Podcasts about systems thinking

In this final solo episode, Bradley breaks down a transformative conversation with a long-term client that reveals the difference between task-oriented thinking and systems thinking. Learn why the shift from "developing your team" to "creating a team development system" is the key to scaling past $2-3 million in revenue.Bradley shares a coaching session with a client who grew from $750K to nearly $2M in revenue (after taking 18 years to cross the first million, then doubling in just three years). The breakthrough? Moving from individual development goals to creating scalable systems.Join Us at the 2026 Above The Business Event SeriesWant to experience more transformational content like this? Join us for the 2026 Above The Business event series where we'll dive deep into the strategies, systems, and mindset shifts that help you move from Rainmaker to Architect.Get above the daily grind and design a business that can run and grow without you.Learn more at blueprintos.comThanks to our sponsors...Coach P found great success as an insurance agent and agency owner. He leads a large, stable team of professionals who are at the top of their game year after year. Now he shares the systems, processes, delegation, and specialization he developed along the way. Gain access to weekly training calls and mentoring at www.coachpconsulting.com. Be sure to mention the Above The Business Podcast when you get in touch.Club Capital is the ultimate partner for financial management and marketing services, designed specifically for insurance agencies, fitness franchises, and youth soccer organizations. As the nation's largest accounting and financial advisory firm for insurance agencies, Club Capital proudly serves over 1,000 agency locations across the country—and we're just getting started. With Club Capital, you get more than just services; you get a dedicated account manager backed by a team of specialists committed to your success. From monthly accounting and tax preparation to CFO services and innovative digital marketing, we've got you covered. Ready to experience the transformative power of Club Capital? Schedule your free demo today at club.capital and see the difference firsthand. Make sure you mention you heard about us on the Above The Business podcast to get 50% off your one time onboarding fee!Autopilot Recruiting helps small business owners solve their staffing challenges by taking the stress out of hiring. Their dedicated recruiters work on your behalf every single business day - optimizing your applicant tracking system, posting job listings, and sourcing candidates through social media and local communities. With their continuous, hands-off recruiting approach, you can save time, reduce hiring costs, and receive pre-screened candidates, all without paying any hiring fees or commissions.More money & more freedom: that's what Autopilot Recruiting help business owners achieve. Visit https://www.autopilotrecruiting.com/ and don't forget to mention you heard about us on the Above The Business podcast.Direct Clicks is built is by business owners, for business owners. They specialize in custom marketing solutions that deliver real results. From paid search campaigns to SEO and social media management, they provide the comprehensive digital marketing your business needs to grow. Here's an exclusive offer for Above The Business listeners: Visit directclicksinc.com/abovethebusiness for a FREE marketing campaign audit. They'll assess your website, social media, SEO, content, and paid advertising, then provide actionable recommendations. Plus, when you choose to partner with them, they'll waive all setup fees.

In this episode, we return to the updated Inner Development Goals (IDG), and reflect on what has changed, why it matters and how IDG is now even more relevant for leaders that want to develop resilient leadership.Why IDG mattersToday leaders are not primarily challenged by 'technical problems' where clear solutions exist. Instead they face adaptive challenges in an increasingly complex, interconnected, and fast-moving world.IDG answers: What inner capacities do leaders need in order to lead resilient, human-centered organisations in this complex environment?5 dimensions of IDGBEING – Cultivating Our Inner LifeAt the core is Being, highlighting that leadership starts with who we are. The revised wording emphasizes development as an ongoing practice. Skills such as inner compass, self-awareness, and presence may sound obvious, but require continuous reflection. Without them, leadership easily stays on the surface.THINKING – Understanding Our Complex WorldThinking is no longer framed as cognitive skill alone, but as understanding complexity. The shift towards systems thinking reflects today's reality: leaders face adaptive challenges. Leadership becomes less about control and more about sense-making and framing the right questions so collective intelligence can emerge.RELATING – Caring for Others and the WorldThis dimension reflects a fundamentally different image of leadership: not dominance or certainty, but care, humanity, and relational maturity. Alongside empathy, humility, and compassion, forgiveness has been added as a key skill.COLLABORATING – Building Trust and Working TogetherThe collaborating dimension has been reframed to place trust at its centre. Trust is no longer treated as a skill in itself, but as an outcome of behaviors such as relationship-building, inclusion, communication, and co-creation.ACTING – Leading and Enabling ChangeThe final dimension focuses on enabling action, not driving it. Skills like courage, hope & optimism, and resilience point to leadership as creating conditions where people can act.A living guide for leadersThe IDG is not a finished model, like leadership itself, it continues to evolve. Used as a self-assessment or reflection tool, it helps leaders identify strengths, development areas, and how leadership can be shared across an organization.Working with Second Crack and IDGWe increasingly use IDG in our work. Its strength lies in its simplicity, shared language, and ability to quickly open deep, meaningful conversations about leadership behavior and culture. Please get in touch if you want to explore how we and IDG can support your organisation.Previous episodesFrom 2022, a 6-part in-depth look at IDG. Link to part 1: https://podcast.secondcrackleadership.com/1659493/episodes/10816920Link to episode on Systems Thinking with Dr. Paul Lawrence: https://podcast.secondcrackleadership.com/1659493/episodes/12056252Find more information related to IDG at innerdevelopmentgoals.orgAbout Second CrackMore information about us and our work is available on our website: secondcrackleadership.com. Contact us now to explore how we can support your leadership development in a company-wide initiative or with individual executive coaching: hello@secondcrackleadership.com. Connect with us on LinkedIn:Martin Aldergård Gerrit Pelzer

Natalia Curusi: From Spreadsheets to Discovery—Helping POs Make the Transition The Great Product Owner: Taking Ownership and Coaching the Team Forward Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "That person was not just a great product owner, but a great coach—he had excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, and he coached myself as a Scrum Master, showing me how product ownership should look like." - Natalia Curusi   Natalia worked with a Product Owner who embodied everything the role should be. He didn't come from a technical background, but he possessed exceptional domain knowledge, outstanding communication skills, and stakeholder management expertise you rarely find in one person. What made him truly remarkable was that he coached everyone around him, including Natalia as the Scrum Master.  He demonstrated full empowerment and ownership—making decisions himself rather than constantly escalating to higher management. When risks needed to be taken, he took them with courage and conviction. The team trusted him completely because he balanced business needs with team capacity, always understanding what they could realistically achieve. Over the past five years, this person has been promoted multiple times and now serves as a global director of product, still with the same company.  When Natalia thinks about what great product ownership looks like, she thinks of him—someone who combined technical understanding with coaching ability, took genuine ownership of outcomes, and empowered the team through clear vision and decisive leadership. These are exactly the skills that are hardest to find in the market, yet when you find them, the impact is transformative for the entire organization.   Self-reflection Question: Does your Product Owner take ownership and make decisions, or do they constantly escalate to higher management, preventing the team from moving forward with confidence? The Bad Product Owner: Assigned Without Training, Support, or Willingness "She was a great subject matter expert with deep domain knowledge, but the organization assigned her the product owner role without her willingness, without training, and while she was already 80% loaded with other responsibilities." - Natalia Curusi   Natalia encountered a Product Owner anti-pattern that reveals a systemic organizational failure. The person was an exceptional subject matter expert with incredible domain knowledge, but when the organization decided to adopt Agile, they assigned her the PO role like sticking a label on a box—no training, no consent, no preparation. She was already working at 80% capacity on other responsibilities and had no understanding of what product ownership meant. Frustrated and overwhelmed, she approached the role from a command-and-control mindset. At the project start, she brought a massive spreadsheet of requirements, expecting the team to implement them sequentially.  The team tried a different approach, wanting to understand problems before discussing solutions, but the PO surprised everyone by re-introducing the spreadsheet in a later meeting—a clear sign of misalignment and broken trust. Natalia, recognizing this was a battle she couldn't win without organizational support, chose to manage the relationship rather than create open conflict. She worked to mediate between the PO's spreadsheet approach and the team's need for discovery and iterative development. The real anti-pattern wasn't the individual—it was the organization assigning critical roles without providing training, time, or psychological safety. This situation illustrates why product ownership fails: not from bad people, but from bad systems that set people up to fail.   Self-reflection Question: When you see a struggling Product Owner, are you addressing the individual's behavior or the systemic conditions that set them up to fail in the first place?   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Welcome to the CanadianSME Small Business Podcast, hosted by Maheen Bari, where we explore strategic insights and innovative approaches empowering D2C brands to scale profitably. Today, we're diving into the high-impact world of performance marketing and systems-driven growth.Our guest is Thomas Robinson, VP of Growth at Breath Death and Managing Partner at Direct To Growth Co., a growth leader known for blending analytics, storytelling, and platform expertise across Amazon and Shopify.Key Highlights:Amazon Profitability: Thomas shares key principles for structuring Amazon Ad accounts to eliminate wasted spend and maximize efficiency. Incrementality Mindset: He explains how incrementality reshapes strategy and cuts through inflated attribution models. Capital-Based Media Buying: Thomas breaks down how to treat ad spend like investment capital across PPC, Paid Social, and CTV. Category Disruption: He reveals how Breath Death used influencer content and culture to disrupt a twenty billion dollar category. Systems Thinking for Growth: Thomas discusses the future of Direct To Growth Co. and why systems thinking is every founder's superpower.Special Thanks to Our Partners:RBC: https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/dms/business/accounts/beyond-banking/index.htmlUPS: https://solutions.ups.com/ca-beunstoppable.html?WT.mc_id=BUSMEWAGoogle: https://www.google.ca/A1 Global College: https://a1globalcollege.ca/ADP Canada: https://www.adp.ca/en.aspxFor more expert insights, visit www.canadiansme.ca and subscribe to the CanadianSME Small Business Magazine. Stay innovative, stay informed, and thrive in the digital age!Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as direct financial or business advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation.

