stop measuring your value only by your personal output. Measure how much better the team performs because of your leadership. How can new leaders stop doing and start leading? New leaders must deliberately shift time from personal production to team development, coaching and performance management. The goal is not to be the busiest player; it is to become the conductor of the orchestra. The orchestra conductor does not play the violin, trumpet or drums. The conductor studies the musicians, aligns timing, manages egos, draws out potential and lifts the whole performance. New managers must do the same. Yes, some may still carry clients or operational responsibilities, especially in SMEs and lean organisations. But over time, they should move those tasks to capable team members and invest more time in developing people. Do now: Audit your week. Reduce low-leverage personal tasks and increase time spent coaching, delegating and improving team capability. How should new leaders balance people and process? New leaders need enough process to protect the organisation and enough freedom to allow creativity, ownership and experimentation. Too many rules kill initiative; too few controls create risk. Compliance matters. Rules protect companies from legal, financial and reputational disaster. We have all seen finance-world examples where weak controls and adrenaline-fuelled risk-taking damaged or destroyed firms. But if every action requires permission, the team stops thinking. In Japanese companies, where stability and process discipline are often strong, leaders must create safe space for ideas while respecting governance. In startups, the danger may be the opposite: too much freedom and not enough control. Do now: Clarify non-negotiable rules, then invite the team to find better paths within those boundaries. Why should leaders encourage ideas from the team? Leaders should encourage team ideas because creativity, ownership and engagement grow when people help shape the solution. If every answer comes from the boss, the team becomes passive. New leaders often let ego get in the way. They think, "I am the boss, so the best ideas should come from me." Or worse, they fear that a talented team member might replace them. That is small thinking. Organisations everywhere are crying out for leaders who create more leaders. A manager known as a "leader creating machine" becomes more valuable, not less. If nobody can replace you, you may be trapped in the same role forever. Do now: Ask the team for options before giving your answer. Build people who can eventually replace you. Why is coaching essential for first-time managers? Coaching is essential because the leader's job is to help people become better than they already are. If everyone keeps working the same way, the team will keep getting the same results. Many new leaders were self-sufficient high achievers. They did not need much help, so they underestimate how much coaching others require. But people do not automatically change because the boss wants better numbers. They may want the company, market, customers or boss to change while they stay exactly as they are. That is where coaching, listening and persuasion become core leadership skills. Dale Carnegie-style leadership is not command and control; it is influence, trust and development. Do now: Schedule regular coaching conversations and focus on behaviour change, not just task updates. What should new leaders study to keep succeeding? New leaders should study leadership deliberately because management skill does not arrive through osmosis.Promotion gives authority, but study builds capability. First-time managers should study delegation, coaching, listening, persuasion, conflict management, motivation and performance accountability. In Japan's consensus-oriented business culture, persuasion and listening are especially important because blunt orders often create surface agreement without real commitment. In Western organisations, speed and directness may be valued, but influence still matters. The Darwinian "up or out" business world does not forgive leaders who refuse to grow. Do now: Treat leadership as a discipline. Study it, practise it and get feedback before small mistakes become career-limiting habits. Final Summary New leaders succeed when they understand that promotion changes the job. What worked before will not be enough now. The leader must stop being only the best player and start building the whole team's performance. Three priorities matter most. First, stop doing everything yourself and start gaining leverage through others. Second, balance process with people so the organisation stays safe while creativity survives. Third, become a genius coach who listens, persuades and develops capability. Study the new role seriously. In leadership, survival and success belong to the people who learn fastest. Author Bio Dr. Greg Story, Ph.D. in Japanese Decision-Making, is President of Dale Carnegie Tokyo Training and Adjunct Professor at Griffith University. He is a two-time winner of the Dale Carnegie "One Carnegie Award" (2018, 2021) and recipient of the Griffith University Business School Outstanding Alumnus Award (2012). As a Dale Carnegie Master Trainer, Greg is certified to deliver globally across all leadership, communication, sales and presentation programs, including Leadership Training for Results. He has written several books, including three best-sellers — Japan Business Mastery, Japan Sales Mastery and Japan Presentations Mastery — along with Japan Leadership Mastery and How to Stop Wasting Money on Training. His works have been translated into Japanese, including Za Eigyō (ザ営業), Purezen no Tatsujin (プレゼンの達人), Torēningu de Okane o Muda ni Suru no wa Yamemashō (トレーニングでお金を無駄にするのはやめましょう), and Gendaiban "Hito o Ugokasu" Rīdā (現代版「人を動かす」リーダー). Greg also publishes daily business insights on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and hosts six weekly podcasts. On YouTube, he produces The Cutting Edge Japan Business Show, Japan Business Mastery, and Japan's Top Business Interviews, which are widely followed by executives seeking success strategies in Japan.

Episode 6: How employee benefits can help attract, engage and retain talent Relebogile Mabotja speaks to Juan-David Mc Nally a Financial Coach at Momentum Corporate, to discover how employee benefits can help organisations attract, engage and retain talent while creating long-term value for both employees and employers. 702 Afternoons with Relebogile Mabotja is broadcast live on Johannesburg based talk radio station 702 every weekday afternoon. Relebogile brings a lighter touch to some of the issues of the day as well as a mix of lifestyle topics and a peak into the worlds of entertainment and leisure. Thank you for listening to a 702 Afternoons with Relebogile Mabotja podcast. Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays from 13:00 to 15:00 (SA Time) to Afternoons with Relebogile Mabotja broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/2qKsEfu or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/DTykncj Subscribe to the 702 Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc Follow us on social media: 702 on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702 702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702 702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/ 702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702 702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recorded in front of a live studio audience at HPE Discover 2026, Michael Bird talks to EVP, President and General Manager of HPE Networking, Rami Rahim, about the future of our network infrastructure. Key takeaways include:What self-driving networks really are, why they are important and how driving business impactHow trust can be a barrier to the adoption of self-driving networks, and how this can be overcomeTop ways AI in our networks benefit IT professionals around the world

Agentic AI is moving beyond experimentation. Organisations are beginning to explore how autonomous agents can automate decisions, orchestrate complex processes and unlock new levels of productivity. But how do you build these systems in a way that is scalable, secure and trustworthy?   In this episode of Hub & Spoken, Jason Foster, CEO & Founder of Cynozure, is joined by Matt Clarke, Director of Architecture at Cynozure, to explore what it really takes to design and govern agentic AI architectures in enterprise environments.   They discuss how agentic systems differ from traditional software, the growing importance of governance-by-design, and why trust, observability and control are becoming critical architectural principles. Matt shares practical examples of how agents are already being used to automate decision-making, personalise experiences and streamline operations, while highlighting the challenges organisations face as they move from proof of concept to production.   The conversation also explores how governance can accelerate rather than hinder innovation, why every organisation needs an effective "off switch" for AI systems, and why flexibility may be the most important design principle as agentic AI continues to evolve.

