Strategy Hero

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Mar 2026

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About the show

Published on the last Wednesday of every month, the Strategy Hero podcast delves into the world of business strategy and transformation. Each cast shines a spotlight on a Strategy Hero – inspirers, boundary pushers, and leaders of change from all walks of life – armed with practical advice on what it takes to achieve your goals. Episodes explore topics around operational excellence, Lean management, process improvement, change management, and much, much more. Available where all great podcasts live, listen on-demand today, and discover the Strategy Hero inside you.

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36 recent

March 25, 2026Episode 3752 min

S4E3 - Geoffrey Moore: Crossing the Chasm in the Age of AI

AI is accelerating everything right now. Products are built faster, tested faster, shipped faster. But here’s the uncomfortable question we explore in this episode of the Strategy Hero Podcast: what if adoption is not accelerating at all? I sit down with Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm, to unpack what still holds true in a world obsessed with speed. We dive into why so many companies misdiagnose where they are in the lifecycle, why early traction can be dangerously misleading, and how AI hype can outrun real customer value. What You’ll Discover - Adoption Has Not Sped Up: Innovation cycles are compressed, but buyer psychology still moves at the same human pace. - The Trap Value Test: Stop chasing hype and start asking where your customer’s trapped value really sits, because that is what funds growth. - Zone Discipline Wins: Why applying performance metrics too early creates waste, and how to align your strategy with the lifecycle stage you are actually in. Geoffrey explains why crossing the chasm is about service, not self-expression. Early markets reward vision and enthusiasm. Pragmatists want risk reduced and broken processes fixed. If you bring tornado behaviour into the bowling alley, you create friction, not momentum. The big takeaway is simple but confronting. Speed does not replace discipline. AI does not eliminate the lifecycle. And growth only comes when you align your behaviour with where your customer actually is. If you are feeling the pressure to move faster than your market is ready for, this episode is essential listening.

February 25, 2026Episode 3649 min

S4E2 - Helen Beal: From Mapping to Managing the Flow That Powers Strategy

I’ve been wanting to have this conversation for a while. We hear a lot about value stream mapping, agile, DevOps, digital transformation. But what actually turns all of that into something measurable and strategic? In this episode of Strategy Hero, I sit down with Helen Beal to go beyond the buzzwords and get into what really makes work flow. Helen has spent years helping organisations understand how work actually moves, from idea to outcome. We dig into the difference between mapping a value stream and actively managing it, why flow thinking is so hard to adopt, and what really happens when projects “succeed” but nothing actually improves. What You’ll Discover - Mapping vs Managing: Helen explains how value stream mapping is just one discipline, and why real impact comes from living, measuring and managing the stream day to day. - From Outputs to Outcomes: How focusing on flow exposes waste, bottlenecks and hidden capacity that output metrics alone can never show. - Funding Streams, Not Projects: Why long-lived products and value streams outperform big, overplanned projects, and how capacity funding changes the game. We also explore why change is so difficult at a neurological level, why organisations are often “sprinting just to stand still,” and how DevOps accidentally gave us the visibility we needed to see digital value streams clearly for the first time. If you’re leading transformation, wrestling with waterfall habits, or trying to move your organisation from project thinking to product thinking, this episode will sharpen your perspective. Because strategy is not just about setting direction, it’s about ensuring value actually flows.

January 28, 2026Episode 3543 min

S4E1 - Jordanna Eyre: The Emotional Load Every Leader Carries

I always love conversations that go beyond the usual strategy frameworks and dig into the human side of leading and this one with Jordanna Eyre does exactly that. Jordanna is a leadership and transformation expert known as the Chief Sorceress of Life & Business and founder of Spiral Growth Systems, where she empowers executives and organisations to integrate personal authenticity with strategic impact. Drawing on an eclectic career path that began in social work and education, Jordanna has developed and refined a distinctive framework for conscious leadership that blends metaphysical insight with practical business application, having guided more than 4,200 leaders across six continents and industries including technology, education, and enterprise. Her work focuses on helping individuals unlock deeper self-awareness, align inner purpose with professional performance, and cultivate meaningful fulfilment in both life and work. What We Explore - The Hidden Emotional Load: Why leaders often carry the weight of ambiguity, human complexity, and tough calls and how to share it without dropping the ball. - From "Making It Work" to "Letting It Flow": Jordanna's take on shifting from force-fitting solutions to creating space where things naturally align. - Building Human-Centred Organisations: Practical ways to weave empathy, vulnerability, and real connection into your team because strategy without heart doesn't last. Jordanna's wisdom is a quiet reminder that great leadership isn't about having all the answers – it's about holding the space for better questions. If you're feeling the weight of it all, this episode might just lighten the load.