Natalia Curusi: Measuring What Matters Beyond Velocity and Story Points Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "We as Scrum Masters need to put a scope for ourselves—we need to aim to leave the place where we work a little bit better than it was, and to make sure that this place could improve itself without us." - Natalia Curusi   Natalia defines success for Scrum Masters with crystal clarity: leave the organization better than you found it, and ensure it can continue improving when you're gone. This means fostering independence and ownership in teams so they can perform whether you're on vacation, in another meeting, or have moved to coaching other teams.  The opposite pattern—where everything falls apart when the Scrum Master isn't present—reveals someone who hasn't truly succeeded in the role. Natalia also emphasizes the importance of establishing metrics early, but not the traditional ones.  Using velocity as a metric is an anti-pattern that focuses teams on the wrong outcomes. Instead, she recommends metrics like predictability, team morale, psychological safety measured through 360 feedback, and the quality of conversations both within teams and with stakeholders. But metrics alone don't tell the story.  Natalia champions the concept of Gemba walks—going to see what's actually happening, talking to people, observing the reality rather than just reviewing dashboard numbers. Some metrics are easily gamed, others provide only narrow perspectives on reality. The most important practice is using metrics to trigger reflection and adaptation, not as fixed targets. Natalia believes strongly that the quality of conversations—how teams discuss options, make decisions together, and adapt when facing pressure—reveals more about a Scrum Master's success than any velocity chart ever could. The ultimate question: can your team succeed without you?   Self-reflection Question: If you disappeared from your team tomorrow, would they continue improving, or would progress stop until someone replaced you? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Spotify Squad Health Check "This is a multidimensional retro that I run with teams every 2 to 3 months—you need around 30 minutes for it, and I often get insights and new ideas from this retrospective that help me as a Scrum Master." - Natalia Curusi   The Spotify Squad Health Check is Natalia's favorite retrospective format because it provides a comprehensive view of team health across multiple dimensions. Unlike traditional retrospectives that might focus on a single sprint or specific issue, this format examines the team's overall state across areas like teamwork, support, mission clarity, and technical quality. Teams rate themselves on various health indicators, creating a visual representation that reveals patterns over time.  What makes this particularly valuable is that it works whether you know the team well or are just starting with them—either way, you gain insights and "aha moments" about where the team truly stands. The multidimensional nature prevents teams from optimizing just one aspect while neglecting others, and the regular cadence (every 2-3 months) allows you to track trends and celebrate improvements.  For Natalia, this format consistently surfaces the hidden challenges that teams might not raise in regular retrospectives, making it an essential tool in her Scrum Master toolkit.   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

In this episode of The Modern Facilities Management Podcast, Griffin Hamilton is joined by Micah Jacob, a Melbourne-based Facilities Manager with over a decade of global FM experience across Australia, Europe, and large multinational portfolios.Micah's journey into facilities management is anything but traditional. Originally trained in computer science, his career path took an unexpected turn—from a mailroom role to managing complex FM contracts across energy, banking, retail, and commercial real estate. Along the way, he's worked with some of the largest global FM providers, gaining a rare, cross-functional perspective on how facilities management has evolved over the last 12 years.Together, Griffin and Micah explore:How a technical and systems-thinking background can shape better FM decision-makingThe expanding role of facilities teams post-COVID, from operations to strategyWhy emotional intelligence and stakeholder psychology are now critical FM skillsGlobal differences in FM best practices across Australia, the U.S., Europe, and the Middle EastThe promise—and challenges—of IoT, data, and predictive maintenance in facilitiesWhy adaptability beats “cause and effect” thinking in complex FM environmentsMicah also shares insights into mentorship, continuous learning, and his upcoming book project focused on complex systems thinking—bridging human psychology, infrastructure, and long-term outcomes in facilities and beyond.Enjoy!

Natalia Curusi: Demonstrating Your Value When the Market Questions Agile Roles Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "My challenging topic is about the demand of agility in the market—how do we fit ourselves as scrum masters in that AI era? How can we demonstrate our competence and contribution when there's a perception that agile roles bring little value?" - Natalia Curusi   Natalia faces the challenge every Scrum Master in 2025 grapples with: how to demonstrate value in an era when business perceives agile roles as optional overhead. The market has contracted, companies are optimizing budgets, and Scrum Masters often appear first on the chopping block.  There's talk of "blended roles" where developers are expected to absorb Scrum Master responsibilities, and questions about how AI might replace the human facilitation work that coaches provide. But Natalia believes the answer lies in understanding something fundamental: the Scrum Master is a deeply situational and contextual role that adapts to what the team needs each day.  Some teams need help with communication spaces, others need work structure like Kanban boards, still others need translation between technical realities and stakeholder expectations. The challenge is that this situational nature makes it incredibly hard to explain to business leaders who think in fixed job descriptions and measurable outputs. Natalia's approach involves bringing metrics—not velocity, which focuses on the wrong things, but metrics around team independence, continuous improvement, and organizational capability. She suggests concepts like Gemba walks—going to see what's actually happening rather than relying only on numbers. The real question Natalia poses is this: the biggest value we can bring to an organization is to leave it better than we found it, but how do we make that visible and tangible to business stakeholders who need justification for our roles?   Self-reflection Question: If you had to demonstrate your value as a Scrum Master using only observable evidence from the past month, what would you show your leadership?   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Natalia Curusi: The Dark Side of High-Performing Dream Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "I was proud of this team—I helped form them from the start, we traveled to the client together, they were mature and independent, they even jelled outside the workplace. This was my dream team." - Natalia Curusi   Natalia had built something special. The team was technically strong, emotionally connected, and highly productive. They socialized outside work, traveled together to client sites, and operated with remarkable independence. But when a new junior developer joined, everything started to unravel.  The existing team members were like heroes—fast, skilled, confident. The newcomer couldn't keep pace, and slowly Natalia noticed something disturbing: the team started making fun of the new member during retrospectives and stand-ups. The person became an outlier, a black swan ignored by the group. Natalia conducted one-on-one meetings with both the new member and the team, but the situation only worsened. The new person insisted they were fine and didn't need help. The team members claimed they were just joking around. Meanwhile, the team structure and morale deteriorated.  Natalia realized she was watching her dream team self-destruct through a form of bullying—something she hadn't even recognized at the time. Finally, she understood she couldn't handle this alone and escalated to the head of discipline and the organizational psychologist. Together, they decided to rotate the person to another team where they felt more comfortable. Natalia learned a painful lesson: as Scrum Masters, we don't need to solve everything ourselves, and sometimes the best solution is recognizing when to use the support structure around us rather than treating it as a personal failure.   In this episode, we refer to Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins and Training from the Back of the Room by Sharon Bowman.   Self-reflection Question: When have you witnessed subtle forms of exclusion in your team, and did you recognize them early enough to intervene effectively? Featured Book of the Week: Coaching Agile Teams by Lyssa Adkins "This was the first book about agile coaching that I read, and it's how I understood that I was already playing the scrum master role without even knowing it—I understood that I was already acting like a glue for the team." - Natalia Curusi   Natalia discovered Coaching Agile Teams at a pivotal moment in her career. The book revealed something profound: if you're irreplaceable, there's a problem. A great Scrum Master or coach makes themselves obsolete by growing team members who can replace them. The team should be able to perform independently when you're on vacation or move to another assignment. Lyssa Adkins showed Natalia that she needed to let go of over-control and over-responsibility, focusing instead on growing the team's capabilities. The book remains one of Natalia's top recommendations for every junior Scrum Master wanting to embrace the role, alongside Training from the Back of the Room, which teaches facilitators how to run interactive workshops where people learn from each other rather than just listening to slides.   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Natalia Curusi: When Your Technical Expertise Becomes Your Biggest Scrum Master Weakness Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "I thought my technical background was my biggest strength, but I understood that this was my biggest weakness—I was coming into stand-ups saying 'I know how we need to fix that issue,' and I was a Scrum Master." - Natalia Curusi   Natalia stepped into her first blended role as team leader and Scrum Master full of confidence. With years of programming experience behind her, she believed she could guide her team through any technical challenge. But during morning stand-ups, she found herself suggesting solutions, directing technical approaches, and sharing her expertise freely. The team listened—after all, she was their former leader. They implemented her suggestions, but when those solutions failed, the team didn't have the thinking process to adapt them to their context.  Natalia realized she was preventing the team's learning and ownership by taking control away from them. The turning point came when she made a deliberate choice: she selected the most technical person on the team to become the technical authority and committed to never stepping on his feet again. From that moment forward, she focused purely on the Scrum Master role—asking questions, fostering collaboration, and shutting up to listen actively.  Years later, that technical lead followed her to another job, and they remain friends to this day. Natalia learned that her contribution wasn't about giving solutions—it was about keeping the team from losing ownership of their work.   Self-reflection Question: When you attend your team's daily stand-up, are you contributing to collaboration, or is your contribution keeping the team from owning their work?   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Michael Trice combines theological training with an executive MBA to engage business leaders, nonprofits, and diverse religious communities. As founding director of Seattle University's Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement, he works at the intersection of faith traditions and public life. Our conversation explores what "public theology" means in practice and the tensions inherent in pluralistic engagement.Show Notes:Encountering Cruelty: The Fracture of the Human Heart (https://brill.com/display/title/18104?rskey=cf10gy&result=1)Send us a text

In this episode of Leadership Bites, I interview Guido Palazzo, Professor of Business Ethics,  University of Lausanne, who explores the dark side of corporate behaviour and the systemic issues that lead to ethical failures. We discuss Guido's background, the concept of his brilliant book 'The Dark Pattern: The Hidden Dynamics of Corporate Scandals' in corporate scandals, and the importance of understanding the systems and cultures that allow unethical behaviour to thrive. The conversation delves into the psychological aspects of corporate culture, the slippery slope of ethical compromise, and the need for organisations to create environments that promote ethical decision-making. Ultimately, we highlight the importance of awareness and proactive measures to prevent ethical failures in business.TakeawaysGuido focuses on the absence of ethics in business.Corporate scandals often involve good people making bad decisions.Systems, not just individuals, drive unethical behaviour.Leadership plays a crucial role in shaping organisational culture.Group dynamics can lead to conformity and ethical blindness.The slippery slope of compromise can lead to significant ethical failures.Survival instincts can overshadow ethical considerations in the workplace.Creating a 'bright pattern' can help organisations avoid ethical pitfalls.Awareness and proactive measures are essential for ethical business practices.The importance of having a court jester to provide honest feedback in organisations.Key Moments & Chapters00:00 Introduction to Ethics and Corporate Responsibility03:03 Guido's Background and Academic Journey05:37 Understanding Ethics in Business08:49 The Role of Systems in Ethical Failures11:45 Exploring Corporate Scandals and Dark Patterns14:35 The Impact of Leadership on Organizational Culture17:41 Group Dynamics and Ethical Decision Making20:30 The Combination of Dark Patterns in Corporations23:28 Survival and Ethical Compromise in Business26:12 Conclusion: The Human Element in Corporate Ethics26:42 The Dark Patterns of Corporate Culture29:39 The Slippery Slope of Compromise33:16 The Illusion of the Messiah in Leadership40:13 The Disconnect Between Leadership and Reality44:11 Finding the Bright Pattern in Dark TimesTo find out more about Guy Bloom and his award winning work in Team Coaching, Leadership Development and Executive Coaching click below.The link to everything CLICK HEREUK: 07827 953814Email: guybloom@livingbrave.com Web: www.livingbrave.com