Organisations face unprecedented levels of challenge. New technologies, economic and geopolitical instability and more create complexity on a scale most organisations are ill-equipped to address. Confusion reigns and most people at work struggle to know what to address first. But how much of our current work turmoil is compounded by out-of-date working practices and processes? How much day-to-day work activity no longer delivers value? Colleagues are endlessly busy but are they doing work that matters? This episode, Chris Lovett introduces the concept of workplace minimalism. His latest book Relentless is an elegy for simplifying work so that people can deliver better outcomes. For harried internal communicators, this is an episode not to be missed.   About Chris Lovett Chris Lovett is an executive coach, TEDx speaker, and the author of two books about the power of less. His TEDx talk, 'Less Busy More Impact', and his bestselling first book Discovery of Less established him as one of the UK's most distinctive voices on sustainable work and living with less. His second book, Relentless: The Power of Doing Less in a Workplace that Demands More, brings that same philosophy into the workplace, helping the busiest of people manage their time, prevent burnout and navigate the chaos of modern work. Over the last ten years Chris has coached c-suite teams and senior leaders in FTSE100 companies spanning Europe, APAC and the US, as well as clients in the legal, retail and insurance industries. His work has been featured in The Times, The Independent, CEO Magazine, Marie Claire and HR Magazine, and he has appeared on dozens of podcasts including Leaders in Finance, Truth Lies and Work, and The Self Care Club. With endorsements from Olympic legend Colin Jackson CBE, Professor of Leadership Dr Megan Reitz and LinkedIn Top Voice Bruce Daisley, Chris strikes the perfect balance between inspirational coach and your mate down the pub, warm, witty and occasionally hilarious.   Find Chris on LinkedIn:         https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-lovett-29176933/ Chris's website:                      https://www.chrislovett.co.uk/ Chris's SubStack:                    https://chrislovett3.substack.com/  

This episode is the second of two conversations with Ron Whitson, and it picks up where part one left off. Ron returns to walk through the remaining four of his seven timeless behaviors for presales and solutions consulting professionals: show empathy, have a conversation, practice humility, and tell a story. Each behavior sounds intuitive on paper. Ron's job, and he does it well, is to show exactly how technical people get each one wrong in practice. The empathy conversation goes further than the standard put-yourself-in-the-customer's-shoes framing. Ron draws a clear distinction between being in service to your audience and being focused on your own performance, and flags a specific mistake that catches a lot of experienced practitioners: when someone shares something and you jump in with "the same thing happened to me," you think you're building rapport. You're actually discounting them. The humility section is one of the most candid stretches of either episode. Ron talks openly about the early-career arrogance that came with knowing every piece of software on the market, and the slower realisation that telling an audience "I don't know, let me find out" can do more for your credibility than pretending you have every answer. On storytelling, the conversation gets concrete. Ron argues for plain language over technical vocabulary, and makes the point with a tight example: one company presented storage capacity as 300 gigabytes an hour. Another described the same capability as 40 hours of content. Only one of those stays in the room after you leave. Ben adds his own angle on the Aristotle trifecta of credibility, logic, and emotional connection, and there is a brief, genuinely useful argument about English mustard. Ron Whitson is Senior Director of Solutions Consulting at Thomson Reuters and author of A Friendly Human in Presales, a practical guide built from 28 years in the field. A signed copy and free audiobook codes are available at timelessbehaviors.com. Connect with Ron on LinkedIn. Show notes footer: Listen and subscribe: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1yU6AcoCLySqE1wGn80HOT?si=649d8f8c3d8b47a3 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/tech-world-human-skills/id1674003078 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techworldhumanskills/podcasts Newsletter and archive: https://www.techworldhumanskills.com Connect with Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benpthoughts Technical Storytelling for Individuals: https://www.elevatedyou.live/individuals Technical Storytelling for Organisations: https://www.elevatedyou.live/organisations Ron Links https://timelessbehaviors.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronwhitsonse/

