Evolving Enterprises: Stories of Growth Transformation
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Welcome to "Evolving Enterprises: Stories of Growth Transformation", the podcast where we dive deep into the art of effective leadership. I'm your host, Prof Martin Parr, a seasoned professional who has dedicated years to empowering senior leaders in achieving their business goals. Today, I'm thrilled to share my expertise as a systems thinker, guiding you on a transformative journey for your business, charity, or pet project.
Throughout my career, I've developed a passion for complexity and relish the challenge of helping individuals navigate through data, uncertainty, and the myriad pressures of strategic decision-making. Drawing on my experience in setting strategies and conducting comprehensive reviews for UK projects with budgets exceeding £1 billion, I'm here to equip you with the tools, methods, and approaches necessary to tackle complexity head-on and make exceptional decisions.
Each episode of this podcast is designed to assist and inspire you as a leader. From insightful discussions on the intricacies of business management to practical advice on overcoming hurdles, we'll cover it all. My ultimate vision is to empower leaders worldwide with the knowledge and skills needed to tackle complexity in their respective fields.
Join me on this exciting journey as we explore the ever-evolving landscape of leadership, dissect real-world challenges, and uncover strategies to transform your organizations. Whether you're a seasoned executive or a rising star, " Evolving Enterprises: Stories of Growth Transformation" will provide you with valuable insights and actionable wisdom to enhance your leadership abilities.
Get ready to navigate the complexities of the business world and make a lasting impact. Subscribe now to " Evolving Enterprises: Stories of Growth Transformation " and embark on a transformative leadership journey. Together, we'll unlock your full potential and set you on the path to extraordinary success.
90 Episodes
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Lily Pender, co-founder of The Whole Story, explains how her theatre background has led to her helping leaders and organisations communicate more effectively through storytelling. She describes how storytelling techniques improve presentations, in-the-moment communication and strategy alignment by helping leaders deeply understand their audience, clarify their own relationship with a message, and make communication tangible, human and real. Her approach is practical and rooted in spoken word,...
Today Chris Walters talks about how systems thinking can transform the way PMOs (Project, Program, and Portfolio Management Offices) make decisions. Chris shares how his discovery of systems thinking in the 1990s reshaped his approach to managing change, helping him see beyond technical processes to the wider systems of people, politics, and purpose. We explore how PMOs operate within constant flux—shaped by shifting strategies, regulations, and technologies—and how systems thinking enables l...
Martin is joined by Professor Eddie Obeng, renowned change guru, TED speaker, and award-winning innovator, to explore the challenges of navigating transformation in a world where change moves faster than we can learn. Eddie reflects on his early career at Shell, the lessons of working in highly structured environments, and the pitfalls of clinging to outdated business models, KPIs, and heuristics. Through humorous and insightful stories, he reveals why traditional approaches often backfire, h...
In this episode of Evolving Enterprises, Professor Martin Parr shares the personal journey that led him to create a systems thinking consulting practice. Frustrated by seeing great technologies gather dust on the shelf, Martin explains how systems thinking became the bridge between innovation and real-world adoption. We explore how systems thinking is uniquely powerful at unblocking “stuck” situations — whether it’s organizations locked into bad contracts, governments trapped by shifting poli...
Series 3 of Evolving Enterprises begins with a deep dive into how leaders can deal with complexity by using systems thinking. As we begin series 3, Mary Beth Hosking interviews Professor Martin Parr to explain why organizations often confuse solutions with problems — like CEOs demanding “AI because everyone else has it” rather than asking what problem they really need to solve. We unpack how systems thinking works: starting with perceived problems, exploring root causes, analyzing pressures f...
In this episode Martin talks with Lesley Diaz, founder and principal consultant at Collaborance, about navigating people and power complexities through collaborative governance and polarity intelligence. Lesley shares her systems thinking journey, from early work in the Australian mining industry to teaching in the USA. Lesley explains how she helps organizations find a balance. This balance could be between hierarchical approaches and flatter models. Drawing from Lesley’s experience and infl...
In this episode Martin talks to Stephanie Craig, President of Kith about managing complexity through effective crisis management. Stephanie shares her framework for categorizing crises into different types: Strategic, Preventable, External, and Social, emphasizing the importance of preparedness, stakeholder understanding, and mindset. Stephanie explains how proactive planning and identifying vulnerabilities can significantly reduce the impact of crises, drawing on both professional examples a...
In this episode Martin talks to Andrew Rogoyski, Director of Innovation for Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence, exploring Organisational, People and Power complexity through the lens of social impact. They begin with the positive and negative impact of technology such as social media, and how this drives particular human behaviour, moving on to talk about the potential future impact of AI, finishing with what we can do to minimise the chance of bias when we use AI systems.