The most enjoyable part of doing the podcast is talking to a wide range of people who, regardless of their industry or role, share a common goal: making things better. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. Sometimes we make things better by selling something people need. Other times, it's by teaching them something new, creating an art installation that moves them, designing a workplace where they feel fulfilled, or building tools that make tasks easier. Whatever the approach, the mission remains the same—to make things better.This simple goal can often get lost behind the different names our work has taken over time. Take “UX,” for example. It started as “Human Factors,” then became “Human-Computer Interaction,” and eventually evolved into “User Experience” and “Human-Centered Design.” Whatever the term, it all comes back to the same principle: improving lives. The more we keep that in mind, the better we understand what this work is truly about.There's a lot of talk today about creating a “Digital First” strategy. But perhaps we should think in terms of a Human First strategy—focusing on what people want, what they need, and how we can help close the gap. One of the great things about being a podcast host, educator, and thought leader in this space is providing the tools that help others create the tools people need.My guest on this episode of Experience by Design understands what it means to elevate human potential and create “human-powered excellence.” Terry Peters discovered his passion for computers and coding through his high school football coach. Over his 20+ year career, he has helped organizations shape their digital strategies through user research, systems design, and user-focused experiences. His systems perspective emphasizes the importance of employee experience within technological and digital design—prioritizing their voices to create solutions that truly make things better.We discuss Terry's journey into management information systems and eventually user experience. We explore the challenges of requirements gathering, the role of AI as a supportive tool in human-centered design (rather than a replacement), and Terry's work with Veracity, now part of RGP, where empathy is central to projects that impact employees' work and lives.Finally, we reflect on the ethos of user experience: improving people's lives and making things better. By integrating diverse perspectives, we can build tools that help people achieve that goal.Terry Peters on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-peters-m-s-8198b61b/RGP: https://rgp.com/

⚔️ Col. Pavithran Rajan — Are We Already at War? Algorithms, Sovereignty & The Future of India's National Security

Guiding Question:How might we give students a voice in how we celebrate cultural diversity in our school communities?Key Takeaways:The importance of student voice and agency in designing whole school eventsCelebrating culture through learning, perspective taking, and shared experiencesUnexpected sources of inspirationA student perspective on the New Metrics from Melbourne University If you have enjoyed this podcast please take a moment to subscribe, and also we'd appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support. Learn more about how Inspire Citizens co-designs customized student leadership and changemakers programsConnect with more stories from the Inspire Citizens network in our vignettesMeasuring the IMPACT of Service Learning projects and initiatives Access free resources for global citizenship educationShare on social media using #EmpathytoImpactEpisode Summary On this episode, I meet Alejandra from Yeronga State High School in Queensland, Australia. Alejandra, who, along with her classmate, Tony, are in Year 9 and junior school captains at their school. They played an integral role in a community celebration of culture at their school, Yeronga Celebrates, that takes place every other year. Join us as we talk about this exciting event, the role that she played, and how all of this connects with the New Metrics.Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

Während meiner Zeit in der Produktion habe ich ein Prinzip gelernt, das ich heute auch in meinem Haushalt anwende. Es ist sehr simpel, aber auch sehr wirksam.Show Notes:>> No Zero Days | Buch für Ingenieure: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠nozerodays.de⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠/buch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠>> Mentoring für Ingenieure: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠engineer-alliance.de⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠>> Crashkurs: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠engineer-alliance.de⁠/crashkurs⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠>> Tim Schmaddebeck auf LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hier klicken⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠>> Buchempfehlungen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠mentorwerk.de/buecher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stichworte zur Folge:Produktivität Ingenieure, Lean Management, 5S Methode, Prozessoptimierung, Engineering Productivity, Ordnungssystem Alltag, Life Maintenance Load, Selbstorganisation, Effizienz steigern, Routinen entwickeln, Einfacher Alltag, Kaizen Prinzip, Arbeitsplatzorganisation, Struktur im Alltag, Mental Load reduzieren, Fokus finden, Minimalismus Alltag, Gewohnheiten optimieren, Zeitmanagement Ingenieure, Systems Thinking, Reibung reduzieren, Organisation Haushalt, Engineering Mindset, Workflow Optimierung, Klarheit schaffen, Priorisierung, Continuous Improvement, Stress reduzieren, smarter arbeiten, berufliche Weiterentwicklung

I heard from so many of you after my first conversation with today's guest that I asked him to come back and take our conversation to the next level.   Who is this mystery guest? Well, today, on Notable Leaders' Radio, I speak with Chad Lefevre, Founder and Ceo of The Most Important Conversations. He highlights how embracing your unique wiring as a creator can transform uncertainty into opportunity and inspire you to step into your own leadership and impact. In today's episode, we discuss: Discover Your Early Sparks. Ever wonder why some kids just don't stop asking "why?" Chad did that to the point of driving his mom nuts. So it was no surprise that, in Catholic school, the traditions and rituals drew him toward life's deeper mysteries. That kid-like curiosity? It's your clue to passions waiting to light up your path, no matter your age now.​   Own Your Unique Wiring. Notice where you think differently, ask endless questions, or spot connections others miss. Chad calls this your natural wiring, not a glitch, and says leaning into it turns "annoying" traits into your secret edge for fresh ideas. We've all got that inner wiring; the question is, are you plugging it in?   Master the Pause in Chaos. That urge to react when life hits hard? Chad's emotional sobriety trick, feel it, breathe, saved him from recycling stress loops. In our wild world of AI shake-ups and uncertainty, this space between trigger and response is your superpower for calm, smart moves.   Step Up in the Storm. With jobs shifting and change everywhere, do your best not to freeze like you are watching a car wreck. Chad challenges us: who will you become amid it all, a fighter, fleer, or creator, grabbing the opportunity? Link arms in community, trust your gut, and turn disruption into your breakthrough story.   RESOURCES: Complementary Resources: …https://www.inc.com/tracy-leigh-hazzard/building-fans-by-connecting-brands-to-brains.html  Guest Bio: Chad Lefevre is an international Design Thinker, business philosopher and strategist, author, speaker and psychonaught with twenty years of senior business experience, successfully designing business strategy, and leading cultural transformation and leadership development initiatives from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies.  Chad's work centers around Liberation, creativity, and being-centered human potential. He focuses on designing and delivering on what is possible when human beings are liberated, in alignment, empowered, and supported to overcome limiting perceptions and beliefs, to increase performance and deliver desired outcomes for themselves and the companies they work for.  Chad is Founder and CEO of The Most Important Conversations (TMIC) a ground-breaking weekly online transformation community, which some have referred to as "AA for healthy normals". Previously, he was Founder of NeuroBe Inc., a research and consulting firm focused on delivering profound performance inside of corporations by working with leaders in the areas of being, perception, and cognitive mastery. He was also co-Founder of Ncite Neuromedia, a neuroscience-based video game development company specializing in leadership development through what he referred to as "transformational gaming".  Chad has has architected transformative business strategies and solutions effecting the areas of business operations, leadership development, cultural transformation and team building, branding, PR and marketing communications (for which he was featured in INC.). His work has included serving such companies/brands as: Coca-Cola, TELUS, Sony Music Latin, Music World, SimWin (AI sports leagues), United Way, Shell, Hoffman, the Canfield Group, Bell, Richard Blanco: Poet Laureate to the Obama Administration; co-producing SANG (which featured leading thinkers including Tony Robbins, Jack Canfield, Peter Guber, Tony Hsieh, and Peter Diamandis, among hundreds of others); co-producing the Sundance Thought Leader Summit, participating in Larry King's Breakfast Club, among others. Chad is an avid student and researcher in the areas of neuropsychology, perception, and choice making. Other areas of research and expertise supporting his work include game theory, complexity theory, change management, and Systems Thinking.  Website/Social Links …  https://chadlefevre.com The Most Important Conversations @ https://tmicglobal.com https://tmicglobal.com  https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadlefevre /   Belinda's Bio: Belinda is a sought-after Leadership Advisor, Coach, Consultant and Keynote speaker and a leading authority in guiding global executives, professionals and small business owners to become today's highly respected leaders. As the Founder of BelindaPruyne.com, Belinda works with such organizations as IBM, Booz Allen Hamilton, BBDO, The BAM Connection, Hilton, Leidos, Yale School of Medicine, Landis, and the Discovery Channel. Most recently, she redesigned two global internal advertising agencies for Cella, a leader in creative staffing and consulting. She is a founding C-suite and executive management coach for Chief, the fastest-growing executive women's network. Since 2020, Belinda has delivered more than 72 interviews with top-level executives and business leaders who share their inner journey to success; letting you know the truth of what it took to achieve their success in her Notable Leaders Radio podcast. She gained a wealth of expertise in the client services industry as Executive Vice President, Global Director of Creative Management at Grey Advertising, managing 500 people around the globe. With over 20+ years of leadership development experience, she brings industry-wide recognition to the executives and companies she works with. Whether a startup, turnaround, acquisition, or global corporation, executives and companies continue to turn to Pruyne for strategic and impactful solutions in a rapidly shifting economy and marketplace. Website: Belindapruyne.com Email Address: hello@belindapruyne.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belindapruyne  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NotableLeadersNetwork.BelindaPruyne/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/belindapruyne?lang=en  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belindapruyne/

Welcome to the 2025 season finale of Aurecon’s Engineering Reimagined podcast. Let’s look back on some of our favourite episodes of the year that all have one thing in common – the evolving technologies that affect or impact three critical areas of interest, including decision-making in the age of distraction, the energy transition and data centres. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if the secret to flourishing wasn't about doing more—but about realizing you already are enough?In this inspiring episode of the Flourishing Edge Podcast, host Ashish Kothari is joined by Jennifer Cohen, Founder and Director of Seven Stones Leadership Group, to explore how shifting from scarcity to sustainable abundance can transform your leadership, your relationships, and your life.Together, they uncover the seven timeless laws that help us move beyond fear, scarcity, and separation—toward joy, connection, and sufficiency.

What role can social entrepreneurship have in building soil health and achieving positive ecological goals?Mary and Eric explore this question with Dr. Christine Mahoney of the University of Virginia's Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Wayflowering Flower Farm. Dr. Mahoney shares her own experiences with social enterprises, systems thinking, and regenerative organic flower farming in this episode. Dr. Mahoney reflects on the catalytic effect organizations and businesses can have on innovation and change, such as enriching the soil, enhancing biodiversity, sequestering carbon, strengthening local ecosystems, and supporting pollinator habitats.To learn more about cut-your-own flower opportunities and immersive experiences at Wayflowering Flower Farm, please visit https://www.wayflowering.com/.If you want to become a member of the Central Virginia Flower Collective, send an email inquiry to CVAFlowers@gmail.com. If you are interested in impact investing, specifically related to displaced people and refugees, please visit the Refugee Investment Network that Dr. Mahoney helped found at https://refugeeinvestments.org/As always, we encourage you to cooperate with other farmers, graziers, and gardeners for peer-to-peer learning and to follow the four core soil health principles: 1) Keep the soil covered -- Cover crops are our friends and allies; avoid bare fallows;2) Minimize soil disturbance -- Practice no-till or gentle tillage as much as possible in your field or garden;3) Maximize living roots year-round -- to improve biodiversity, soil structure, and life in the soil; and4) Energize with diversity -- through crop rotation, high-quality food for soil and plants, farm enterprises, and livestock integration. If you have questions about soil and water conservation practices, natural resource concerns, and soil health principles and practices to restore the life in your soil, call or visit a USDA Service Center, a Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District office, or your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.  4 the Soil: A Conversation is made possible with funding support from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and The Agua Fund. Other partners include the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; Virginia Cooperative Extension; Virginia State University; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation; and partners of the Virginia Soil Health Coalition.Disclaimer: Views expressed on this podcast are those of each individual guest.To download a copy of this, or any other show, visit the website 4thesoil.org. Music used during today's program is courtesy of the Flip Charts. All rights reserved. 4 the Soil: A Conversation is produced by On the Farm Radio in collaboration with Virginia Tech. The host and co-hosts are Jeff Ishee, Mary Sketch Bryant, and Eric Bendfeldt.