What becomes possible for us as coaches when we move beyond the privacy of one to one conversations and begin working with the energy, complexity, and potential of groups and teams? In this episode of The Coaching Crowd podcast, we explored why so many coaches are choosing to train in group and team coaching, and why this area of coaching practice feels increasingly relevant in today's professional landscape. We wanted to bring this conversation to the podcast because coaching is no longer limited to one to one development conversations. More organisations, leaders, teams, and individuals are seeking collective development experiences. They want spaces where people can learn together, reflect together, challenge one another, and feel part of something more connected. That matters because so many people are experiencing disconnection, pressure, and exhaustion. Group coaching and team coaching can create powerful spaces where people feel seen, heard, and supported by others who may be facing similar questions or challenges. In a professional context, this also gives coaches the opportunity to work more systemically, supporting culture, communication, leadership development, and organisational change at scale. During the conversation, we reflected on the size of the opportunity for coaches. Group and team coaching are not new, but more coaches are now asking how they can broaden their work, move into organisations, support teams, run development programmes, and offer more than individual coaching sessions. For coaches who have mainly worked one to one, this shift can feel exciting, but also intimidating. We spoke about how group dynamics and team dynamics are far more complex than individual coaching. When you move into a one to many setting, there are more relationships, expectations, emotions, roles, and patterns in the room. This means coaches need more than confidence. They need structure, skill, presence, and an understanding of the psychodynamics that can emerge when people come together. One of the key reflections from this episode was that training in group and team coaching can benefit you even when you are not yet sure whether you want to specialise in this area. It develops your systemic thinking. It helps you see your one to one coaching clients as part of wider systems, including families, teams, organisations, communities, and cultures. That naturally expands the quality of the questions you ask and the way you support clients to understand themselves. We also explored how training in this area can open doors. Many coaches begin with one to one coaching in an organisation and then get asked whether they can support a team, design a programme, facilitate a workshop, or help with a leadership development initiative. Those moments can be exciting, but they can also create doubt. Having training behind you can give you the confidence, credibility, and practical tools to say yes to those opportunities. Another important theme was the need for coaches to think strategically about their business. Group and team coaching can help create more scalable offers, more variety, and more routes into organisational contracts. It can sit alongside one to one coaching, leadership development programmes, workshops, internal coaching roles, and wider organisational development work. We also reflected on the human nature of this work. Modern coaching is not only about performance. It is relational, emotionally intelligent, and systemic. In a world where artificial intelligence is changing how people work, human relationships are becoming even more important. Knowledge may be increasingly available, but connection, trust, culture, and shared understanding still require human presence. That is why group and team coaching feels so valuable. It supports people to understand how they relate, communicate, collaborate, and make progress together. It also gives coaches the chance to engage with the living, breathing reality of organisational culture and human behaviour. In the episode, we also shared more about our Group and Team Coaching programme, including the five phases that sit at the heart of the course: Grounding and Gathering, where we explore how to set the work up for success and orientate people into the coaching experience. Roles and Responsibilities, where we consider the role of the coach and the roles that people naturally take up in groups and teams. Options and Opportunity, where we explore coaching methodologies, practical activities, and ways to work creatively with groups and teams. Union and Understanding, where we look at group dynamics and the complexity of human behaviour in collective spaces. Presence and Progress, where we focus on closure, endings, progress, sustainability, and how groups and teams recognise and carry forward change. We also discussed the mindset of a group and team coach, because this is emotional work. How we resource ourselves, what we believe about groups, and how we manage our own presence will shape the quality of the work we offer. This episode is for coaches who are curious about expanding their practice, leaders and HR professionals who already work with groups and teams, and anyone who wants to build more confidence in facilitating meaningful collective development. Ultimately, group and team coaching is not an either or choice. It can sit beautifully alongside one to one coaching. It can widen your impact, strengthen your coaching practice, create new business opportunities, and help you work with the rich complexity of people, culture, and systems. Timestamps: 00:00: Welcome to The Coaching Crowd podcast 00:06: Why so many coaches are training in group and team coaching 00:38: Five reasons to consider group and team coaching 01:58: The size of the opportunity for coaches 03:59: How group and team coaching enhances one to one coaching 05:52: Building confidence to pitch group and team coaching work 06:56: Organisational contracts, leadership development, and scalable offers 08:22: Why group and team coaching requires specific training 09:36: The relational, emotional, and systemic nature of modern coaching 10:02: How AI and changing workplaces are influencing team dynamics 10:44: Overview of the Group and Team Coaching programme 11:10: Grounding and Gathering 11:45: Roles and Responsibilities 12:16: Options and Opportunity 12:46: Union and Understanding 13:06: Presence and Progress 14:00: Mindset and business development for group and team coaches 15:16: Why group and team coaching can be energising and valuable 16:13: Facilitated programme structure and how to join Key Lessons Learned: • Group and team coaching allows coaches to create impact beyond one to one conversations by working with collective learning, shared reflection, and systemic change. • Training in group and team coaching can strengthen your one to one coaching because it helps you see clients within the wider systems they belong to. • Group dynamics and team dynamics are more complex than individual coaching, so coaches need specific skills, structure, and confidence to work well in these spaces. • Organisations are increasingly investing in collective development because workplace culture, relationships, communication, and leadership are changing rapidly. • Group and team coaching can open doors to organisational contracts, leadership development programmes, workshops, internal coaching roles, and more scalable coaching offers. • Effective onboarding is crucial because how a group or team enters the coaching experience shapes the safety, clarity, and outcomes of the work. • Human presence, emotional intelligence, and relational skill remain essential in group and team coaching, especially as AI continues to reshape how people work. • Group and team coaching can bring more variety, energy, and strategic growth into a coaching business. • The work is not only for qualified one to one coaches. It can also support leaders, HR professionals, learning and development practitioners, and organisational development specialists. • Group and team coaching is not a replacement for one to one coaching. It can sit alongside it as a powerful extension of your coaching practice. Keywords: group coaching, team coaching, group and team coaching, coaching training, coach training, coaching CPD, one to one coaching, coaching skills, systemic coaching, organisational coaching, leadership development, team development, group dynamics, team dynamics, ,coaching practice, coaching business, coaching programme, emotional intelligence in coaching, workplace coaching, coaching for organisations, Links & Resources Group and Team Coaching course: https://igcompany.com/group

In this episode of Why Care?, Nadia Nagamootoo is joined by writer, broadcaster and campaigner Jamie Klingler for a conversation about accidental activism, women's safety, police reform and the institutional failures that still leave women carrying the burden of risk. Jamie reflects on the moment Sarah Everard's murder pushed her from behind-the-scenes media work into national campaigning, how Reclaim These Streets was formed at breakneck speed, and why the vigil and High Court fight became a turning point in the public conversation on violence against women and girls.From there, the conversation widens into what has changed, what has not, and what leaders still fail to understand. Jamie speaks candidly about consent, male entitlement, the emotional toll of becoming a public voice on women's safety, and why organisations cannot keep treating violence, harassment and misogyny as if they sit outside the workplace. The result is a powerful episode about courage, accountability and what it really takes to change culture rather than simply comment on it.Key TakeawaysThe public conversation on violence against women has moved, but institutions still lag behind.Consent education needs to go far beyond teaching girls how to say no.Men who want to help often need practical, behaviour-based guidance rather than abstract reassurance that they are “one of the good ones”.Organisations already know where the risks are. The issue is usually not awareness but whether leaders are willing to act early and decisively. Guest BioJamie Klingler became an activist and campaigner for women's safety and police reform as one of the founders of Reclaim These Streets, an organisation that was created after Sarah Everard, was abducted, raped and murdered by a serving police officer. The organisation tried to hold a vigil for Sarah, but the Metropolitan Police said they weren't allowed. In doing so and trying to silence them; Reclaim These Streets fought them in the High Court for violating their human right to assemble, and won. Jamie speaks on becoming an accidental activist and using her media and events expertise to create a real impact. Her TEDx talk on How to Reclaim Your Life is here: https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_klingler_reclaim_yourself_the_most_valuable_investment_you_ll_makeLinks Jamie: ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ Nadia Nagamootoo:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠ | Buy ⁠⁠⁠Beyond Discomfort⁠⁠⁠Avenir Consulting: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/avenirconsultingservices⁠⁠⁠Produced by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mauro Kenji Serra⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Kenji Productions⁠⁠⁠⁠

What is happening at HPE Discover?This week Technology Now is bobbing along at HPE Discover Las Vegas 2026 at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas, HPE's annual customer and partner event. We ask what's changed since last year in the tech industry, how is HPE responding to the ever increasing rate of evolution in the sector, and what should our businesses and organizations be on the look out for in the next 12 months. Antonio Neri, President and CEO of HPE joins the show to tell us more.This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations. This episode is available in both audio and video formats.About Antonio Neri: https://www.hpe.com/uk/en/leadership-bios/antonio-neri.html