December 31, 2025Episode 341 hr 8 min

S3E12 - Expert Panel: What Still Works and What Must Change in Strategy Today

If so much has changed around us, why does so much inside organisations feel stubbornly the same? In this special episode of Strategy Hero, we bring together three voices from Season One - Fredrik Fjellstedt, Pascal Dennis and Philippe Guenet to take stock of what has actually changed in strategy over the last two years, and what has not. Since we last spoke, AI has gone mainstream, decision cycles have accelerated, and uncertainty has become a constant. Yet as we explore together, many organisations are still struggling with the same internal challenges they faced in 2023. Rather than revisiting theory, we use this conversation to reflect honestly on lived experience: how strategy is really playing out inside organisations today, where AI is helping, where it’s actively getting in the way, and what leaders are still getting wrong when it comes to execution, engagement, and adaptability. What We Explore Has Anything Fundamentally Changed? We challenge the assumption that AI has transformed strategy itself, arguing instead that while tools have evolved rapidly, many organisations have yet to adapt their behaviours, structures and leadership practices. AI: Powerful Servant, Dangerous Master: We unpack the rise of “AI slop” - polished but meaningless outputs and contrast it with situations where capable teams use AI to accelerate learning and experimentation without outsourcing judgment or intuition. Strategy as an Infinite Chessboard: We reflect on why business strategy can’t be solved like a closed system. Unlike games with fixed rules, organisations operate on an infinite, multi-dimensional chessboard shaped by people, culture, power and constant change. Execution, Engagement and the Human Question: Again and again, we return to execution - not as a mechanical rollout, but as a human process. Strategy only works if people understand it, accept it, and can answer the question: what’s in this for me? As we close, one insight stands out clearly: strategy today is no longer a static plan or an annual exercise. It is a continual, living process - balancing direction with emergence, execution with creativity, and technology with deeply human leadership.

November 26, 2025Episode 3335 min

S3E11 - Odette Mould: Turning Grief into a Lifeline for Bereaved Children

What do you do when the worst thing imaginable happens to your five-year-old, and the support you desperately need is 50 miles away? In this episode, Simon welcomes Odette Mould, founder of Harry’s Rainbow. When her son Harry died suddenly from an asthma attack, Odette didn’t set out to build a charity - she simply refused to let other families face the same lonely void. Fourteen years later, Harry’s Rainbow is a thriving Milton Keynes lifeline offering respite breaks, peer support, and emergency grants to hundreds of bereaved children and their families. We trace the journey from a mother’s heartbreak to an MBE at Buckingham Palace, the relentless focus on gratitude that keeps her going, and the quiet strategy that turned personal tragedy into systemic change. What You’ll Learn - From Heartbreak to Mission: How one family’s unimaginable loss became the driving force behind a charity that’s supported hundreds of grieving children. - Gratitude as Strategy: Why Odette chooses to “switch a positive from a negative” every single day and teaches her children the same discipline. - Building What’s Missing: The practical steps (and sheer determination) it took to create local, accessible bereavement support where none existed. Odette is living proof that the most powerful strategies aren’t born in boardrooms - they’re forged in the crucible of love, loss, and an unbreakable refusal to look away.