Steven Guo, Program Manager at Carnegie Mellon's Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, shares how he's helping CMU founders scale through the VentureBridge accelerator (alumni have raise over $200M and are valued at over $500M) and a thriving alumni innovation network. With a systems-thinking approach to building startup ecosystems, Steven reveals how community, mentorship, and collaboration fuel lasting impact.

What makes you a designer? ...Today, Abbie, Claudia, and Chris explore radical changes in learning around systems thinking and design over time, along with the implications for future designers, which includes all of us. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience as part of the RSDX Online Festival on Sunday, October 5, 2025. Join the RSDX Zoom Event here to watch the recording of Claudia and Chris' presentation 'Configuring Incompossible Futures'....Claudia Westermann is an artist-researcher and licensed architect. She is Associate Professor of Creative Practice in the School of Design and the Built Environment at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, a member of the German Chamber of Architects, Vice President of the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC), and co-editor of the journal Technoetic Arts. Claudia Westermann's projects have been widely exhibited and presented, including at the Venice Biennale, the Moscow International Film Festival, ISEA Symposium for the Electronic Arts, and the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Germany. She has received awards for her practice and teaching, including two provincial and three national awards. For her visionary engagement fostering systemic education, research, and practice, she received the Margaret Mead Prize from the American Society for Cybernetics in 2024.Chris Speed FRSE, FRSA is Professor of Design for Regenerative Futures at RMIT, Melbourne, where he works with communities and partners to explore how design supports transitions toward regenerative societies. He has a strong record of leading major grants and educational programmes with academic, industry and third-sector collaborators, applying design and data methods to address social, environmental and economic challenges. From 2022 to 2024, he served as Director of the Edinburgh Futures Institute, where he led the transformation of the historic Old Royal Infirmary into a world-leading centre for interdisciplinary teaching, research and innovation. Between 2018 and 2024, he directed Creative Informatics, a £7.4 million UKRI-funded cluster that supported data-driven innovation in the creative industries. From 2012 to 2022, he was Co-Director of the Institute for Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh, which he helped build into the College's largest research centre and a nationally recognised leader in interactive media. In 2020, he received the University of Edinburgh Chancellor's Award for Research and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh....Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution....Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann....⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Explore all things CMM Institute here.

One on One Video Call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingSupport the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_USThe Lila Code: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4612-3942

Guiding Question:How might we empower students to take the lead on sustainability initiatives within our school community?Key Takeaways:Climate action in our own school communities starting with becoming more deeply aware by quantifying our carbon footprint Measuring impact: 6 important data points for schools to considerThe importance of direct service opportunities for students Approaching challenges like the climate crisis with a growth mindset If you have enjoyed this podcast please take a moment to subscribe, and also we'd appreciate it if you could leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support. Learn more about how Inspire Citizens co-designs customized student leadership and changemakers programsConnect with more stories from the Inspire Citizens network in our vignettesMeasuring the IMPACT of Service Learning projects and initiatives Access free resources for global citizenship educationShare on social media using #EmpathytoImpactEpisode Summary On this episode, I meet Huy, Leia, & David, high school students at St. Joseph's Institution International. These students are part of a CCA at their school called Sustainability Squad. Sustainability Squad is a well-established CCA that works to lead sustainability initiatives within their school community. In our conversation, learn how these students, and other members of their squad, have done something quick remarkable. They have quantified their carbon footprint by gathering data and worked with the WWF to build skills to effectively lead initiatives in an effort to achieve quantifiable, measurable impact on reducing their school community's carbon footprint. How might this work be integrated into teaching and learning in our schools and how might your students become actively involved with this work in your school community? Listen to learn more.Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

This interview was recorded for GOTO Unscripted.https://gotopia.techJessica Kerr - Engineering Manager of Developer Relation at Honeycomb.io & SymmathecistDiana Montalion - Systems Architect, Mentrix Founder & Author of "Learning Systems Thinking"RESOURCESJessicahttps://bsky.app/profile/jessitron.bsky.socialhttps://linkedin.com/in/jessicakerrhttps://www.twitch.tv/jessitronicahttps://jessitron.comDianahttps://bsky.app/profile/dianamontalion.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dianamontalionhttps://montalion.comhttps://learningsystemsthinking.comDESCRIPTIONSystems architect Diana Montalion and engineering manager Jessica Kerr cut through the AI coding hype to explore what these tools actually do well - and where they have room for improvement. Moving beyond the "AI will replace developers" narrative, they reveal how AI assistants excel at the tedious work of typing, scaffolding, and error handling while remaining surprisingly bad at the nuanced thinking that experienced developers bring to complex systems.Their discussion illuminates a more mature relationship with AI tools: one where developers maintain agency over design decisions while leveraging AI's strengths in automation, synthesis, and rapid prototyping. The result is a pragmatic roadmap for using AI to amplify human expertise rather than replace it.RECOMMENDED BOOKSDiana Montalion • Learning Systems Thinking • https://amzn.to/3ZpycdJAndrew Harmel-Law • Facilitating Software Architecture • https://amzn.eu/d/5kZKVfUDonella H. Meadows • Thinking in Systems • https://amzn.to/3XtqYCVYu-kai Chou • Actionable Gamification • https://amzn.to/45D8bHAInspiring Tech Leaders - The Technology PodcastInterviews with Tech Leaders and insights on the latest emerging technology trends.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyBlueskyTwitterInstagramLinkedInFacebookCHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUSJoin this channel to get early access to videos & other perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/joinLooking for a unique learning experience?Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket: gotopia.techSUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL - new videos posted daily!

Systems should make life easier, not more complicated. That idea runs through our conversation with technology strategist “VPN,” whose journey from SAP in India to the UN in Geneva to advising global institutions shaped a simple practice: start with the problem, then use data and AI to serve people with clarity and care.We dig into what most teams get wrong about data—confusing volume with insight and falling into confirmation bias. Instead of chasing clever dashboards, we map a workflow where hypotheses are tested, methods are transparent, and systems explain themselves in plain language. The result is trust. And trust is what unlocks adoption, the critical moment when data actually changes a decision. From HR policy Q&A to legal discovery, we show how AI can strip away repetitive labor so humans focus on context, tradeoffs, and fairness.Designing for the public means building for real settings: clinics with noise, fields with poor connectivity, and city services that must be accessible, secure, and easy to use. We explore digital twins, predictive maintenance, and crowdsourced reporting—and why each only works when the loop closes and action is visible. Along the way, we share a framework for people-first AI strategy: educate users, co-design with business owners, choose use cases where automation is safe and useful, and require explainability where stakes are high. The through line is constant: human judgment at the end of the loop, with AI as the force multiplier.If you care about ethical AI, public sector innovation, and data that leads to better outcomes—not just faster reports—you'll find practical steps you can apply today. Subscribe, share with a colleague who wrangles dashboards for a living, and leave a review with one question you want AI to help your community answer next.Send us a textCheck out "Protection for the Inventive Mind" – available now on Amazon in print and Kindle formats. The views and opinions expressed (by the host and guest(s)) in this podcast are strictly their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the entities with which they may be affiliated. This podcast should in no way be construed as promoting or criticizing any particular government policy, institutional position, private interest or commercial entity. Any content provided is for informational and educational purposes only.

Most problems in the world aren't random accidents, they're built into the systems we live in. When we look closer we find systems all around us drive the currents that change the world. Systems Thinking is a key idea in science, politics and business, but it knows no boundaries as systems show up everywhere. In every era of humanity we created new systems in politics, law, technology and economics to deal with the problems of the day. As new challenges arise in the 21st century, from the future of AI to global politics, it is up to humanity to build new systems to overcome them. Systems thinking invites us to discover the threads that bind our actions, cultures, and destinies into unexpected tapestries: Stop firefighting and get to the root cause. Search for leverage points where small acts create outsized impact. Reframe crisis from an isolated disaster to an interconnected opportunity. SPONSORS

Is “Systems Thinking is dead” the new “Agile is dead”? In this episode, we do a summary episode on what became a 4 episode series stemming from a disparaging article about systems thinking by Ed Braden. We react to the article, get Ed's response and then - using a little help from Google Ai - offer successful examples of implementing systems in large government projects. Links: - Bradon's article: worksinprogress.co/issue/magical-systems-thinking/ - Bradon's self-responses on X: x.com/EdBradon/status/1966470317288616342 - Ed's reply on Twitter: x.com/EdBradon/status/1971266284990976361 - Gall's Law: www.driverlesscrocodile.com/processes-w…-galls-law/ Shape Up episodes: Ryan Singer on Basecamp and Shape Up, Part I https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/ryan-singer-on-basecamp-and-shape-up-part-i Ryan Singer on Basecamp and Shape Up, Part II https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/ryan-singer-on-basecamp-and-shape-up-part-ii Ryan Singer on Basecamp and Shape Up, Part II https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/ryan-singer-on-basecamp-and-shape-up-part-iii Full episodes on this topic: Someone is wrong on the internet about systems thinking! https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/someone-is-wrong-on-the-internet-about-systems-thinking Systems Thinking rant redux, Part I https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/systems-thinking-rant-redux-part-i Systems Thinking rant redux, Part II https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/systems-thinking-rant-redux-part-ii Systems Thinking rant redux, Part III https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/systems-thinking-rant-redux-part-iii -------------------------------------------------- You'll find free videos and practice material, plus our book Agile Conversations, at agileconversations.com And we'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show: email us at info@agileconversations.com -------------------------------------------------- About Your Hosts Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick joined forces at TIM Group in 2013, where they studied and practised the art of management through difficult conversations. Over a decade later, they remain united in their passion for growing profitable organisations through better communication. Squirrel is an advisor, author, keynote speaker, coach, and consultant, and he's helped over 300 companies of all sizes make huge, profitable improvements in their culture, skills, and processes. You can find out more about his work here: douglassquirrel.com/index.html Jeffrey is Vice President of Engineering at ION Analytics, Organiser at CITCON, the Continuous Integration and Testing Conference, and is an accomplished author and speaker. You can connect with him here: www.linkedin.com/in/jfredrick/

This week on Slappin' Glass, we sit down with Justin Bokmeyer, Director of Basketball Operations for the Brooklyn Nets, to explore how great teams build sustainable, high-performance environments.With a background spanning West Point, MLS Next, and the NBA Academy, Justin shares powerful lessons on leadership, systems thinking, and developing people-first organizations that thrive under pressure.