Ian Turner has spent over two decades as a Chief People Officer watching the same slow collision happen inside organisations: brilliant performers get promoted into leadership roles, never get developed as leaders, and quietly become — in Ian's phrase — "overpaid doers." This episode asks what it actually takes to be a human-centric business leader, why that capability is in shorter supply than it should be, and what the real commercial cost is when organisations let it drift.The conversation lands on a deceptively simple idea: sustainable performance comes from leaders who hold the commercial and the human in the same hand at the same time — not alternating between them, but integrating both as a single discipline. Ian reframes what that looks like in practice, from getting out of your furrow in the carpet to understanding that every tech transformation is actually a people transformation with a tech element.Key Themes & TakeawaysLeaders who succeed long-term care passionately about two things simultaneously: delivering results and the people delivering them — treating these as one system, not a trade-off.Organisations have created a generation of "overpaid doers" — people promoted for technical excellence who were never equipped, trained, or expected to actually lead.The "furrow in the carpet" is a powerful diagnostic: if your daily movement through an organisation never changes, your leadership reach probably doesn't either.Attrition, stagnation, and cultural echo chambers are not people problems — they're the commercial consequences of ignoring the human side of performance.Post-COVID, companies that genuinely cared about their people maintained flexible, human-aware cultures; those that did it out of necessity are now facing the cultural bill.The most powerful thing a leader can offer isn't advice — it's belief. Coaching someone to their own solution builds both the answer and the person.Every tech transformation is a people transformation with a tech element — and leaders who frame it the other way around will keep hitting the same wall.Three Reasons to ListenListen if your organisation keeps hitting numbers in the short term but quietly haemorrhaging your best people — Ian names exactly why, and it's not what most senior leaders want to hear.Listen if you've ever caught yourself thinking that leadership is "on the side of the desk" — this conversation will reframe that as a strategic and commercial error, not just a personal development gap.Listen if you're trying to make the case internally that human-centric leadership isn't soft — Ian builds the business argument clearly, without ever making it fluffy.Notable Quotes"They don't become leaders because they're recruited into those more senior roles because they've been a great salesperson, a great product person, a great marketer — and they've not been recruited because they show true leadership traits." — Ian Turner"Every transformation is a people transformation with a tech element. It's not a tech transformation with a people element." — Ian Turner"One of the most powerful things you can offer another person isn't advice — it's belief." — Ian Turner (referencing Jenny Rogers, Coaching Skills)Ian's bioIan Turner, a Chief People Officer, talent strategist and leadership coach with over two decades of experience shaping people and culture across some of the UK's most recognised organisations. From leading transformation programmes and building high-performing teams to championing social mobility and developing future talent, Ian has built a reputation for combining commercial acumen with a genuinely human approach to leadership. He's passionate about helping people realise their potential and creating workplaces where both individuals and organisations can thrive.

In this week's episode, Scott McInnes sits down with Christine Armstrong, to dive deep into the critical importance of connection in the workplace. Together they explore how workplace trends have eroded relationships and the role of intentionality in creating a thriving organisational culture.  Christine offers practical strategies to rebuild trust at work and really nurture those vital human connections.    Key Takeaways:  Connection is a deliberate act, not a happy accident  Hierarchical and operational policies inadvertently undermine trust  Connection thrives on small, frequent interactions, not grand initiatives  Trust is the foundation for difficult conversations and authentic connection  The middle layer of work relationships has been lost to societal and organisational shifts  Organisations should design work around human needs, not assumptions of tradition  Simple listening and positive reinforcement are the most cost-effective trust builders    Timestamps:  00:00 Introduction to Connection in the Workplace  02:20 The Importance of Connection  05:20 Impact of COVID on Workplace Connections  08:09 Rebuilding Connections: Strategies and Initiatives  11:39 Creating Learning Moments and Engagement  14:12 Responsibility for Connection in the Workplace  19:50 Navigating Difficult Conversations  23:46 Assuming Positive Intent in Communication  27:02 Meeting Diverse Needs in the Workplace  30:40 Consequences of Weak Connections  35:06 The Power of Listening to Rebuild Connections       Connect with us:  LinkedIn  |  YouTube  |  Instagram     Connect with Christine:  LinkedIn |  Website   

Across every industry, boards are approving AI budgets. Inside many enterprises, however, the reality is the same. Pilots never scale, tools sit unused, and transformation programmes struggle to justify their investment. In this episode of the Tech Transformed podcast, host Trisha Pillay sits down with Darin Patterson, VP of Product Advocacy and Market Strategy at Make, to find out what separates the organisations genuinely operationalising AI from those still running expensive experiments.AI Adoption GapEnterprise AI investment is accelerating. What is not accelerating at the same pace is business value. Patterson is direct about why he believes that most organisations are measuring the wrong things, assigning ownership to the wrong people, and deploying tools before they have defined the problem."The AI adoption gap is real," Patterson tells Pillay, "and it starts at the top. Leaders are approving investments without a clear framework for what success looks like."For C-suite executives, this is a critical signal. AI adoption is not primarily a technology challenge; it is an organisational one. Strategy, culture, and accountability structures determine if AI initiatives produce compounding returns or accumulate as technical debt.Ownership ModelsOne of the most instructive conversations in this episode concerns who should own AI inside an enterprise. Patterson's position is that ownership must live with the people closest to the business function being transformed."Ownership models are often unclear," he says. "And unclear ownership is where AI initiatives go to die."When AI is owned exclusively by a central IT or data science function, it becomes disconnected from the operational realities of the teams it is meant to serve. When it is owned entirely by individual business units without central governance, you get fragmented tooling, inconsistent data practices, and security exposure. The hybrid model Patterson advocates centralises governance standards, security, and infrastructure while pushing execution authority down to functional leaders. This structure creates accountability at the point of value creation rather than at a remove from it.For C-level executives building or restructuring their AI operating model, the actionable question is: do the leaders of each business unit have both the mandate and the capability to own AI outcomes in their domain?Stop Starting With the ToolA pattern Patterson sees consistently across enterprises is what he calls tool-first thinking. An organisation identifies a capable AI platform, deploys it, and then attempts to work backwards to the business problem it should solve."Focus on your business process first," he advises. "The tool is never the strategy."This is especially relevant for executives evaluating vendor proposals. The quality of an AI platform matters far less than the clarity of the problem definition sitting upstream of it. Organisations that achieve sustainable AI ROI typically begin by mapping their highest-friction processes, quantifying the cost of those inefficiencies, and only then evaluating which AI capability best addresses the root cause. The discipline of process-first thinking also prevents a common failure mode by automating a broken process rather than fixing it. AI applied to a flawed workflow does not eliminate the flaw but rather accelerates it.Culture Is the MultiplierPatterson also points to a softer but critical success indicator, which is cultural adoption. If the teams closest to an AI deployment are not using it willingly and consistently, the business case will not hold, regardless of what the pilot showed.The final, and perhaps most important, dimension Patterson raises is culture. Technical capability and strategic clarity are necessary but not sufficient conditions for AI success at scale. The organisations that are genuinely ahead are those that have invested in building an AI-literate workforce, not just an AI-enabled one."Invest in people as much as you invest in AI," Patterson says. "The technology will keep improving. Your competitive advantage comes from people who know how to use it well."For C-level leaders, this means reframing AI investment as a human capability programme as much as a technology programme. Training, change management, and psychological safety around experimentation are not soft additions to an AI strategy, but they are core to its delivery.Listen to the full conversation with Darin Patterson on the Tech Transformed podcast. Connect with Darin on LinkedIn and explore Make's automation platform at make.com.TakeawaysAI adoption challengesOrganisational culture and AIOwnership models for AIMeasuring AI successOperational AI examplesChapters00:00 The AI Adoption Landscape03:01 Bridging the ROI Gap in AI05:48 Ownership and Responsibility in AI Implementation08:57 Strategic Approaches to AI11:57 Measuring Success in AI Initiatives15:00 Cultural Transformation for AI Success18:53 Real-World AI Implementation Examples24:00 Advice for C-Level Leaders on AI Investment

