How to run a remote company

Posted by Mike Walsh

Jul 16, 2020 6:08:40 AM

Wade Foster

 

While for many of us ‘working from home’ has been a new and unexpected challenge, for some companies, remote is how they were designed from the beginning. Zapier, a leading software automation platform, is one such of these. However, what makes Zapier a fascinating case study is not just their lack of physical offices, but the systems, workflows and practices that they have evolved to make their distributed organization function effectively. In this interview, I chat with Zapier’s CEO and co-founder, Wade Foster. Prior to Zapier, Wade worked as a customer development lead for The Idea Works, Inc. in Missouri. He is an alumni of Y Combinator and has degrees in industrial engineering and business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

 

 

CATEGORY: Culture, Technology

How to build a culture of distributed work

Posted by Mike Walsh

Jun 18, 2020 7:07:32 AM

Didier Elzinga-1

 

Now that the pandemic has plunged us into the world's largest remote work experiment, what are we learning about the kind of culture that supports distributed organizations? And how do leaders build a cultural operating system for a time of crisis and change? To answer this question, and to also understand how data is changing our understanding of performance and transformation - I spoke with Didier Elzinga, the CEO and co-founder of Culture Amp – one of the world’s fastest growing technology startups and has helped companies around the world harness the power of employee feedback to drive positive change. If you enjoyed this episode and Didier's perspectives, please take a moment to read my article on this topic in the Harvard Business Review

 

 

CATEGORY: Culture, Leadership

Uncertainty, AI and data: the quest to reimagine the social sciences

Posted by Mike Walsh

Feb 3, 2020 2:10:55 AM

Roman Marchant

 

Regardless of your profession, one of the most important steps to becoming a better decision maker is knowing how to quantify uncertainty. That applies if you are a scientist, a poker player or a business leader. And while it is not unusual to apply probabilistic approaches to applications like robots or environmental monitoring - what is more challenging and potentially revolutionary is using similar strategies to more effectively fight crime or prevent bushfires. One of the leading thinkers in this field is Dr Roman Marchant, a lecturer and researcher in machine learning at the University of Sydney. I spoke with Marchant about his current research into developing new data science techniques to answer complex social questions such using AI for predictive policing and the implications for bias and discrimination.

 

 

 

CATEGORY: Culture, Leadership

Why we need more human algorithms

Posted by Mike Walsh

Jan 12, 2020 7:22:01 PM

Flynn Coleman

 

Flynn Coleman has led a fascinating life. An author, international human rights attorney, professor, social justice activist and a former competitive athlete she has spoken and written on a wide range of issues from war crimes to behavioral economics. Her wonderful new book, A Human Algorithm, makes the urgent case for why we need ethically designed AI. In our conversation we talked about the co-evolution of tools and people, non-human forms of intelligence and the dangers of automating inequality. 

 

 

CATEGORY: Culture, Technology

Designing a culture for transformation

Posted by Mike Walsh

Sep 17, 2018 12:50:11 PM

Katz Kiely

 

For big organizations, the biggest roadblock to transformation is not technology but culture. How do you design an environment conducive to rapid, constant and often disruptive change? Katz Kiely has spend her career working on such questions. She built the world’s first open innovation platform for HP, re-architected the way a UN agency did business and delivered a ground-breaking project with Intel that connected mobiles, big screens and data to change behaviour. We caught up in London to discuss how leaders and companies can adapt to the new algorithmic era.

 

CATEGORY: Culture, Technology