In this episode of Crazy Wisdom, host Stewart Alsop sits down with Harry McKay Roper, founder of Imaginary Space, for a wide-ranging conversation on space mining, AI-driven software, crypto's incorruptible potential, and the raw entrepreneurial energy coming out of Argentina. They explore how technologies like Anthropic's Claude 4.5, programmable crypto protocols, and autonomous agents are reshaping economics, coding, and even law. Harry also shares his experiences building in Buenos Aires and why hunger and resilience define the city's creative spirit. You can find Harry online at YouTube, Twitter, or Instagram under @HarryMcKayRoper.Check out this GPT we trained on the conversationTimestamps00:00 – Stewart Alsop welcomes Harry McKay Roper from Imaginary Space and they jump straight into space mining, Helium-3, and asteroid gold. 05:00 – They explore how Bitcoin could hold value when space mining floods markets and discuss China, America, and global geopolitics. 10:00 – Conversation shifts to Argentina, its economic scars, cultural resilience, and overrepresentation in startups and crypto. 15:00 – Harry reflects on living in Buenos Aires, poverty, and the city's constant hustle and creative movement. 20:00 – The focus turns to AI, Claude 4.5, and the rise of autonomous droids and software-building agents. 25:00 – They discuss the collapse of SaaS, internal tools, and Harry's experiments with AI-generated code and new workflows. 30:00 – Stewart compares China's industry to America's software economy, and Harry points to AI, crypto, and space as frontier markets. 35:00 – Talk moves to crypto regulation, uncorruptible judges, and blockchain systems like Kleros. 40:00 – They debate AI consciousness, embodiment, and whether a robot could meditate. 45:00 – The episode closes with thoughts on free will, universal verifiers, and a playful prediction market bet on autonomous software.Key InsightsSpace and Economics Are Colliding – Harry McKay Roper opens with the idea that space mining will fundamentally reshape Earth's economy. The discovery of asteroids rich in gold and other minerals highlights how our notions of scarcity could collapse once space resources become accessible, potentially destroying the terrestrial gold economy and forcing humanity to redefine value itself.Bitcoin as the New Standard of Value – The conversation naturally ties this to Bitcoin's finite nature. Stewart Alsop and Harry discuss how the flood of extraterrestrial gold could render traditional stores of value meaningless, while Bitcoin's coded scarcity could make it the only incorruptible measure of worth in a future of infinite resources.China and the U.S. in Industrial Tug-of-War – They unpack the geopolitical tension between China's industrial dominance and America's financial hegemony. Harry argues the U.S. is waking up from decades of outsourcing, driven by China's speed in robotics and infrastructure. This dynamic competition, he says, is good—it forces America to build again.Argentina's Culture of Hunger and Resilience – Living in Buenos Aires reshaped Harry's understanding of ambition. He contrasts Argentina's hunger to survive and create with the complacency of wealthier nations, calling the Argentine spirit one of “movement.” Despite poverty, the city's creative drive and humor make it a living example of resilience in scarcity.AI Is Making Custom Software Instant – Harry describes how Claude 4.5 and new AI coding tools like Lovable, Cursor, and GPT Engineer make building internal tools trivial. Instead of using SaaS products, companies can now generate bespoke software in minutes with natural language, signaling the end of traditional software development cycles.Crypto and AI Will Merge Into Incorruptible Systems – Harry envisions AI agents on-chain acting as unbiased judges or administrators, removing human corruption from law and governance. Real-world tools like Kleros, founded by an Argentine, already hint at this coming era of algorithmic justice and decentralized decision-making.Consciousness and the Limits of AI – The episode closes on a philosophical note: can a robot meditate or clear its mind? Stewart and Harry question whether AI could ever experience consciousness or free will, suggesting that while AI may mimic thought, the uniquely subjective and embodied nature of human awareness remains beyond automation—for now.

Learn seven mindsets for building smarter, simpler solutions with Rock and discover how systems thinking can change the course of your digital ministry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hydrogen infrastructure requires billion-dollar cryogenic systems. That's the conventional wisdom keeping hydrogen grounded. Dr. Jalaal Hayes proved it's wrong—and the implications for expeditionary operations are immediate.Hayes developed Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) technology, which stores hydrogen at ambient temperatures using existing fuel infrastructure. No specialized equipment. No cryogenic vulnerability. Combined with biohydrogen production, delivering three times the energy density of JP-8, this isn't an incremental improvement—it's an operational paradigm shift.When you orchestrate complementary technologies instead of betting on single solutions, you eliminate infrastructure dependencies that constrain deployment. For institutions like the DoW, that means hydrogen propulsion without forward-deployed cryogenic facilities.Paradigm Shifts:→ Applied Budgetary Exhaustion: LOHC eliminates billions in cryogenic infrastructure by using existing petroleum systems—the same asymmetric strategy Ukraine uses with $10K drones vs $100M platforms. Attack the cost structure, not the capability.→ Infrastructure Independence: Biohydrogen becomes deployable when paired with ambient-temperature LOHC storage. No cryogenic vulnerability. No specialized tankers. Existing logistics networks carry hydrogen in chemical form—released on demand at the point of use.→ Regional Stack Control = Supply Chain Security: Hayes built his entire prototype with suppliers within driving distance. That's not convenience—it's strategic autonomy. When you control the full stack regionally, you eliminate foreign dependencies and supply chain vulnerabilities.Operational Impact:→ Space-to-Ground Dual-Use: Same hydrogen stack enabling Mars closed-loop life support runs ground ops at forward operating bases. One R&D investment, two critical applications. That's how you maximize constrained budgets.→ Technology Intersection > Selection: Stop forcing teams to pick biohydrogen OR storage OR production. The breakthrough lives where they integrate—each solving the other's deployment constraint. Complementary systems outperform optimized components.→ Compressed Innovation Cycles: Hayes's students solve real commercial prototypes in semesters, not years. Academic-entrepreneurial integration accelerates the transition of capabilities from the lab to the field.Strategic Reframe: Infrastructure dependencies limit operational flexibility. When you orchestrate technologies that leverage existing systems, you eliminate deployment barriers. The question isn't "which hydrogen technology wins?" It's "what combination removes infrastructure constraints from our operational calculus?"Guest: Dr. Jalaal Hayes, CEO & Founder, Evince Inc. | Associate Professor of Chemistry, Lincoln UniversityHost: Dyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin WorksEcosystemic Futures is the Shoshin Works foresight series with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration heritage.

Still stuck “talking” about change, but not seeing it in action? The real roadblock to change in math may not be teacher resistance—it might be your system.Based on Jim Knight's powerful article in Educational Leadership, “Moving from Talk to Action in Professional Learning,” this episode reframes what looks like math pd resistance in schools. We walk through the five stages of implementation—Non-Use, Awareness, Mechanical, Routine, and Proficient—and reveal how most educators aren't resisting change… they're stuck in a system that makes it nearly impossible to act on it. If multiple people are resisting, it's not a people problem—it's a system problem.You'll learn:What each of the five implementation stages looks like in real practice in math pdWhy math educators appear resistant—and how fear, perfectionism, and lack of agency fuel hesitationHow student-focused goals create momentum where strategy mandates fall flatSimple, leader-driven shifts that support movement in math pd from awareness to actionWhat it takes to make professional learning stick, even after the workshop endsPress play to explore Jim Knight's findings and discover what it really takes to turn professional learning into professional practice.Not sure what matters most when designing math improvement plans? Take this assessment and get a free customized report: https://makemathmoments.com/grow/ Math coordinators and leaders – Ready to design your math improvement plan with guidance, support and using structure? Learn how to follow our 4 stage process. https://growyourmathprogram.com Looking to supplement your curriculum with problem based lessons and units? Make Math Moments Problem Based Lessons & Units Show Notes PageLove the show? Text us your big takeaway!Are you wondering how to create K-12 math lesson plans that leave students so engaged they don't want to stop exploring your math curriculum when the bell rings? In their podcast, Kyle Pearce and Jon Orr—founders of MakeMathMoments.com—share over 19 years of experience inspiring K-12 math students, teachers, and district leaders with effective math activities, engaging resources, and innovative math leadership strategies. Through a 6-step framework, they guide K-12 classroom teachers and district math coordinators on building a strong, balanced math program that grows student and teacher impact. Each week, gain fresh ideas, feedback, and practical strategies to feel more confident and motivate students to see the beauty in math. Start making math moments today by listening to Episode #139: "Making Math Moments From Day 1 to 180.

Can decades-old management philosophy actually help us tackle AI's biggest challenges?In this episode, John Willis, a foundational figure in the DevOps movement and co-author of the DevOps Handbook, takes us through Dr. W. Edwards Deming's System of Profound Knowledge and its surprising relevance to today's most pressing challenges. John reveals how Deming's four-lens framework—theory of knowledge, understanding variation, psychology, and systems thinking—provides a practical approach to managing complexity.The conversation moves beyond theoretical management principles into real-world applications, including incident management mistakes that have killed people, the polymorphic nature of AI agents, and why most organizations are getting AI adoption dangerously wrong.Key topics discussed:Deming's System of Profound Knowledge and 14 Points of Management—what they actually mean for modern organizationsHow Deming influenced Toyota, DevOps, Lean, and Agile (and why the story is more nuanced than most people think)The dangers of polymorphic agentic AI and what happens when quantum computing enters the pictureA practical framework for managing Shadow AI in your organization (learning from the cloud computing era)Why incidents are “unplanned investments” and the fatal cost of dismissing P3 alertsTreating AI as “alien cognition” rather than human-like intelligenceThe missing piece in AI conversations: understanding the philosophy of AI, not just the technologyTimestamps:(00:00:00) Trailer & Intro(00:02:27) Career Turning Points(00:05:31) Why Writing a Book About Deming(00:12:53) Deming's Influence on Toyota Production System(00:19:31) Deming's System of Profound Knowledge(00:28:12) The Importance of Systems Thinking in Complex Tech Organizations(00:31:43) Deming's 14 Points of Management(00:44:17) The Impact of AI Through the Lens of Deming's Profound Knowledge(00:49:56) The Danger of Polymorphic Agentic AI Processes(00:53:12) The Challenges of Getting to Understand AI Decisions(00:55:43) A Leader's Guide to Practical AI Implementation(01:05:03) 3 Tech Lead Wisdom_____John Willis' BioJohn Willis is a prolific author and a foundational figure in the DevOps movement, co-authoring the seminal The DevOps Handbook. With over 45 years of experience in IT, his work has been central to shaping modern IT operations and strategy. He is also the author of Deming's Journey to Profound Knowledge and Rebels of Reason, which explores the history leading to modern AI.John is a passionate mentor, a self-described “maniacal learner”, and a deep researcher into systems thinking, management theory, and the philosophical implications of new technologies like AI and quantum computing. He actively shares his insights through his “Dear CIO” newsletter (aicio.ai) and newsletters on LinkedIn covering Deming, AI, and Quantum.Follow John:LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/johnwillisatlantaTwitter – x.com/botchagalupe AI CIO – aicio.ai Attention Is All You Need – linkedin.com/newsletters/attention-is-all-you-need-7167889892029505536 Profound – linkedin.com/newsletters/profound-7161118352210288640 Rebels of Uncertainty – linkedin.com/newsletters/rebels-of-uncertainty-7359198621222719490Like this episode?Show notes & transcript: techleadjournal.dev/episodes/237.Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.Buy me a coffee or become a patron.