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our workplaces, communication, leadership and even creativity are changing rapidly. AI can now help us write presentations, craft speeches, prepare for interviews and produce polished content in seconds. But while technology can enhance how we communicate, it cannot replace the human qualities that create genuine trust, influence and connection. In this episode of The HR Room Podcast, Dave and Mary are joined by Niamh McElwain, Award-Winning Facilitator, Speaker, Executive Coach, Consultant and Business All-Star Accredited Thought Leader. They discuss what organisations and leaders risk losing if they become overly reliant on AI-generated communication, and why authenticity, courage and human connection matter more than ever. The conversation examines the growing temptation to outsource communication and leadership to AI tools, while highlighting the uniquely human skills that remain irreplaceable. Niamh shares insights from her work helping leaders 'own their stage', discussing how trust is built, why listening is one of the most powerful leadership skills, and how authentic communication creates deeper influence than polished perfection ever can. The episode also explores the role of courage in modern leadership, from speaking up and navigating uncertainty to having difficult conversations and adapting to rapid change. Ultimately, while AI may transform how work is done, it is our ability to connect, listen, empathise and lead with authenticity that will continue to define great leadership. Guest: Niamh McElwain — Award-Winning Facilitator, Speaker, Executive Coach, Consultant & Business All-Star Accredited Thought Leader Topics include: The rise of AI-generated communication and its impact on workplace relationships Why trust, influence and connection remain fundamentally human skills The trust equation and how leaders build credibility and psychological safety Authenticity, vulnerability and the power of sharing real experiences Why listening is one of the most undervalued leadership skills Why courage matters more than confidence in leadership The future of work and the human skills that will become increasingly valuable Why curiosity, empathy, courage and listening may be the ultimate competitive advantage in the AI era Key Takeaways for HR Leaders: AI should enhance human capability, not replace authentic human connection. Trust is built through credibility, reliability, integrity and genuine care for others. The most influential leaders listen more than they speak. Authenticity creates stronger connections than polished, performative communication. Courage is a skill that can be developed through practice and experience. Organisations should encourage experimentation and learning rather than fear-driven resistance to AI. Resources Mentioned: Own My Stage The Courage Project Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss Disrupt HR Upcoming Webinar: Book your spot for our upcoming webinar 'AI in the Workplace: What HR Needs to Know'. Hosted by Dave Corkery, the session features insights from Liam Barton, Commercial Director at Insight HR, and Karen Howley, AI specialist and expert in organisational change. Register here Get in Touch: If you're not already following us on LinkedIn, please do. If you have suggestions for future episodes, or if you'd like to join us as a guest, reach out to Dave Corkery at dcorkery@insighthr.ie or connect with him on LinkedIn. About The HR Room Podcast: The HR Room Podcast is brought to you by Insight HR — where we speak with HR leaders, experts and practitioners across Ireland about the issues shaping the world of work today. If you're enjoying the podcast, please share it with colleagues or friends and leave us a review. We love to hear your feedback, we take requests, and we're always here to support you with your HR challenges. Immediate HR support: 056 770 1060 or info@insighthr.ie.  

The National Economic Dialogue takes place at Dublin Castle today. Among the proposals that will be heard is an adjustment to how social welfare payments are increased by Social Justice Ireland. Their Research and Policy Analyst, Susanne Rogers explained to Anton what they are proposing today.

