"What if the key to economic transformation lies not in bigger budgets or top-down directives, but in fostering community ownership and equitable systems?"

Alfredo and I discuss the need for more regenerative financial models and to start really working in small communities and joining together into a network of networks. Current models are very redistributive (e.g. taxing success, subsidisation for those with no access) but pre-distribution gives everyone a stake; if communities win, everyone wins and gains autonomy and agency.

We discuss the need for more diverse thinking and more equitable access to funding and business opportunities. Generating new ideas by combining what already exists and creating surplus value that can then move around is the key, but we need to do this better, faster and in collaboration. Building entrepreneur-led ecosystems requires prioritizing ownership, pre-distribution, and maintaining a human scale. It is easier to build from scratch, and this will be the challenge of transforming established institutions and organisations, but they will have to transition, whether they like it or not.

We know that innovation often stems from unconventional approaches and questioning established norms, where individuals without traditional backgrounds can bring fresh perspectives. Hitting “walls” in conventional paths can be a catalyst for divergent thinking, pushing beyond perceived limitations to realise that seemingly permanent constructs can be circumvented

Leaders need to step outside their echo chambers, we spend way too much time talking to people who look and think like us and we should be actively broadening horizons by reading, talking to people outside our immediate circle, and exploring new ideas.

This is not on one person or community, but is a generational effort to influence and impact the systems we seek to transform

Alfredo generously shares his intentional design principles, experiences and personal journey to setting up the world’s first shared prosperity community corporation (SPCC) operates at the intersection of workforce, education and entrepreneurship with a focus on equity, economic transformation and rethinking leadership.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Innovation comes from the fringes: when pursuing a goal, hitting a wall makes you realise you have to find a different way to get round things – these walls serve as ‘flexion points’ rather than obstacles on the path to a breakthrough moment.

- Community-based entrepreneurship makes innovation possible with few resources, as constrained resources force commitment, agency and risk-taking -asking for help from the right people creates something organically.

- Process of identifying an issue/problem and finding the most transformative thing to move forward and grow; this is generational work, starting small and moving through systems to aspiration.

- Design principles offer constraint, and the focus should be on ownership first (for ownership democracy and shared prosperity) for everyone to have an interest – distributed ownership is required for a regenerative economy.

- Current models are very redistributive (e.g. taxing success, subsidisation for those with no access) but pre-distribution gives everyone a stake; if communities win, everyone wins and gains autonomy and agency.

- Present VC models are designed around the founder and investors as opposed to everyone involved – a ‘winner takes all’ approach; pre-distribution means nobody does anything on their own, often building on others’ work and ideas.

- Humans evolved in small groups and that’s where we work best, small groups...

“Everything we know, do, & think is already out of date because the world moves so quickly.”

Allister and I discuss what being future ready really means in today's workplace. Everything we know, do and think is already obsolete – whilst a scary concept, it is also an empowering way to look at the world and identify what we can improve, a paradigm shift from the old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke’ …

Curiosity is highlighted as one of the 3 leadership superpowers. It involves challenging and questioning the status quo, similar to a child constantly asking “why.” This can help uncover hidden assumptions and new possibilities. Leaders should create environments where employees feel safe to share ideas without fear of ridicule, as they go through the FROST ready already cycle. Scaling through small yet impactful changes to our systems and cycles to create sustainable change.

AI is discussed as a powerful tool. However, it has limitations and should be viewed as augmented intelligence rather than a replacement for human skills. It is important to stay focused on higher-level value-adding processes and uniquely human abilities such as critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence. By developing these skills, individuals can remain indispensable in the workforce.

Allister shares his stories, models and experience of working in and accompanying organisations and leaders across the globe.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- Everything we know, do and think is already obsolete – whilst a scary concept, it is also an empowering way to look at the world and identify what we can improve, a paradigm shift from the old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke’ …

- A Future-Ready Mindset builds on the growth mindset but adds ‘the fuel for your future’ – a heartfelt reason to do what you do in the service of others with a commitment and energy to bring about change.