If you have enjoyed the podcast please take a moment to subscribe, and also please leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. The way the algorithm works, this helps our podcast reach more listeners. Thanks from IC for your support. Considering professional development? Inspire Citizens Global Citizenship Certificate courses launch November 30! Click to learn more and register for these impactful programs.Connect sustainability, service learning, economics, mathematics and data science in Sriya's interactive simulation Grow All WealthCheck out Mia‘s book, A Blueprint for Saving the Planet, and Sriya's book, Being the OneEmpower students to pursue their ideas with the UAE Changemakers Collaborative and listen to their podcastInvolve your school or host your own conference as part of the Global Issues Network Share using #EmpathytoImpactEpisode Summary I first connected with Mia and Sriya when they were keynote speakers at the Toddle Service Learning Summit last fall, and was very inspired by all they have accomplished as changemakers. Sriya is currently a senior at ASD in Dubai and Mia is a senior at the International School of Amsterdam. Listen to hear what sparked their changemaker journey and what advice they have for leading projects and empowering global citizens at your school.Discover a transformative podcast on education and learning from a student perspective and student voice, exploring media, media literacy, and media production to inspire citizens in schools through a media lab focused on 21st-century learning, empathy to impact, Global citizenship, collaboration, systems thinking, service learning, PBL, CAS, MYP, PYP, DP, Service as Action, futures thinking, project-based learning, sustainability, well-being, harmony with nature, community engagement, experiential learning, and the role of teachers and teaching in fostering well-being and a better future.

Welcome to the RSD14 Participant Podcast!...Today, Abbie is joined by the participants of the Relating Systems Thinking and Design (RSD14) Conference in Toronto to reflect on their own experiences of both the online and in-person conference, the stories and contexts around design that they bring with them, and the conversations they are a part of and what they hope is next for this community. In this episode, you will hear from 13 conference participants who stopped to speak with Abbie during the conference itself. These conversations were recorded onsite at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada at the RSD14 Conference between October 16-18, 2025. Please excuse the sometimes wonky audio quality, as this was an experiment in podcasting on the go in a public space :) ...Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution....Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann....⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.Explore all things CMM Institute here.

We've got examples! In the third episode of a three-part series, Squirrel and Jeffrey revisit the contentious discussion around system thinking and their reaction to an article by Ed Braden.They look at successful examples of systems thinking implemented in both small and large government projects, like the UK's automatic enrollment in pensions and Vietnam's education reforms. Links: - Ed Bradon's article: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/magical-systems-thinking/ - Parts I and II of this series: - Part I - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/systems-thinking-rant-redux-part-i - Part II - https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/systems-thinking-rant-redux-part-ii - Gall's Law: https://personalmba.com/galls-law/ - Religion and Science episode: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/religion-and-science - How Big Things Get Done: https://sites.prh.com/how-big-things-get-done-book -------------------------------------------------- You'll find free videos and practice material, plus our book Agile Conversations, at agileconversations.com And we'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show: email us at info@agileconversations.com -------------------------------------------------- About Your Hosts Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick joined forces at TIM Group in 2013, where they studied and practised the art of management through difficult conversations. Over a decade later, they remain united in their passion for growing profitable organisations through better communication. Squirrel is an advisor, author, keynote speaker, coach, and consultant, and he's helped over 300 companies of all sizes make huge, profitable improvements in their culture, skills, and processes. You can find out more about his work here: douglassquirrel.com/index.html Jeffrey is Vice President of Engineering at ION Analytics, Organiser at CITCON, the Continuous Integration and Testing Conference, and is an accomplished author and speaker. You can connect with him here: www.linkedin.com/in/jfredrick/

Ever wonder how successful entrepreneurs make decisions that consistently drive growth? Sam Vander Wielen, the powerhouse behind a thriving seven-figure legal education business, sits down with Karl to reveal the exact systems she uses to scale while staying true to her unique voice. The Curiosity Framework That Transforms Teams Sam drops a game-changer: curiosity as a core business value. But this isn't just feel-good leadership fluff. She shares the specific techniques she uses to turn her team into problem-solvers who aren't afraid to experiment and fail forward. The Voice-of-Customer System That Drives Real Results Here's where Sam gets tactical. She reveals her quarterly feedback system that goes beyond basic surveys. This isn't about collecting compliments – it's about gathering data that actually changes how she builds products and crafts messaging. The twist? Sometimes the data forces her to pivot away from her own assumptions. Sam shares how customer feedback helped her make decisions that felt counterintuitive but drove significant growth. AI Integration Without Losing Your Soul Sam's approach to AI is refreshingly strategic. She's not jumping on every shiny new tool – instead, she's thoughtfully integrating AI for specific tasks while fiercely protecting what makes her business unique: her voice and perspective. She reveals exactly where she uses AI (social media, email reminders) and where she draws hard lines (core content creation). Why This Matters for Your Business If you're a small business owner struggling with: Team members who wait for direction instead of taking initiative Making decisions based on gut feeling rather than solid data Wondering how to use AI without losing what makes you different Scaling while maintaining quality and authenticity ...then Sam's systems provide a blueprint you can actually implement. The Bottom Line Sam proves that systematic curiosity and strategic feedback loops aren't just nice-to-haves. They're the engines that power sustainable growth. Her approach shows how the right systems can help you scale without sacrificing the human elements that make your business special. Ready to build magnetic systems that make your team more proactive and your customers more engaged? This conversation gives you the roadmap. Want to design feedback systems that actually drive growth in your business? Let's talk about how to turn your people into problem-solvers who help you scale smarter, not harder. Learn more about Sam Vander Wielen over at her website. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn. You can get the Magnetic Systems Method (and other systems guides) to find issues before they become expensive problems. As always, if you have any questions or want to submit an amazing guest for the podcast, just reach out to me on the Systematic Leader website, and I'll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Systematic Leader podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks! Related podcasts and articles: The Hidden Force Behind 95% of Your Team's Decisions with Mark C. Crowley The Power of Systems Thinking in Your Company

The most transformative strategic leaders understand that building ever-larger organizational infrastructure is counterproductive. Instead, they leverage resources and achieve impact by engineering robust, trust-based networks.Jane Wei-Skillern, a Senior Fellow at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business whose network leadership research has been downloaded over 31,000 times, reveals the four counterintuitive principles driving systemic success. This is a complete contrast to conventional growth thinking. Learn how to use decentralized influence to maximize resource effectiveness and generate sustainable, scalable impact. Paradigm Shifts: → Mission before Organization: Success is achieved by prioritizing a shared strategic objective over traditional organizational metrics, such as budget or internal infrastructure growth. → Trust not Control: Shifting from seeking headquarters dominance and enforcing internal hierarchy to establishing deep, relational foundations with trusted peers and collaborators. → Humility not Brand: Rejecting centralized brand management and resource accumulation in favor of leveraging shared intelligence across the broader ecosystem. → Constellations not Stars: Systemic impact is maximized when leaders work alongside peers as equals to build robust, enduring networks, rather than seeking individual organizational dominance.Ecosystem Impact: → Large, brand-driven organizations often struggle with internal politicking and learning barriers between headquarters and field offices. → Network leadership eliminates resource redundancies and increases efficiency, making limited resources "go further, go faster". → Leaders who reject the status of being the single "founder" or having the "best ideas" are better positioned to listen and observe intelligence from every corner of the world. → Robust networks generate organizational success more efficiently, effectively, and sustainably.The Innovation: Recognizing that scalable impact is achieved not by accumulating static resources or internal power bases, but by actively building an ecosystem of high-trust peer relationships. This approach fosters continuous collaboration and system-wide leverage.Strategic Application: Executives must audit whether current investments prioritize institutional growth or the engineering of high-trust, decentralized partnership ecosystems. Success hinges on designing a constellation structure that optimally distributes effort and knowledge.Strategic Reframe: In complex, hyper-connected systems that punish resource waste, ask: "Are we building a resource-draining institutional empire, or are we engineering a scalable, high-impact constellation structure built on leveraged peer-to-peer trust?" The most resilient Ecosystemic Futures are driven by influence through connection, not dominance through control. Guest: Jane Wei-Skillern, Senior Fellow, Center for Social Sector Leadership, UC Berkeley Haas School of Business Host: Marco Annunziata, Co-founder, Annunziata Desai AdvisorsSeries Hosts: Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research CenterDyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin WorksEcosystemic Futures is a Shoshin Works systems foresight series with NASA heritage.

Aurecon’s chief engineer Tanya de Hoog sits down with Silicon Valley pioneer Chandrakant Patel. They explore how imagination fuels innovation and why engineering fundamentals like rigour, creativity and systems thinking are as important today as they have ever been. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can we learn from a Luminaries-recognized leader? In this episode, we sit down with Ann Ditlow, finance and analytics manager at 4Front Credit Union and nominee for the Credit Union Times Luminaries Award. Ann's journey from molecular lab technician to Credit Union leader is a masterclass in curiosity, systems thinking, and service-centered leadership. She shares how ServiStar's Vertex training equipped her to manage change, build cooperation, and turn chaos into consistency. Whether you are navigating team transitions, leading through uncertainty, or looking to strengthen your systems and results, Ann's lessons offer practical steps you can apply this week to create a culture of clarity, purpose, and resilience. In this episode we talk about and answer these questions: • What it feels like to be recognized as a Luminaries nominee and what habits led there • How ServiStar's Vertex training shaped Ann's leadership approach • How to spot organizational “drift” and bring teams back into alignment • What practical systems and tools reduce disorder instead of adding noise • How to use cooperation and purpose to sustain energy through change • A simple “entropy buster” every leader can implement in one hour Click Here to Submit Your Questions  Links from show: Enroll in ServiStar's Emerging Leaders program – practical coaching and delegation tools for new managers Learn more about ServiStar's Vertex leadership training Subscribe to ServiStar Leadership Podcast on your favorite streaming service

Systems thinking isn't the problem! In the second episode of a three-part series, Squirrel and Jeffrey revisit the contentious discussion around system thinking and their reaction to an article by Ed Braden. They clarify misconceptions about systems thinking, argue its benefits, and propose that it has shifted the 'Overton window' in project management. Links: - Ed Bradon's article: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/magical-systems-thinking/ - Part I of this series: https://soundcloud.com/troubleshootingagile/systems-thinking-rant-redux-part-i - Works in Progress magazine: https://worksinprogress.co/ - Strangler Fig pattern: https://martinfowler.com/bliki/StranglerFigApplication.html - Overton window: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window - Case studies Ed referred to: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/systems-thinking-for-civil-servants/case-studies -------------------------------------------------- You'll find free videos and practice material, plus our book Agile Conversations, at agileconversations.com And we'd love to hear any thoughts, ideas, or feedback you have about the show: email us at info@agileconversations.com -------------------------------------------------- About Your Hosts Douglas Squirrel and Jeffrey Fredrick joined forces at TIM Group in 2013, where they studied and practised the art of management through difficult conversations. Over a decade later, they remain united in their passion for growing profitable organisations through better communication. Squirrel is an advisor, author, keynote speaker, coach, and consultant, and he's helped over 300 companies of all sizes make huge, profitable improvements in their culture, skills, and processes. You can find out more about his work here: douglassquirrel.com/index.html Jeffrey is Vice President of Engineering at ION Analytics, Organiser at CITCON, the Continuous Integration and Testing Conference, and is an accomplished author and speaker. You can connect with him here: www.linkedin.com/in/jfredrick/