In just twelve months, the conversation around Agentic AI in insurance has changed dramatically.  What began as curiosity about autonomous AI agents has evolved into a much more practical discussion about implementation, governance, economics and competitive advantage.  In this special solo episode, InsTech's Zoja Wojcik reflects on the developments that have shaped the market since InsTech's first Agentic AI event in November 2025. Drawing on conversations with insurers, brokers, MGAs, technology providers and industry leaders, she explores how the industry has moved beyond experimentation and towards a more challenging question: where does the commercial value actually come from?  Along the way, you'll hear insights from Simon Torrance, Erdal Atakan, Gina Gill, Elena Maran, Max Richter and Ian Thompson, alongside examples of how organisations including CFC, McGill & Partners, AIG, Duck Creek and hyperexponential are bringing Agentic AI into real insurance operations.  Whether you're still trying to understand what Agentic AI means for insurance or already evaluating deployment opportunities, this episode offers a practical snapshot of where the market stands today and the questions leaders should be asking next.  Want to continue the conversation? Join us in London on July 7 for 'The age of Agentic AI: from strategy to commercial value'. In this episode:  00:00 - What is Agentic AI and why has it become one of insurance's most discussed technologies?  03:15 - Looking back at the industry's first major Agentic AI event in November 2025  05:45 - Simon Torrance on why Agentic AI should be viewed as a new workforce, not simply another software tool  06:20 - Early deployment examples from across the insurance market:  CFC's Lane Assist   McGill & Partners and Salesforce Agentforce   AIG's AI-driven underwriting initiatives   Federato's agentic underwriting platform   hyperexponential and Banyan Risk   Duck Creek's insurance-native Agentic AI platform   08:15 - Why moving from pilot projects to production remains difficult  10:00 - The defining question of 2026: proving commercial value and ROI  12:15 - Intelligence Capital, competitive advantage and why buying AI tools may only create parity  13:30 - Orchestration, governance and maintaining trust in agentic systems  15:00 - Workforce transformation and practical lessons for insurance leaders  16:00 - What questions should insurance organisations be asking next?  Key takeaways:  The industry conversation has shifted from experimentation towards implementation and measurable business outcomes.   Many of the biggest barriers to adoption are organisational rather than technical.   Boards increasingly expect clear economic justification for AI investment.   Competitive advantage may come less from AI models themselves and more from institutional knowledge and decision-making expertise.   Governance frameworks must evolve alongside increasingly autonomous systems.   Organisations that focus on specific business problems are more likely to succeed than those pursuing AI for its own sake.   Featured contributors:  Simon Torrance, AI Risk   Erdal Atakan, Inigo   Gina Gill, Apollo   Elena Maran, Alethesis AI   Max Richter, Mea platform   Ian Thompson, IMT Advisory  Further reading:  For listeners looking to explore the themes discussed in this episode:  Agentic AI & insurance  Podcast episode: Where is the industry today? – a view from the C-suite (A rare C-suite perspective on Agentic AI: what it is, how it's being deployed and why senior leaders are walking a tightrope between bold innovation and operational risk.)  CFC launches Lane Assist, a live agentic underwriting pilot  McGill & Partners becomes first London Market broker to deploy Agentic AI  McGill + AIG collaboration using AI-driven underwriting  Duck Creek launches insurance-native Agentic AI Platform  Federato RiskOps and Agentic underwriting platform  MGA Banyan Risk deploys hx's full agentic underwriting suite  Strategy & commercial value  Simon Torrance's work on Intelligence Capital   AI Risk research on Agentic AI and enterprise transformation   InsTech & ServiceNow New York event: The future of insurance will be orchestrated, not built  Governance & Responsible AI  Article: The New Frontier: Managing and insuring generative and agentic AI risks with Edinburgh Futures Institute  Podcast episode: Creating a new kind of assurance & insurance framework for AI-related risks (This episode unpacks one of the most ambitious research initiatives currently shaping the future of AI risk in insurance.) 

Are we prepared for the deployment of a functional quantum computer? This week, Technology Now is returning to the topic of post quantum cryptography. We ask why the deadline for migrating to PQC enabled systems has been moved up, we discover what a quantum computer actually needs to be cryptographically relevant, and we pose the question: when it comes to migrating your systems to quantum resistant forms of encryption, could it already be too late for some people to start?This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations.

What happens when the technology keeping essential services running fails at the worst possible moment? When most people think about workplace technology, they picture laptops, smartphones, and office software. But for millions of workers maintaining power networks, repairing infrastructure, supporting emergency services, managing transport systems, and operating in remote environments, technology has a very different job to do. It has to work every single time, often in conditions where failure is simply not an option. In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I speak with Alex Gittins from Getac about the changing world of field operations, rugged computing, and the growing role of Edge AI in supporting the deskless workforce. Alex explains why rugged technology is far more than placing a consumer device inside a protective case. From extreme temperatures and harsh weather to vibration, dust, poor connectivity, and demanding working environments, true rugged devices are engineered from the ground up to support people working where most technology struggles. We also discuss the often-overlooked reality that around 80% of the global workforce operates away from a desk. These workers are increasingly dependent on digital tools to receive work orders, access mapping systems, capture field data, complete inspections, and communicate with central teams in real time. The conversation also turns to Edge AI and its growing importance for frontline teams. Rather than relying on constant connectivity and cloud processing, Edge AI enables workers to access intelligence directly on their devices. Whether identifying damaged assets through image recognition, guiding inspections, reducing paperwork, or supporting faster decision-making, AI is becoming a practical tool for improving efficiency and safety in the field. Alex also shares how customer expectations are changing. Organisations are no longer buying devices in isolation. Instead, they are involving technology providers much earlier in the process to help design complete solutions that can support future operational requirements. From defence roots to modern field operations, this episode offers a fascinating look at the technology helping keep critical services running behind the scenes. How will AI, connectivity, and rugged computing continue to reshape the future of work for the billions of people who never sit behind a desk?

Rethink Ireland has launched the new €1.5 million Skills for Tomorrow Fund in collaboration with Deloitte Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht. The fund will support innovative projects helping marginalised individuals and communities develop the skills they need to succeed in the future world of work. The fund will also support successful applicants to strengthen their impact through the practical and responsible use of artificial intelligence. Skills for Tomorrow will support up to nine organisations over 2.5 years, with cash grants ranging from €137,500 to €200,000. The fund comes at a time of shifting labour markets and rapid technological change, with increasing concern that individuals and communities already experiencing marginalisation risk being left further behind due to barriers to accessing education, training, digital literacy and employment opportunities. Applications are encouraged from projects and organisations focused on improving education and employment outcomes for marginalised groups including young people not in education, employment or training, long-term unemployed individuals, people with disabilities, minority ethnic communities, lone parents and those experiencing educational disadvantage. Launching the Skills for Tomorrow Fund, Deirdre Mortell, CEO of Rethink Ireland, said: "As the world of work continues to evolve, we need to ensure that people and communities already experiencing marginalisation are not further excluded from future opportunities. The Skills for Tomorrow Fund is about creating practical and inclusive pathways into employment, education and lifelong learning. "Through this fund, we want to support organisations that are already doing transformative work in communities across Ireland and help them scale their impact. We are also particularly excited to support successful applicants to explore how artificial intelligence can enhance and streamline the work they do every day." Welcoming the launch of the fund, Lorraine Griffin, Chairperson of Deloitte Ireland, said: "At Deloitte, we are proud to support this multiyear fund with Rethink Ireland. We understand that Ireland's future innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders will need new skills to meet tomorrow. Through the 'Skills for Tomorrow' fund, we are investing in innovative approaches that support education, digital skill development and training opportunities so more people have the opportunity to succeed in the modern economy. "As technology expands opportunity for those with access and skills, it can also reinforce barriers for those without. With the right support, more people can participate in and benefit from the future economy. Organisations serving communities are also facing rising demand and equipped with the right technology, they can do more and reach further." Reflecting on the impact of previous funding, Stuart Buchanan, Head of Advocacy & Impact at YMCA Dublin, an awardee organisation of Rethink Ireland & Deloitte's previous fund, said: "Funding like this can completely change what is possible for organisations working at community level. It allows us to reach people who often feel excluded from education, employment and digital opportunities and provide them with the confidence, skills and support they need to build better futures. "The long-term support from Rethink Ireland helped us grow our impact, strengthen our programmes and create meaningful opportunities for people who are too often left behind." The Skills for Tomorrow Fund is seeking applications from two strands, the first is organisations providing supports for young people; and the second is support for adults. Projects supported through the fund should demonstrate innovative and evidence-based approaches to future skills development, digital inclusion and workforce participation. Applications are now open and will close on 29 June 2026. Further information is available at https://rethinkireland.ie/current_fu...

