Most companies understand that we need to be able to tell the story of what we do to our customers. However it turns out that there are powerful advantages to being able to communicate our story to our own team members. In an era where businesses are facing daunting challenges on the home front - from recruiting top talent to retaining the people they have - as well as managing to boost diversity and team work - communicating mission and values is foundational. The question is, how can we do thi...
Dec 05, 2022•26 min•Season 10Ep. 2
A growing number of companies struggling to cope with the many seismic shifts that are rocking global markets. In good times even poor leadership can keep the ship afloat. But more turbulent times calls for enterprises to rethink their leadership. However knowing you need to double down on finding the right people to lead your business - and actually defining what kind of talent you need to get the job done - is more challenging than it seems. It’s led to a new way of looking at who might be the...
Nov 23, 2022•25 min•Season 10Ep. 1
Automation and fashion are two words that are increasingly coming up in the same sentence. Brands want to keep inventories at a minimum - and need faster production to make that possible. They also need to maximize personalization in order to provide consumers with what they want - when they want it. Figuring out how to pull all of these components together in one smooth running system has elude most manufacturers. But there is one man who looks like he’s cracked the code. I’m Jane Singer and th...
Nov 20, 2022•36 min•Season 9Ep. 26
In an increasingly noisy market, even those brands with massive marketing budgets can struggle to stand out. Not only are companies trying to figure out where to get the most bang for their buck with paid advertising, there’s also the challenge of social media - a channel that has become increasingly overwhelming. Finding the right strategies - and figuring who you need to execute them effectively - can leave business leaders frustrated, and prompts many to just give up. Is there a better way to...
Nov 16, 2022•32 min•Season 9Ep. 26
Automation is making even the most complex tasks easier and faster. This has led a growing number of businesses to look at everything they do and try and figure out how they can digitize it. Both large and smaller enterprises are being increasingly challenged to squeeze every bit of inefficiency and redundancy out of commonly performed tasks to reduce costs, save time - and ideally minimize errors. But what about things that are typically more personalized? Such as consulting? Can even that be d...
Nov 14, 2022•39 min•Season 9Ep. 25
Developing a tech product sounds like a dream job. Definitely a lot more fun and a lot cooler than what most of spend our days doing. But as is often the case, the rewards can mask years of endless work, angst and despair - before finally getting a product to market. And then holding your breath and hoping that customers will buy - and that suppliers will deliver. I’m Jane Singer and thank you for joining us in today’s episode of our Launch to Legendary series, where we get to hear from entrepre...
Nov 12, 2022•34 min•Season 9Ep. 24
Mention written communication and most people immediately call you out for being ‘old school’. Yet today more than ever before most of our communication is actually written. In fact, many argue that verbal communication is now a thing of the past. From email to text messages, we spend most of our days writing - to customers, team members, friends and even family. Unfortunately, while technology has made written communication faster and easier, it has not made it better. More often than not, it’s...
Nov 06, 2022•38 min•Season 9Ep. 23
When someone mentions online learning we typically think of the pandemic years when students were participating in classrooms much the same way that their parents were spending their days in Zoom meetings. In fact, that’s only one part of the game changing advancements that are taking place as traditional education meets 21st century tech solutions. Today new use cases are being developed that make education more immersive and more accessible for students - regardless of where they are located. ...
Nov 02, 2022•35 min•Season 9Ep. 22
Mention venture capital and everyone imagines multi-million dollar rounds of funding, the thrill of founding the next unicorn - all leading to a windfall of cash when the company has its IPO. At least that what’s become somewhat of an urban legend. The reality can be quite a bit different. The road from startup to cashing out is typically frustrating, frenzied and at times even frightening. I’m Jane Singer and thanks for joining me here and being part of our international community. Today we’re ...
Oct 30, 2022•35 min•Season 9Ep. 21
There’s an old saying ‘Same bed, Different dreams’. That is often the case with teams. You have a group of enthusiastic players but each has their own vision of what the outcome should look like. The result can be a lack of efficiency, a failure to meet deadlines or realise any out come at all - or even conflict. And so one of the many things that effective leaders need to achieve is to get everyone on the same page with a shared vision. The concept is easy to understand. Making it happen can be...
