Episode 35 - Join us for highlights from our inaugural season as we aim to enhance work performance and enjoyment. We'll revisit some standout moments and reflect on what we learned. Plus, don't miss an outtake disguised as a 'Director's Cut', which reveals how our performances can spiral into chaos yet emerge sounding almost professional post-editing.

Listen in as James recounts tales of his worst boss and his penchant for Deming quotes. Try to guess who is going on holiday to Ayia Nappa and Ibiza and who will live the middle-class dream and head to the South of France in a Volvo.

We're also excited to preview the intriguing topics we'll explore in Season 2, starting in September... stay tuned!

If you have feedback on Season 1, please share it with us. If you found it enjoyable, pass it along to friends and colleagues. And if there are topics you'd like us to delve into, drop us a line at Jimmy@ajobdonewell.com or James@ajobdonewell.com.

Episode 34: This week, as part of our Leadership Series, we explore Transformational Leadership – A leadership style for today's environment, where change is the only constant (if you believe the hype). Amanda shares a model to help define and understand the characteristics of a Transformational Leader, and we all bring this leadership style to life with our experiences... as ever, good and bad.

We wanted to unlock the secrets of 'Inspirational Leadership'; however, we realised that this is an outcome, not a style... so Amanda introduced us to a great substitute that could help you 'inspire' your teams to 'transform' their results.

Don't forget this is the penultimate episode of the podcast (we'll be taking a short break over the summer), so don't miss next week's episode, where we will share some of the highs and lows from season one along with some of the best insights/learnings we've had and a small selection (there have been loads) of outtakes.

Here's some further reading on Transformational Leadership...

www.simplypsychology.org/what-is-transformational-leadership.html

www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/online-learning/insights/how-to-become-a-transformational-leader

www.profolus.com

https://leaders.com/articles/leadership/transformational-leadership

Episode 33: We continue our series of episodes focused on answering the critical question –What Is the State of Customer Experience Today?

As 81% of the UK's economic output comes from the service industry, understanding how to improve customer experience has never been more important. We will be asking guests for their perspectives on the following questions:

What's the state of customer experience?
Why do you think that?
Who provides a good customer experience?
How would you improve the customers' experience?

We are lucky to have insights on these questions from Sean Keane who has led, grown and sold CX technology and consulting businesses, and has a strong background in Op Model design, technology and process. He’s led complex programmes and teams for companies like Davies Group, Ember and Capgemini on behalf of brands like RSA, Tesco, BUPA, The British Council, Thames Water, Disney Channel and HMRC.

With all of that experience he's definitely worth listening to!

Sean has recently set up a consultancy to help organisations lower costs via smart service design. Follow this link for more information

Service Economics (service-economics.com)

We All Need to Understand the Data
Welcome to Unlocking the Power of Analysis, where we explore data’s transformative potential for improving work performance.

You only have an opinion without data and analysis, so analysis is critical to the workplace.

In this episode, James dredges through his 20+ years of being called an ‘analyst’ to help practitioners fine-tune their skills, whilst Jimmy discusses how front-line managers, executives and board members can sharpen their skills to get the most out of data.

We discuss everything from how analysis stopped a cholera outbreak in 19th-century London to the way the “Head of Colouring In” produces informative reports.

Data analysis can benefit you, and you might even enjoy it. To find out more, contact us at jimmy@jobdonewell.com or james@jobdonewell.com.

Recommended Reading:
The Tiger That Isn't: Seeing Through a World of Numbers – Andrew Dilnot and Michael Blastland

Today, we have a special guest, Alex Alexander, to discuss Gen AI. Alex runs a tech start-up, Xoots and has a glittering career in technology across Europe, working for brands including Emirates and Net A Porter. He's advised companies and governments on all things AI and we are lucky to have him join us to explore this hot topic.

He will help educate you on what Gen AI is and how it works, explore some of its uses and potential, and finally, Alex will share his insights on how you can get started and exploit the power of Gen AI.

If you've wondered what it is or how to start on the journey, you mustn't miss the opportunity to hear from a genuine AI Guru!

If you would like to know more about Gen AI or get help from Alex, you can get in touch via his company, Xoots or by Linkedin
.
XOOTS – Your digital transformation co-pilot

Alex Alexander | LinkedIn

Episode 30 - This week, we continue to explore the UK Customer Experience. The country's service economy employs 80% of the workforce, so understanding and enhancing customer experience is crucial.

We conduct a 'shallow dive' (or maybe a snorkel) into Virgin Media, examining its history and origins, as well as customer feedback on their experiences. What lessons can we draw from such a giant corporation?

Expect the usual mix of anecdotes, statistics, and insights to provide some food for thought and ideas to ensure you're delivering the best customer service!

Learn the importance of thinking about design from a customer's perspective (obvious but rarely done well) and how policies are not the same as performance when looking after vulnerable customers. We also discuss how much your reputation is worth.

Also, Jimmy is relaxing a bit now. Nottingham Forest has another season in the Premier League, and James is celebrating finishing his audiobook. It's well worth a listen, or so he tells us.

Episode 29: Insights from Hugh Alley

If you have worked in a large organisation, you will have seen continuous improvement initiatives come and go with alarming regularity. Everybody knows continuous improvement is a good idea, yet few organizations can pull it off.

This week, we talked with Hugh Alley about why these initiatives fail and what organisations need to do differently to see them succeed. James tells his worst joke (to date), and we discover why most managers cause continuous improvement initiatives to fail.

To find out more:

Web Sites:

Mike Rother’s Kata Website - Free resources and background to help you get started.

Kata School UK – LinkedIn – Gemma Jones and Ann Hill. Interesting research and excellent practice in the UK and worldwide.

Kata School Cascadia - The most active kata school in the world right now, based in the Pacific Northwest of North America.

Books:

Bringing Scientific Thinking to Life – Sylvain Landry – an excellent introduction to the thinking process of Toyota Kata and why it is useful - Start here.

The Toyota Kata Practice Guide – Mike Rother – the definitive “how to” guide is the essential reference on the process of doing Toyota Kata

Giving Wings to Her Team – Tilo Schwarz and Jeff Liker – a novel describing how one young manager learns to do Toyota Kata and saves her plant from being closed. It’s a long book but an engaging read, so worth it.

Toyota Kata Memory Jogger – Jean-Marc Legentil, Marc-Olivier Legentil, Tilo Schwarz – this practical pocket guide breaks down all the steps in great detail.

Toyota Kata Culture – Mike Rother, Gerd Aulinger – a great guide to how the Toyota Kata can be used up and down an organization, showing how corporate strategy can be driven down to the production floor while still leaving lots of room for creative problem-solving and difficult challenges

And, of course, you can always contact us at jimmy@ajobdonewell.com and james@ajobdonewell.com

Episode 28 - Being made redundant is a possibility that we all may face. It's one of the most challenging experiences in our working lives. In our discussions, we share insights and personal experiences about the highs and lows encountered, how we've coped, and strategies that have enabled us to survive and prosper after redundancy.

The taboos linked with redundancy and the feelings this generates are still not discussed openly enough. By examining this, we hope some of our experiences will either resonate with you or help you prepare for when the experience happens to you.

Useful resources include

Acas—Acas gives employees and employers free, impartial advice on workplace rights, rules, and best practices. It also offers training and helps to resolve disputes.

Mind— Free mental health support for adults in England and the Channel Islands.

Mental health - NHS—Information and support for your mental health.

Samaritans—Whatever you're going through, a Samaritan will face it with you twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.