How is AI forcing our networks to change? This week, Technology Now is diving into the world of network architecture and asking how AI is forcing us to rethink what it looks like. We ask how AI requirements are different to regular computing, we explore why this makes cacheing obsolete, and we ask how our networks are going to continue changing into the future to cope with the demands of our new AI native world. AE Natarajan, SVP, general Manager for Routing Infrastructure Solutions, HPE networking, tells us more.This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations.About AE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ae-natarajan-b79202/

Over the past decade, China has launched a remarkable number of multilateral initiatives — from the Belt and Road to BRICS to a suite of so-called Global Initiatives covering development, security, and civilisation. Western analysts have tended to read these as evidence of a Chinese project to displace the existing international order. Guest: Dr Joel Ng (Senior Fellow and Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore) Book: The Dragon's Emerging Order: Sinocentric Multilateralism and Global Responses Recorded on 27th March, 2026.

Show NotesIn this episode, Simon Western speaks with seasoned psychoanalyst and organisational consultant Dr. Anton Obholzer about the hidden emotional and relational dynamics shaping leadership, organisations and society. Anton is a hugely respected organisational consultant from the Tavistock tradition, and it is a delight to hear his wisdom and insights on this podcast.  Moving beyond technical models of management and mental health, the conversation explores organisations as living systems embedded within wider social and political realities. Anton reflects on the Tavistock tradition, the influence of Eric Miller and the importance of understanding organisations not simply as structures of efficiency, but as emotional containers carrying anxiety, projection, creativity and possibility. Simon and Anton discuss leadership as a protective and generative force, creating the conditions for growth, talent and human flourishing.The dialogue explores the erosion of relational life in contemporary society, the dangers of organisations becoming spaces for unmanaged social anxiety, and the increasing dominance of technological and managerial rationality over human connection. They examine the importance of experiential learning, vulnerability, observation and creative practice in sustaining healthy organisations and societies.At the heart of the episode is a deeper question about how we live together in increasingly uncertain times. Rather than retreating into expertise, certainty or control, Anton calls for greater relational awareness, collective responsibility and societal imagination.Key Reflections Organisations are emotional and societal systems, not simply technical machines Leadership involves creating protective spaces where people and creativity can flourish Psychoanalysis offers ways to understand the hidden dynamics shaping organisational life Relational intelligence matters more than purely technical expertise Organisations often absorb and enact wider societal anxieties and fractures Creativity, art and dialogue are essential to organisational and societal health Experiential learning creates deeper awareness than abstract theory alone Technological advancement risks intensifying alienation and loss of human contact Mental health cannot be separated from political, social and organisational conditions Healthy societies require interdependence, vulnerability and collective responsibility KeywordsPsychoanalysis, Leadership, Organisational Dynamics, Tavistock, Anton Obholzer, Simon Western, Eco-Leadership, Relational Intelligence, Systems Thinking, Emotional Containment, Group Relations, Society, Human Connection, Organisational Culture, Creativity, Vulnerability, Interdependence.Brief BioDr. Anton Obholzer is a psychiatrist, Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and both a child and adult psychoanalyst, trained at the Tavistock Clinic and the Institute of Psychoanalysis in London. Alongside his clinical work, he trained as an organisational consultant under Eric Miller at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, helping pioneer the application of psychoanalytic thinking to organisations, leadership, and institutional life.Until 2002, he served as Chief Executive of the Tavistock & Portman Clinics in London and continues as Chairman of the Consulting to Institutions Workshop and Senior Consultant in the Tavistock Consultancy Service. He has designed and directed group relations and management conferences internationally, and lectures widely on organisational change, leadership, and resistance under conditions of stress and turbulence.A Visiting Professor at the Universities of Vienna, Graz, and Innsbruck, faculty member at INSEAD's Advanced Management Programme, and teacher across Europe, Dr. Obholzer has spent decades exploring the unconscious dynamics that shape organisations - especially when systems are under pressure.He is also the co-editor of the influential book The Unconscious at Work, a seminal text that examines how unconscious anxieties and emotional dynamics operate within organisations and institutions. His writings and publications have profoundly shaped the fields of systems psychodynamics, organisational consultancy, and leadership studies.

How much power does the UK's fastest supercomputer use? This week, Technology Now returns to Isambard AI, the UK's most powerful supercomputer to find out how you run such a machine. We will explore how much energy it uses, how the system stays cool, and we ask if there are any planned future developments which could increase efficiency. Dr Emma Rose, Centre Manager for the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, tells us more.This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations. This episode is available in both video and audio formats.About Emma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-rose-7951768a/