Oct 25, 2022•27 min•Season 9Ep. 20
There’s a lot of conversations around leadership these days. From what generally makes someone a good leader to narrower focuses on leadership styles, decision making, conflict management and just about anything else you can think of. There’s ongoing debate over which leadership playbook is the best way - and what skills are most important to develop in order to effectively lead an organisation - especially in what looks to be uncertain times . But what if we didn’t need ‘new skills’. What if th...
Oct 22, 2022•24 min•Season 9Ep. 19
One of the biggest marketing challenges that companies face is differentiating themselves from their competitors. Unfortunately, most companies think the best strategy is to make themselves look as much like everyone else - or as much like the market leaders - as possible. Their website adopts a similar look. Their logo follows the same style. Promotional material looks like what everyone else is doing. The thinking is that what works for one will work for all. The reality is that customers see ...
Oct 19, 2022•39 min•Season 9Ep. 18
E-commerce offers many unique retail opportunities - not the least of which is being location independent. You can, at least in theory, sell to customers anywhere in the world. However as the e-commerce market becomes increasingly competitive, even power brands are having to devote more resources to drive growth. That leaves small to medium sized brands increasingly frustrated as they struggle to increase sales - and more importantly - to make a profit. Today Lesley Hensell, co-founder of Riverb...
Oct 15, 2022•39 min•Season 9Ep. 17
We talk a lot about leadership here on A Seat at The Table. It’s a critical part of running any business these days - whether its a global corporation or a small local operation. Nowadays, for many senior executives, there’s the dual challenge of keeping themselves focused in the face of an onslaught of market twists and turns, as well as supporting their teams and giving them the direction and confidence so that they can deliver their best performance. That leaves many leaders increasingly aski...
Oct 11, 2022•33 min•Season 9Ep. 15
AI is one of the most talked about technologies. However most people increasingly see AI as either a kind of super technology that can perform a limitless range of tasks. Or as technology gone rogue with sci-fi images of AI powered machines taking over the world. Turns out neither really defines AI. In fact, it could be said that AI is one of today’s most misunderstood technologies. There’s a lot that AI can do and even more that it will be able to do … but it has its limitations too. In today’s...
Oct 08, 2022•38 min•Season 9Ep. 14
For many people who’ve turned into this podcast, you might be wondering “what is a super app?” And “if I’m not a tech developer, why is this relevant to my business?” I was thinking the same thing. But it turns out that the things that make these apps so attractive to so many people - and keeps them loyal - can be applied to almost any business. In this episode I’m speaking with Kevin Shimota, a leading expert on digital technology in China, a former senior executive at WeChat and then Director ...
Oct 05, 2022•48 min•Season 9Ep. 13
A lot of conversations around leadership tend to focus on corporate culture. While culture is important, it tends to be a bit ‘big picture’ and not particularly relatable to the entire hierarchy of team members. This is where ‘purpose’ can play an important role in helping support both individual team members to find more fulfilment in their work, as well as creating a greater sense of direction for teams. If you’re wondering how a company can inspire people to change the world, then this is the...
Oct 02, 2022•31 min•Season 9Ep. 12
B2B companies keep getting told that they need to invest in marketing but most still see it more as a ‘nice to have’ not a ‘ must have’. It has the look and feel of an expensive with an uncertain ROI attached to it. While its true that today its difficult to move the needle on sales, let alone building brand recognition for your product or service, marketing can be effective and budget friendly - if you become more flexible about staffing. And it can help improve sales in a more tangible way - w...
Sep 28, 2022•28 min•Season 9Ep. 11
Everyone loves to gather round the conference table and brain storm new ideas. We all enjoy exploring the possibilities of what we could do … what it might look like … and of course the big success that we think could result from our innovative ideas. But how often does ideating actually lead to the execution of a project? How many times have we seen the high energy experienced during the idea phase quickly run out of gas or get lost in the woods when it comes to taking action - or more importan...
Sep 25, 2022•32 min•Season 9Ep. 11
Most companies don’t realise how many processes are part of their day to day business. That is until we need to onboard a new team member or even do a task or operation that we haven’t done for awhile. Then we face that massive speed bump in trying to figure out what needs to be done - not just generally, but the actual steps we need to take. That could in completing a process or using software or hardware that we haven’t used before - or haven’t used for some time. The solution is documenting e...