October 29, 2025Episode 3243 min

S3E10 - Patrick Kealey on Leading with Data and Heart for Transformation That Lasts

What if the key to driving lasting transformation isn’t more tools, but more belief? In this episode, Simon Crowther sits down with Patrick Kealey, Vice President of Global Operational Excellence and Quality at Benchmark’s Precision Technologies division. With decades of experience leading transformation across aerospace, energy, and electronics, Patrick shares how true operational excellence is built - not just through systems like Hoshin Kanri and lean frameworks, but through trust, data, and a clear vision of the future. What You’ll Learn Winning Hearts and Minds: Why trust, patience, and listening are essential to building credibility and inspiring change. Data as a Storytelling Tool: How data can paint a compelling picture of what’s possible and turn resistance into belief. Sustaining Improvement: How to build cultures that problem-solve naturally, avoiding tick-box lean and embedding transformation. Patrick’s journey is a powerful reminder that behind every great transformation are people - people who see, believe, and act. Data may light the way, but belief is what keeps everyone moving forward.

September 30, 2025Episode 3131 min

S3E9 - Kate Leto - Self-Awareness as Strategy: Leading with EQ

What if the real driver of strategy wasn't frameworks - but emotional intelligence? In this episode, Kate Leto - product leader, coach, and author of Hiring Product Managers: Using Product EQ to Go Beyond Culture and Skills joins us. With over 20 years of experience at startups, scale-ups, and global brands like Yahoo and Moo.com, Kate has seen first-hand how strategy often fails not from lack of plans, but from a lack of people skills. Together, Kate and Simon explore the human side of strategy - why self-awareness, empathy, and emotional intelligence are essential for leaders navigating ambiguity and conflict. What You'll Learn Product EQ in Practice: How emotional intelligence transforms hiring, team building, and leadership. Values That Work: Why co-created values matter-and how to make them live in daily decisions. Self-Awareness as a Meta-Skill: Why knowing yourself is the foundation for strategy, conflict management, and influence. Kate's insights remind us that the strongest strategies aren't just built on processes-they're powered by people who understand themselves and each other.

August 25, 2025Episode 3045 min

S3E8 - Martin Reeves - Reimagining Strategy with Biology and Creativity

What if imagination was the ultimate competitive advantage in business? In this episode of the Strategy Hero Podcast, Simon Crowther is joined by Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute and a biology-trained strategist with over 36 years at BCG. Martin draws from his background to frame companies as adaptive systems, discussing strategy evolution, the role of imagination, AI's impact on advantage, and blending analytical rigour with creativity for long-term survival. What You’ll Learn Adaptive Strategies: Treat businesses like biological species to build resilience in dynamic environments. Imagination Boost: Harness creative sparks to innovate and differentiate beyond mere efficiency. AI Navigation: Use AI for productivity while focusing on unique human elements to sustain advantage. We explore Martin's books, Your Strategy Needs a Strategy for contextual approaches and The Imagination Machine for cultivating corporate creativity, plus thought experiments on technology's limits. Practical tips include viewing strategy as an ongoing, imaginative process rather than static plans.

July 30, 2025Episode 2943 min

S3E7 - Rita McGrath - Innovation in a Shifting World

Ever wonder how to succeed in a world that’s always changing? Professor Rita McGrath from Columbia Business School is disrupting how many of us think about strategy. Rita shares why holding onto fixed plans or competitive edges doesn’t cut it anymore, with examples like Kodak’s missteps and how companies like Fujifilm stay agile by empowering small teams to innovate fast. Rita offers her take on how AI is here to boost human creativity rather than replacing it. She also shares practical tips from her upcoming book on navigating the digital economy, urging leaders to spot shifts early and embrace uncertainty to stay ahead in a constantly evolving world.

June 25, 2025Episode 2839 min

S3E6 - Neil Jurd OBE - Leading Through Chaos and Change

What does it take to lead with clarity in chaos? Neil Jurd OBE, former British Army officer, Sandhurst instructor, and LeaderConnect founder, shares how he guides global organisations. Shaped by high-stakes military operations, Neil’s philosophy hinges on connection and clear direction. In this episode, we unpack why leadership feels complex, how pausing sharpens decisions, and explore his five principles, including the OODA loop—a rapid decision-making tool. Through “behaviour labs,” Neil builds trust and purpose, empowering billion-pound firms. Discover how Neil Jurd’s insights can transform your leadership, bringing calm and focus to even the most turbulent environments.