- Focusing on the downstream consequences of our work helps to reframe our personal mission - our job enables the company to grow but we also use the company as a vehicle for our own skills.

- The FROST – Follow, React, Open, Surprise, Tell – growth model helps us change the way we think about ourselves and our mission; for companies to adopt this mindset at scale means embedding this new vocabulary.

- The Open phase sees curiosity as a superpower – CEOs are often scared of employees having ideas, but all ideas are improved by exposing them to other people. And AI cannot do curiosity!

- Like children who constantly ask why in order to feel safe and make sense of the world, we too must have the courage to question and challenge the status quo with a change already in mind.

- Having ideas to address the ‘why’ is the next superpower, moving from knowing to learning, asking questions of ourselves before asking others, and sharing our own ideas.

- The Tell phase is about using the brilliance of other people, designing the session to encourage the sharing of unfinished ideas and foster a culture of appreciating others’ input whilst being transformative in the process.

- The ReadyAlready cycle can be used to identify where to deploy AI - pattern recognition at scale makes it brilliant but not without limitations; it is augmented intelligence alongside our value-adding superpowers.

- Having a personal sense of direction is very important - repeating the ReadyAlready cycle will unlock something new every time and lead to either big or small improvements, but without...

"Whatever we have achieved as a species has nothing to do with one person alone."

Why start a leadership book with a mammoth hunt?

Nicolas and I delve into the human dimension of leadership and what it brings to society.

Human behaviour is the most unmeasured risk in strategy implementation. To avoid pitfalls, be aware of evolutionary biases such as the false positive decision-making bias. Companies build echo chambers, where people raise a view that is not the same as their boss’s, and then avoid talking about it.

A crucial point: humans achieve greatness through collaboration. A lone human has little chance against a mammoth. Hunting one requires strategy, the right people, and a shared purpose. This highlights a fundamental truth: our collective efforts drive success.

Organisations should acknowledge the inherent tension between individualistic needs, collaboration, and competition among employees, fostering a culture where personal and company goals align.

Nicolas shares his insights, experience and stories of working and researching the human dimensions of leadership and what it means for today's workplace.

The main insights you'll get from this episode are :

- The human dimension of leadership and what it brings to society is key – a failure to understand ourselves and the people we lead is a big problem that is borne out by history (as far back as the time of the mammoth).

- Collaboration and strategy were needed to hunt the mammoth (cf. the big machine in modern times); nowadays we have lots of smaller, interconnected mammoths but we still need to know how to lead a herd of mammoths.

- To progress in an organisation requires sharing our learning and leading a team towards a goal: leaders need people with the right expertise and people they trust – very similar to a mammoth hunt.

- The human ego is problematic when it comes to achieving a common goal, with the apparent paradox between working for oneself and being wired for collaboration, i.e. the individual vs the collective.

- Leaders in the transactional corporate world must learn to be humble, lead by example, be purpose-driven and role model a positive culture – they need their team more than their team needs them.

- Leadership, followship and hierarchy counteract the vulnerability, slowness and weakness of the individual; leadership was originally task-related, with different leaders for different tasks, teaching how to lead and how to follow.

- Today, one person becomes CEO without the relevant skills/knowledge for all the different tasks and must therefore understand when to lead and when to follow, going against the grain of what it means to be a ‘strong leader’.

- The ‘mammoth’ approach to leadership involves four levels of team performance - fight or flight, competitive, creative and flow – along with a leadership/ followship framework and a dynamic stability framework.

- These are old ideas to avoid pitfalls, e.g. if you don’t evolve, you die as an individual and die out as a species – the same is true for companies, yet human behaviour remains the most unmeasured risk in business strategy.

- Diversification is very risky – if the main aim is to survive and be sustainable, it is vital not to lose sight of the core business; what you do today is most important, otherwise there is no tomorrow.

- We must understand that as humans we have evolutionary biases (false positive decision-making bias, confirmation bias, anchoring bias), are risk averse...