Sep 21, 2022•30 min•Season 9Ep. 10
As leaders try to navigate their businesses through a more complicated market environment, their Human Resources can be their most valuable resources - if they can keep them focused and engaged in the tasks at hand. This has led to increasing conversations about the importance of corporate culture. Many leaders think that this means creating a lofty vision expressed in flowery language. However culture only works when it is practical and actionable. But how do we do that in the face of distracte...
Sep 18, 2022•30 min•Season 9Ep. 9
Whether you are running a huge organisation or a small business, one of the challenges everyone faces is finding the right talent. This can be especially daunting if you are looking for senior people with more specialised skill sets. It’s not just finding the right person. It’s about finding the right person with the right skills - and who is the right fit for your company. And doing it in the shortest amount of time. For many businesses, especially in the tech sector - but not exclusively - thi...
Sep 14, 2022•33 min•Season 9Ep. 8
Employee retention is one of the most talked about topics these days. Even heading into what looks like an economic slowdown, many companies are struggling to find and retain top talent. As much as technology has moved into the workplace, thanks to new developments in AI, bots and digitization - there’s still a need for people who are innovative, have leadership skills, technical knowledge and can build relationships with customers. Good people usually what differentiate the top companies in any...
Sep 11, 2022•28 min•Season 9Ep. 7
When we think about ways to improve online sales, we typically don’t think about website speed. However site speed can play a critical role in driving sales - or driving customers away. We know that today’s shopper waits for no one - and alternatives are a mere mouse click away. But can a site that loads slowly really be part of the reason why online stores lose sales? And if so, then what kind of boosts to traffic or revenue can we achieve by optimising our site’s performance? In this episode I...
Sep 07, 2022•33 min•Season 9Ep. 6
Retail is facing a complex market environment right now with costs rising, more channels to manage and a consumer who a year ago was flush with stimulus money, but now is dialling down spending in the face of rising inflation. What can retailers do to get ahead of market conditions - and position themselves to triumph? Today I’m speaking with Carl Boutet, Founder, Chief Strategist & Executive Advisor at Studio Rx where he advises senior retailer leaders and brands on how to build better busi...
Sep 04, 2022•32 min•Season 9Ep. 5
B2B marketing has been something that most companies either did randomly or not at all. While those targeting the consumer market understand that marketing is a must - the companies selling to other businesses see promotion or advertising as, basically, a waste of time and money. The entire burden of driving sales falls squarely on the sales department, who rely on labor intensive efforts that are not efficient - and do little to build up the company’s brand image. Putting lots of posts on socia...
Aug 31, 2022•38 min•Season 9Ep. 4
Well trained teams are one of the foundations of a successful business. That can be a challenge, especially in businesses where front line teams have to keep up to date on a vast amount of new products. Or in companies where team members need to be knowledgeable about products or services that are complex or very technical. In the old days companies would send people to training sessions or courses - some of which last days or even weeks. That’s no longer a viable option for most companies. Fort...
Aug 28, 2022•23 min•Season 9Ep. 3
Referrals are an often overlooked way to grow your business. Many see it as ‘old school’. ‘Word of mouth’ has been a time tested way to grow sales and connect with new customers - but in a competitive market, companies need more proactive marketing in order to survive. Now there’s a new easy to implement, low cost marketing opportunity back by technology that can help both DTC and B2B brands growth their sales - especially as customer acquisitions costs have risen by an estimated 60% over the pa...
Aug 24, 2022•29 min•Season 9Ep. 2
These days when we talk about retail the conversation quickly turns to e-commerce. In a tech centric era, the pandemic was the perfect storm that convinced everyone that the future of retail was online. Industry advisors and media proclaimed “Go digital or die”. Companies threw every possible resource at building or enhancing their e-commerce channels. Massive amounts of capital was poured into technology-based digital solutions - oftentimes at the expense of everything else. Everyone wanted to ...
Aug 21, 2022•30 min•Season 9Ep. 1
Calling on customers has become such a standard part of most businesses that we tend to take it for granted. We have our habitual way of approaching customers and don’t often think about whether this approach is as effective as it could be. We assume that people who don’t buy our products or who are not even interested hearing about them, just aren’t the right prospects for us. But what if it wasn’t the customer. What it was the way we approach customers - especially new ones - that’s not as eff...
Aug 17, 2022•55 min•Season 8Ep. 14