This may be the ultimate systems thinking interview. Beyond building science at the site scale, this is systems thinking to save the world. Gail Vittori and Pliny Fisk III have their fingerprints all over the structural ideologies for ways of thinking that underlie what we now think of as the fields of sustainability, greenbuilding, indoor health and well-being and more. Enjoy this thoughtful unpacking of ideas that span from systems thinking at the scale of the planet to human society to industry, products and materials. If you're not familiar with Pliny Fisk III and Gaily Vittori, Max's Pot, the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, or the Global Dreamlab, it's about damn time that you are. Buckle up and enjoy this wild and fascinating ride with two of the brightest early lights in environmental sustainability in the AEC and beyond.Pliny Fisk IIIPliny Fisk III is a pivotal figure in the sustainability movement, whose career in architecture, landscape architecture, and the systems sciences spans more than four decades. He has dedicated his career to developing replicable prototypes, protocols, and policy initiatives that challenge conventional wisdom in building design, engineering, materials, and planning. His seminal life cycle-based protocols helped shape the first green building programs, and he collaborated on federal efforts like the Greening of the White House and the Greening of the Grand Canyon. He is also an inventor and the CEO and founder of two technology companies, Sustainable Earth Technologies and the EcoInventorium.Pliny's influence extends into academia and policy, having held faculty positions at several major universities and served as an advisor to foundations like MacArthur and Gates. His policy initiatives include the Austin Green Building Program and the AIA's Environmental Resource Guide, establishing new protocols with broad implementation. His impact has earned him numerous honors, including The Lewis Mumford Award and the U.S. Green Building Council's Sacred Tree Award. Pliny has been recognized by Metropolis Magazine as a Visionary and by Texas Monthly as one of “35 People Who Will Shape Our Future.”Gail VittoriGail Vittori  leads a life of discovery, of adventure, of collaborating with incredible people and finding opportunities to make a little bit of a movement of the needle on things that she is passionate about. Gail has been a key force in advancing green building policies, protocols, and prototypes at the local, state, and national levels, with a particular emphasis on the critical link between sustainable design and human health1. In 1989 she developed the initial conceptual framework for what would become the City of Austin's Green Builder Program, recognized as the first green building program globally. Building on this foundational work, she went on to convene the Green Guide for Health Care in 2001, an initiative that catalyzed a revolution in the design, construction, and operations of healthcare facilities. Her expertise led her to serve as the Founding Chair of the LEED for Healthcare committee from 2004 to 2008, and she also co-authored Sustainable Healthcare Architecture.Gail has held several influential leadership positions in the sustainable building community. She served on the USGBC Board of Directors from 2002 to 2010, including a term as Board Chair in 20095. She also dedicated eight years to the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) Board of Directors from 2011 to 2019, where she served as Board Chair from 2013 to 2019. Currently, she is the Vice-Chair of the Health Product Declaration Collaborative Board of Directors. Her vision and impact have earned her significant recognition, including the 2015 Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership and the 2020 USGBC's Kate Hurst Leadership Award. Additionally, she was featured as an Innovator: Building a Greener World in TIME Magazine and was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.TeamHosted by Kristof IrwinEdited by Nico MignardiProduced by M. Walker

Here's the problem: AI is evolving faster than most organizations can keep up — and the risks of falling behind are real.In this episode, futurist and researcher Mike Courtney, CEO of Aperio Insights, joins IISE's David Brandt to explore how industrial and systems engineers can lead through the AI revolution. From balancing innovation with ethics to building systems that keep “humans in the loop,” this conversation reveals how to harness AI's power without losing our human advantage.Full episode available October 28.

Information management delivers data. Knowledge management unleashes organizational intelligence - transforming how multi-stakeholder ecosystems coordinate, decide, and optimize performance across dynamic and complex networks. D. Jasen Graham, Director of Enterprise Risk and Knowledge Management for VA's $400M+ Financial Management Business Transformation program, achieved 50% improvement in risk mitigation efficiency and 40% reduction in decision cycle time. Paradigm Shifts:

With an impressive background in computer science from MIT and years of experience as a site reliability engineer at Google, Dina Levitan shares how she approaches the art of problem definition, and what she's learned about the value of subject matter expertise versus disciplined product management skills. The episode also touches on Dina's passion for consulting, her thoughts on work-life integration as a mom and leader, and practical stories about rapidly ramping up in new industries without being a deep domain expert. Key takeaways from Holly's conversation with Dina Levitan, founder and principal of Chill Labs and lead product consultant at the Product Science Group, include the importance of centering the human experience in product development, the power of diverse and empowered teams, and why evidence-based strategies can unlock innovation, even in unfamiliar territory.   Resources Visit Chill Labs where Dina helps companies build products that users want. Explore Dina's personal site to explore her consulting and speaking services. Connect with Dina on LinkedIn Follow Holly on LinkedIn Visit the Product Science Group website Explore Product Science Workshops and Courses   Quotes from Dina Levitan:  (00:05:21) "Whether it's in engineering or product management or life generally, understanding the true nature of a problem and its root causes is one of the most interesting and exciting pieces of the puzzle for me and motivates me to do my best work." - Dina Levitan (00:24:04) “I wouldn't say there's one definition of what does a product manager do? It kind of depends on the situation and the organization and their practices." - Dina Levitan (00:16:13) "I know that for me, one of the more fun aspects of the job is facilitating workshops and seeing how ideas from each participant build on top of each other and help us get to a clear path forward." - Dina Levitan  Lab Notes :Lab Note 608.1: Continuous Discovery & Delivery: Centering the human is key. Lab Note 608.2: Empowered Teams: Teams with diverse skillsets and perspectives foster greater understanding. Lab Note 606.3: Evidence-Based Product Strategy: Gathering evidence leads to sound product strategy even in areas where pre-existing expertise is limited. Lab Note 606.4: Building empowered teams requires both science and art. Lab Note 606.5: Empathy and contextual understanding remain uniquely human.  Connect with the host, Holly Hester-Reilly:  Website - https://www.productsciencegroup.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/product-science-group/ Product Science Podcast - https://www.productsciencepodcast.com YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@productsciencegroup TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@productsciencegroup Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/productsciencegroup/   View the transcript and the full episode description on the Product Science Podcast website here.  

BONUS: The Evolution of Agile - From Project Management to Adaptive Intelligence, With Mario Aiello In this BONUS episode, we explore the remarkable journey of Mario Aiello, a veteran agility thinker who has witnessed and shaped the evolution of Agile from its earliest days. Now freshly retired, Mario shares decades of hard-won insights about what works, what doesn't, and where Agile is headed next. This conversation challenges conventional thinking about methodologies, certifications, and what it truly means to be an Agile coach in complex environments. The Early Days: Agilizing Before Agile Had a Name "I came from project management and project management was, for me, was not working. I used to be a wishful liar, basically, because I used to manipulate reports in such a way that would please the listener. I knew it was bullshit." Mario's journey into Agile began around 2001 at Sun Microsystems, where he was already experimenting with iterative approaches while the rest of the world was still firmly planted in traditional project management. Working in Palo Alto, he encountered early adopters discussing Extreme Programming and had an "aha moment" - realizing that concepts like short iterations, feedback loops, and learning could rescue him from the unsustainable madness of traditional project management. He began incorporating these ideas into his work with PRINCE2, calling stages "iterations" and making them as short as possible. His simple agile approach focused on: work on the most important thing first, finish it, then move to the next one, cooperate with each other, and continuously improve. The Trajectory of Agile: From Values to Mechanisms "When the craze of methodologies came about, I started questioning the commercialization and monetization of methodologies. That's where things started to get a little bit complicated because the general focus drifted from values and principles to mechanisms and metrics." Mario describes witnessing three distinct phases in Agile's evolution. The early days were authentic - software developers speaking from the heart about genuine needs for new ways of working. The Agile Manifesto put important truths in front of everyone. However, as methodologies became commercialized, the focus shifted dangerously away from the core values and principles toward prescriptive mechanisms, metrics, and ceremonies. Mario emphasizes that when you focus on values and principles, you discover the purpose behind changing your ways of working. When you focus only on mechanics, you end up just doing things without real purpose - and that's when Agile became a noun, with people trying to "be agile" instead of achieving agility. He's clear that he's not against methodologies like Scrum, XP, SAFe, or LeSS - but rather against their mindless application without understanding the essence behind them. Making Sense Before Methodology: The Four-Fit Framework "Agile for me has to be fit for purpose, fit for context, fit for practice, and I even include a fourth dimension - fit for improvement." Rather than jumping straight to methodology selection, Mario advocates for a sense-making approach. First, understand your purpose - why do you want Agile? Then examine your context - where do you live, how does your company work? Only after making sense of the gap between your current state and where the values and principles suggest you should be, should you choose a methodology. This might mean Scrum for complex environments, or perhaps a flow-based approach for more predictable work, or creating your own hybrid. The key insight is that anyone who understands Agile's principles and values is free to create their own approach - it's fundamentally about plan, do, inspect, and adapt. Learning Through Failure: Context is Paramount "I failed more often than I won. That teaches you - being brave enough to say I failed, I learned, I move on because I'm going to use it better next time." Mario shares pivotal learning moments from his career, including an early attempt to "agilize PRINCE2" in a command-and-control startup environment. While not an ultimate success, this battle taught him that context is paramount and cannot be ignored. You must start by understanding how things are done today - identifying what's good (keep doing it), what's bad (try to improve it), and what's ugly (eradicate it to the extent possible). This lesson shaped his next engagement at a 300-person organization, where he spent nearly five months preparing the organizational context before even introducing Scrum. He started with "simple agile" practices, then took a systems approach to the entire delivery system. A Systems Approach: From Idea to Cash "From the moment sales and marketing people get brilliant ideas they want built, until the team delivers them into production and supports them - all that is a system. You cannot have different parts finger-pointing." Mario challenges the common narrow view of software development systems. Rather than focusing only on prioritization, development, and testing, he advocates for considering everything that influences delivery - from conception through to cash. His approach involved reorganizing an entire office floor, moving away from functional silos (sales here, marketing there, development over there) to value stream-based organization around products. Everyone involved in making work happen, including security, sales, product design, and client understanding, is part of the system. In one transformation, he shifted security from being gatekeepers at the end of the line to strategic partners from day one, embedding security throughout the entire value stream. This comprehensive systems thinking happened before formal Scrum training began. Beyond the Job Description: What Can an Agile Coach Really Do? "I said to some people, I'm not a coach. I'm just somebody that happens to have experience. How can I give something that can help and maybe influence the system?" Mario admits he doesn't qualify as a coach by traditional standards - he has no formal coaching qualifications. His coaching approach comes from decades of Rugby experience and focuses on establishing relationships with teams, understanding where they're going, and helping them make sense of their path forward. He emphasizes adaptive intelligence - the probe, sense, respond cycle. Rather than trying to change everything at once and capsizing the boat, he advocates for challenging one behavior at a time, starting with the most important, encouraging adaptation, and probing quickly to check for impact of specific changes. His role became inviting people to think outside the box, beyond the rigidity of their training and certifications, helping individuals and teams who could then influence the broader system even when organizational change seemed impossible. The Future: Adaptive Intelligence and Making Room for Agile "I'm using a lot of adaptive intelligence these days - probe, sense, respond, learn and adapt. That sequence will take people places." Looking ahead, Mario believes the valuable core of Agile - its values and principles - will remain, but the way we apply them must evolve. He advocates for adaptive intelligence approaches that emphasize sense-making and continuous learning rather than rigid adherence to frameworks. As he enters retirement, Mario is determined to make room for Agile in his new life, seeking ways to give back to the community through his blog, his new Substack "Adaptive Ways," and by inviting others to think differently. He's exploring a "pay as you wish" approach to sharing his experience, recognizing that while he may not be a traditional coach or social media expert, his decades of real-world experience - with its failures and successes - holds value for those still navigating the complexity of organizational change. About Mario Aiello Retired from full-time work, Mario is an agility thinker shaped by real-world complexity, not dogma. With decades in VUCA environments, he blends strategic clarity, emotional intelligence, and creative resilience. He designs context-driven agility, guiding teams and leaders beyond frameworks toward genuine value, adaptive systems, and meaningful transformation. You can link with Mario Aiello on LinkedIn, visit his website at Agile Ways.