Barry O'Reilly is an entrepreneur, author, and founder of Nobody Studios, an early-stage venture studio focused on building AI companies. Over the last six years he has worked with founders, executives and enterprise leadership teams to rethink how organisations operate in the age of generative AI, while simultaneously building and launching companies inside the studio model.A former startup advisor and executive coach, Barry has spent the last several years studying why most AI transformations fail despite enormous investment. Through his coaching and advisory work with leaders from companies including American Airlines, Skyscanner, and Slack, Barry has developed practical frameworks for improving decision-making, reducing administrative overhead, and increasing what he calls "decision velocity".In this episode, Barry explains why AI adoption fails when companies focus on tools instead of behaviour change, why judgment is becoming the most important human skill, and how teams can use AI to improve collaboration rather than replace people.Key takeaways — Most AI transformations fail because organisations start with tools instead of behaviours. Installing AI software does not change how people work, make decisions or collaborate. — The most effective AI use cases amplify a person's natural way of working. Barry realised he produced better writing by talking through ideas and using transcription tools instead of forcing himself into traditional writing workflows. — Capturing meetings, conversations and decisions as structured data creates long-term organisational intelligence. Every interaction becomes a reusable asset that improves preparation, follow-through, and future decision-making. — Leaders must role-model AI adoption themselves. Organisations see better outcomes when executives openly experiment with tools, share lessons learned, and create psychological safety around adoption. — Decision velocity matters more than raw productivity. Teams improve when they arrive prepared, make decisions faster, reduce reversals, and spend more time solving meaningful problems instead of handling administration. — AI should be used to challenge thinking, not replace it. The most valuable prompts ask for blind spots, alternative scenarios, and pressure tests rather than definitive answers. — Teams working with AI outperform individuals working with AI. Barry cites research showing that collaborative ideation with AI produces significantly stronger outcomes than isolated use. — Productivity gains are meaningless if they simply create more exhaustion. The real opportunity is creating space for reflection, slow thinking, and better judgment. — Judgment is the critical human capability organisations cannot outsource. If people stop exercising judgment and rely entirely on AI-generated answers, they gradually erode their ability to make decisions under uncertainty.Chapters 1:03 — Building AI companies at Nobody Studios 3:16 — Why AI transformations fail 5:05 — The danger of focusing on tools 6:35 — Discovering natural workflows with AI 8:51 — Turning conversations into data assets 12:02 — Measuring successful AI adoption 13:14 — Why leaders must role-model behaviour change 18:39 — Decision velocity as a leadership metric 21:33 — Escaping administrative overload 23:02 — Why leaders need time to think 26:54 — What CFOs are worried about 28:08 — Can AI replace startup teams? 29:45 — Why distribution still matters most 33:13 — Capturing and synthesising ideas with AI 34:38 — Using AI to challenge your thinking 37:11 — Avoiding top-down AI-driven strategy 39:00 — Why teams plus AI outperform individuals 42:31 — The problem with AI-generated certainty 43:12 — Preserving human judgment 44:55 — Hiring for judgment and decision-making 47:19 — Final reflections on leadership and AIOur HostsLily Smith enjoys working as a consultant product manager with early-stage and growing startups and as a mentor to other product managers. She's currently Chief Product Officer at BBC Maestro, and has spent 13 years in the tech industry working with startups in the SaaS and mobile space. She's worked on a diverse range of products – leading the product teams through discovery, prototyping, testing and delivery. Lily also founded ProductTank Bristol and runs ProductCamp in Bristol and Bath.Randy Silver is a Leadership & Product Coach and Consultant. He gets teams unstuck, helping you to supercharge your results. Randy's held interim CPO and Leadership roles at scale-ups and SMEs, advised start-ups, and been Head of Product at HSBC and Sainsbury's. He participated in Silicon Valley Product Group's Coaching the Coaches forum, and speaks frequently at conferences and events. You can join one of communities he runs for CPOs (CPO Circles), Product Managers (Product In the {A}ether) and Product Coaches. He's the author of What Do We Do Now? A Product Manager's Guide to Strategy in the Time of COVID-19. A recovering music journalist and editor, Randy also launched Amazon's music stores in the US & UK.

Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM  This episode dives into why large CRM and ERP projects keep failing and how AI is reshaping consulting, software delivery, and platform decisions. The core insight is simple. Organisations fail when they buy software instead of outcomes. With AI, experienced teams can move faster, strip away legacy complexity, and build only what the business actually needs. The conversation explores outcome-based thinking, flawed RFP processes, and why AI is accelerating the gap between great and average practitioners. 

Hidden in the corner of a carpark in Bristol lies Isambard AI, the UK's fastest supercomputer. This week, Technology Now is visiting Isambard AI to find out how the system works, how it was designed and assembled in a modular way, and to discover what sort of projects it runs. Professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, Director of the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing, tells us more.This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations. This episode is available in both video and audio formats.About Simon:https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonmcintoshsmith/Sources:https://www.bristol.ac.uk/research/centres/bristol-supercomputing/articles/2025/isambard-ai-launches-july-2025.htmlhttps://www.uswitch.com/broadband/studies/broadband-speed-statistics/

A strategic guide to risk, opportunity and adoption! $ BTC 78,461 Block Height 949,622 Today's guests are James Dewar, David Pool, and Darren Fremantle who join me to discuss their new "Bitcoin for Organisations" project, an open-source educational resource designed to help businesses understand Bitcoin as a critical risk management imperative. Key Topics: Introduction to the "Bitcoin for Organisations" idea Backgrounds and expertise of guests James Dewar, Darren Fremantle, and David Paul Framing Bitcoin as a crucial risk management issue for businesses The role of Bitcoin and Lightning in enabling "agentic payments" for AI Distinguishing Bitcoin from the broader "crypto" industry Challenges in educating traditional finance and corporate entities about Bitcoin Successes in engaging risk, compliance, legal, and academic sectors The open-source nature and collaborative development of the material Specific industry verticals and internal functions addressed in the materials Strategies for dispelling common myths and FUD surrounding Bitcoin The potential for "sleeper Bitcoiners" to advocate for adoption within their organisations The future landscape of fiat currency, central banks, and Bitcoin coexistence Connections: James Dewar - @Bitcoinshire David Pool - @exitingfiat Darren Freemantle - @freemantledj @MyFirstBitcoin_ My First Bitcoin website: ,https://programs.myfirstbitcoin.org/programs/bitcoin-for-organizations/ Check out my book ‘Choose Life' - https://bitcoinbook.shop/search?q=prince Pleb Service Announcements: Join 20 thousand Bitcoiners on @cluborange https://signup.cluborange.org/co/princey CONFERENCES: BITCOIN IRELAND - 22ND -25TH MAY 2026 - DUBLIN https://bitcoinireland.eu/ Use code BITTEN for - 10% BTC PRAGUE - 11th - 13th June 2026 http://btcprg.me/BITTEN - Use code BITTEN for - 10% BTC HEL - 25th - 26th September 2026. - Helsinki https://btchel.com/ Use code BITTEN for - 10% My First Bitcoin. https://myfirstbitcoin.org/ Shills and Mench's: BITBOX - SELF CUSTODY YOUR BITCOIN - www.bitbox.swiss/bitten Use Code BITTEN THE MEETUP BREAKDWON - BITCOIN EVENTS UK - https://www.themeetupbreakdown.com/ SWAN BITCOIN - www.swan.com/bitten PLEBEIAN MARKET - BUY AND SELL STUFF FOR SATS; https://plebeian.market/ @PlebeianMarket ZAPRITE - https://zaprite.com/bitten - Invoicing and accounting for Bitcoiners - Save $40 SATSBACK - Shop online and earn back sats! https://satsback.com/register/5AxjyPRZV8PNJGlM ALL FURTHER LINKS HERE - FOR DISCOUNTS AND OFFERS - https://vida.page/princey - https://linktr.ee/princey21m

How safe is our data from internal threats? This week, Technology Now dives into the world of confidential computing. We ask why regular encryption when data is at rest or in transit might not be enough, we explore how confidential computing works to keep our data safer, and we examine why this concept is so important in the first place. Dr Nigel Edwards, Director of the Security Lab at HPE Labs, tells us more.This is Technology Now, a weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Every week, hosts Michael Bird and Sam Jarrell look at a story that's been making headlines, take a look at the technology behind it, and explain why it matters to organizations.About Nigel:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-edwards-170591/