In this episode Martin speaks with Professor Erica Yang, CEO of Chilton Computing about the evolving role of technology in the UK’s care sector. Focusing on three key types of complexity—organizational, people, and structural—they explore the increasing demands on care services due to an aging population with complex health needs, and how emerging technologies can support both recipients and providers of care. Martin and Erica talk about the importance of systems thinking in understanding and...
In this episode Martin talks to Hollie Hodgson, who is Head of Account Management at Tussell.com and Chair of the TechUK Scale-Up Council. Martin and Hollie talk about complexities in public procurement and how changes in government policy are being enacted rapidly through changes in the procurement system. Hollie shares insights into how Tussell’s market intelligence platform supports UK public sector buyers and suppliers through transparency and strategic data. The conversation then conside...
Please forgive the audio quality – this was recorded right after the conference finished. This is a conversation with Orian Medes who is a professional focusing on Growth and Development within businesses. We talk about how PMO (programme, portfolio and project management) professionals are perfectly placed to realise value from within an organisation. The role of a PMO is to ensuring that strategy leads to execution. We talk about how systems thinking can help within information management w...
In this episode we offer a practical overview of the six distinct forms of complexity that organisations face: technical, process, structural, organisational, people, and power. Drawing on systems thinking, Martin explores how each type demands a different approach—ranging from optimisation and workflow redesign to cultural insight and addressing power dynamics. The episode unpacks relevant tools like Soft Systems Methodology, the Viable System Model, and Critical Systems Heuristics, highligh...
In this episode we focus on how organizations help change to happen using a psychological stages of change model, originally developed for addiction recovery, the model helps explain how individuals move from denial to action, often looping back through relapse. Martin illustrates this with the BBC's decision to not renew Jeremy Clarkson’s contract, emphasizing the role that boundaries play in triggering and sustaining change. The episode underscores that inaction corrodes culture, and leader...
Today we look at the organizational and people dimensions of complexity. Laura Watford of STEMunity shares her journey of organisational development, highlighting the impact of coaching on her approach to developing STEMunity and growing in confidence as a female entrepreneur. Laura describes her recent inspiring STEM events for children including an incredible event in the Mary Rose museum.
In this episode we continue to explore how to deal with the people dimension of complexity. Today I am talking to Genovefa Kefalidou, a lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Leicester. We talk about the importance of user-centric design in AI. Genovefa explores how evolving technologies—from smart homes to AI interfaces—require human trust, comfort, and inclusion to succeed. Genovefa’s work in trustworthy AI highlights the critical role of placing the human user at the c...
In this second podcast, we talk about information security and about how much information we are each willing to give up so that we can be provided with particular services. We focus on 5 areas that are most critical to consider to build our skills if we are to make sure that our AI solutions are effective: (1) productivity - new ways of looking at productivity, (2) value - what value do you want to provide and how do these match with the shifting value systems of the stakeholders, (3) ethics...
Today I am talking to Professor Alan Brown, Professor of Digital Economy at the University of Exeter and Director of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Digital Leaders. We talk about how small and medium sized companies can get the best from AI. We cover how AI can help in education. We also talk about the Feasibility, viability and desirability of new solutions. We will look at relationships with technology, how AI can improve education and how adoption of new technology can be affected by peo...
In this episode I am delighted to talk to Laura Watford, co-founder of STEMunity about her inspiring journey from classroom teacher to STEM education innovator, highlighting the challenges and breakthroughs that led to the creation of a charity dedicated to improving STEM opportunities for underrepresented groups. In her career Laura has been a STEM network leader for local educators for the Royal Academy of Engineering. Business leaders will gain valuable insights into the power of industry-...
I'm delighted today to be joined by James Brown, the co-founder and CEO of Super Sense Technologies. During a career break, James started volunteering for a local mental health charity, which inspired him to utilise AI to benefit those with dementia. We discuss the power and opportunity of AI when properly applied to its audience, the project SuperSense Technologies has embarked on to help those suffering with dementia, their families and carers using AI, and what lessons large organisations ...
I'm delighted today to be joined by Professor Jo Meehan. Jo is the Director for the Centre of Sustainable Business and is also Professor of Responsible Procurement at the University of Liverpool’s Management School. Jo previously worked for a chemical company and developed a keen interest in the power of organisations, sustainability and the environment, which has guided her career and her home life. Jo talks about the idea of power and social inequalities within the natural world, living by ...
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