In this episode, host Josh interviews Aaron Hovivian, CEO of The Collab Team, about scaling operations for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs. Aaron shares his journey from retail and corporate project management to founding his own operations consultancy. The discussion covers the importance of identifying strengths, implementing operating systems like EOS, and documenting SOPs to streamline growth from seven to eight figures. Aaron offers practical advice for overcoming operational bottlenecks and introduces his Ops Experts Club resource hub. The episode provides actionable steps for business owners looking to delegate effectively and build scalable, efficient operations.Chapters:Introduction & Aaron's Background (00:00:00)Aaron shares his entrepreneurial roots, early jobs, and inspiration from his father's business journey.Discovering a Passion for Operations (00:00:49)Aaron describes his natural inclination for improving systems and his transition from retail to project management.First Entrepreneurial Leap & Founding The Collab Team (00:01:35)Aaron recounts leaving a stable job to help a friend's business, marking the start of The Collab Team.Systems Thinking & Early Genius (00:02:54)Discussion about always thinking in systems and the importance of operating in one's zone of genius.Complexity in Growth & The Value of Operations (00:03:31)Aaron explains how business growth brings complexity and the need to streamline through operations.The Power of Delegation & Operating Systems (00:03:48)Aaron introduces the concept of “Delegate and Elevate” from EOS and the importance of SOPs.Why Operations Matter for Scaling (00:04:37)Aaron discusses why operations are crucial for entrepreneurs aiming to scale from seven to eight figures.Visionaries vs. Operators: Identifying Strengths (00:05:02)Aaron explains the difference between visionary entrepreneurs and those skilled in operations.Common Pitfalls in Delegation & Team Structure (00:06:17)Challenges entrepreneurs face when delegating without clear processes or team roles.Intentionality & Backward Planning (00:07:06)The importance of planning from the end goal backward to reduce daily frustrations.Operations as a Business Pillar (00:07:33)Josh compares operations to a three-legged stool, emphasizing its equal importance with sales and vision.Implementing Operating Systems & Frameworks (00:08:02)Josh shares his experience implementing operating systems and frameworks like EOS and Scalable.Entrepreneurial Profiles & The Kolbe Assessment (00:08:56)Discussion about the Kolbe assessment and how most entrepreneurs are high quick starts, not high follow-through.Three Actionable Takeaways for Entrepreneurs (00:09:33)Josh summarizes three steps: set your goal, do a time study/gap analysis, and document SOPs for delegation.Aaron's Additional Advice: Start with the Highest Burn (00:11:15)Aaron advises tackling the most painful or draining tasks first to maximize relief and ROI.Ops Experts Club Gift & Resources (00:12:27)Aaron introduces the Ops Experts Club, offering free access and tools like the Gap Analyzer for listeners.Closing Remarks & Gratitude (00:14:31)Josh and Aaron wrap up, expressing appreciation and encouraging entrepreneurs to leverage operations for growth.Links and Mentions:Tools and WebsitesOps Experts Club on FacebookGap AnalyzerBooksTraction by Gino Wickman on AmazonAssessmentsKolbe AssessmentTranscript:Josh 00:00:00  Today I'm super excited to introduce you to Aaron Hovivian, the CEO and Project Lead at the Collaborative Team Management, or AKA the Collab Team. So welcome to the podcast, Aaron.Aaron 00:00:11  Hey Josh, thanks for having me man. So good to be here.Josh 00:00:13  Aaron, you've got a lot of experience. As we can see in operations, you've helped grow solopreneurs into multifaceted eight figure brands and helping scale people beyond that. Aaron, let's back things up and tell me, like, how did you even get started in operations? Why is that your specialty?Aaron 00:00:31  Yeah, I you know, so growing up, my dad was an entrepreneur. My dad was entrepreneurial, you know, and I saw him going out there starting his own business. For him, it was construction for him. He, you know, he had been working for some big guys doing construction in Southern California, you know, for his whole career. And at the age of 40, you know, he said, hey, I'm going to go out and do this on my own.Aaron 00:00:49  He was able to build this empire for himself. You know, of 85 people doing, you know, high rise construction ceilings in LA in Orange County. And I think inspired by his journey, I think is what inspired me. But I noticed me all growing up, you know, from my earliest jobs. I started working in skateboard snowboard shops as a kid, you know, but even there I did a lot of retail just starting out. A lot of kids do, you know. But I noticed about me is that I'm always pulling apart systems. Like, I'm always wondering, how could we tweak that? How could we make that better? Rolling into businesses that don't have training manuals and building train training manuals, you know, looking at their POS system to see how they're dealing with point of sale, like wondering how the customer journey is going to be and just compliment to you, Josh, even just the sequencing of your automations, of sending the invite to this just to be on this podcast, I was like, that guy gets it.Aaron 00:01:35  Like, let's make the customer journey easy. Like, let's take out of the way the encumbrances or the stumbling blocks. And so I think that's been my journey all the way through. right before I started the Colab team, I was doing project management for a large credit union here in our area in southern Oregon. And I was doing a lot with construction, project management, but also project management within the organization and helping with new platforms, coming online and managing teams and I had my first entrepreneur knock on my door and say, hey, he had been a friend of mine for a lot of years. His name is Keith Yaki. He's got a great brand out there. He did real estate for a lot of years, and now he's leaning into something he calls the married game. But Keith Yaki knocked on my door and he said, hey, what would you think about leaving the credit union and coming out and doing this thing with me? I need somebody that just gets operations. You know, they were doing a big bus tours, fix and flip education brand, and he was like, I, I've got all the knowledge, I've got all the education.Aaron 00:02:25  I've laid out the whole program. I know it's going to work, but I'm super nervous about the details. What would you think about taking a step with me in this? And so that became my first client for the Colab team, and I left something super stable and kind of like my dad, you know, this, this corporate gig that, you know, had been around for 50 years. They'll be around for 50 more. They loved me being there. I loved them as people. But I just saw that desire in my heart of, I want more than that. I want to be entrepreneurial. I want to get out there and get out onto my own brand, on my own two feet and take things to the next level. And so that's kind of what started me down the journey.Josh 00:02:54  I love that, I love that, you know, from an early age, you were always kind of like pulling things apart. Trying to figure ...

ZFS Features, Roadmap, and Innovations, Magical systems thinking, How VMware's Debt-Fueled Acquisition Is Killing Open Source, OpenSSH 10.1 Released, KDE Plasma 6 Wayland on FreeBSD, Unix Co-Creator Brian Kernighan on Rust, Distros and NixOS, Balkanization of the Internet, GhostBSD 25.02 adds 'Gershwin' desktop for a Mac-like twist, and more NOTES This episode of BSDNow is brought to you by Tarsnap (https://www.tarsnap.com/bsdnow) and the BSDNow Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/bsdnow) Headlines What the Future Brings – ZFS Features, Roadmap, and Innovations (https://klarasystems.com/articles/zfs-new-features-roadmap-innovations?utm_source=BSD%20Now&utm_medium=Podcast) Magical systems thinking (https://worksinprogress.co/issue/magical-systems-thinking) The $69 Billion Domino Effect: How VMware's Debt-Fueled Acquisition Is Killing Open Source, One Repository at a Time (https://fastcode.io/2025/08/30/the-69-billion-domino-effect-how-vmwares-debt-fueled-acquisition-is-killing-open-source-one-repository-at-a-time) News Roundup OpenSSH 10.1 Released (https://www.openssh.com/txt/release-10.1) KDE Plasma 6 Wayland on FreeBSD (https://euroquis.nl/kde/2025/09/07/wayland.html) Unix Co-Creator Brian Kernighan on Rust, Distros and NixOS (https://thenewstack.io/unix-co-creator-brian-kernighan-on-rust-distros-and-nixos) GhostBSD 25.02 adds 'Gershwin' desktop for a Mac-like twist (https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/27/ghostbsd_2502/) Beastie Bits Adventures in porting a Wayland Compositor to NetBSD and OpenBSD by Jeff Frasca (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo_8gnWQ4xo) Tarsnap This weeks episode of BSDNow was sponsored by our friends at Tarsnap, the only secure online backup you can trust your data to. Even paranoids need backups. Feedback/Questions Kylen - CVEs (https://github.com/BSDNow/bsdnow.tv/blob/master/episodes/633/feedback/Kylen%20-%20CVEs.md) Send questions, comments, show ideas/topics, or stories you want mentioned on the show to feedback@bsdnow.tv (mailto:feedback@bsdnow.tv) Join us and other BSD Fans in our BSD Now Telegram channel (https://t.me/bsdnow)

Mission functions as a powerful organizing principle in market-based ecosystems. Faisal Hoque, a three-time Deloitte Fast 50 winner and transformation partner to DoD and CACI, reveals how architecting purpose into systematic structures creates a gravitational pull, drawing diverse actors into a coordinated flow. Key insight: exemplary architecture doesn't constrain innovation - it releases latent organizational potential into directed motion.Faisal Hoque, founder of SHADOKA and bestselling author of ten books, including Transcend and forthcoming Reimagining Government, has transformed Mastercard, GE, DoD, DHS, and IBM. His framework shows how leaders architect purpose into systems, generating gravitational force across agencies, partners, and collaborators.Paradigm Shifts: