Centaur Stage

We believe in creating holistic, integrated experiences for teams and individuals to contribute their best work. In the words of CX specialist and author Ian Golding, “The biggest underlying principle of customer experience is the principle of empathy. But empathy isn't just towards the customer. It has to be towards your employees. If you don't get it right for your people, they won&apo...

In this discussion, Marilyn and Damian discuss how Chalhoub Group shifted to integrating flexible work best practices into their work model and what Damian and his team have learned in relation to remote hiring, onboarding, and creating a corporate culture in hybrid work environments. For more, read check out our  key insights article,   visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com and make sure to f...

In this episode, Marilyn and Letswork Co-Founder discuss how his at Letswork have adapted to the recent changes and how he believes it will shape the future of the work. For more, read check out our  key insights article,   visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com and make sure to follow on our social channels: Follow us on social media: LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and Rami Khale, the CEO of Joi Gifts discuss his experience running and scaling an e-commerce business, how he worked on reaching profitability, and how he is approaching expansion into new markets, all in the midst of the global pandemic. For more, read check out our  key insights article,   visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com and make sure to follo...

In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and Andrew Blain discuss how he developed a framework based on the interconnection between agile and remote team management, and hear what advice he has for leaders, managers and teams in distributed settings. For more, read check out our  key insights article,   visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com and make sure to follow on our social channels: Foll...

This episode was a special one because it was a crossover between the Who Run The World Podcast and Centaur Stage. This past year has turned the way we work on its head. The pandemic and work from home has affected all of us in different ways, depending on our profession, our location, our personalities and of course our gender. On this episode Marilyn and Rhea debate whether distributed work help...

In this episode, Marilyn and the remarkable 10-year-old Adam El Rafey speak about the future of learning and why he believes in #AbilityNotAge . Listen to learn how Adam finds the inspiration, energy and enthusiasm to accomplish all that he as achieved and how he is re-imaging education. For more, read check out our  key insights article,   visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com and make sure t...

Helen Al Uzaizi shares why she believes in teaching youth about entrepreneurship and how we can integrate it into school curriculums or after-school programs. In the conversation with Marilyn, the two also explore how teaching entrepreneurship has changed as a result of remote learning and what entrepreneurship education means for the future of work and learning.  For more, read check out our  key...

In this episode, Marilyn Zakhour and Phanish Puranam discuss using the power of data and algorithms to design better organizations. The problem of dividing work and integrating efforts is an age-old problem, but can the newly available organizational data, help us rethink our organizational structures, incentive systems, talent acquisition strategies, and work models? For more, read check out our ...

In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and James Piecowye discuss why broad knowledge wins in a specialized world. In this compelling conversation, they explore range, the interconnection of learning, and how generalists will shape the future of work. For more, read check out our  key insights article,   visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com and make sure to follow on our social channels: F...

In this episode, Marilyn discussed mindful leadership with Nitesh Batra, a Mindfulness Teacher, Host of The Mindful Initiative Podcast, and a Certified Compassion Cultivation Trainer. They explored what it means to lead mindfully, its benefits and impact on teams, organizations and classrooms as well as how it will shape the future of how we work and learn. For more, read check out our  key insigh...

In this episode of Centaur Stage, Marilyn and Rama Chakaki debate whether remote work creates more or less opportunity for refugee talent. The compelling conversation sheds light on the challenges facing organizations, employees, and refugees and offers solutions to overcome these barriers. To donate to the Cosmic Centaurs Fund, visit this link: https://www.edseed.me/the-cosmic-centaurs-fund/ For...

The fourth episode of #CentaurStage features INSEAD's Affiliated Professor of Practice in Global Management Jose Santos. In this discussion, Marilyn and Joe explore how he recently integrated 'agile methodologies' into his online teaching process.  We’ll cover what he learned, how it’s changed his approach to teaching, and his newfound perception of agile methodologies. For more, re...

The third episode of Centaur Stage with Dr. Myriam Hadnes explores the art of virtual facilitation, how to make workshops work and the recent Never Been Done Before Festival.  For more, read check out our  key insights article ,  visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com and make sure to follow on our social channels: Follow us on social media: LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . 

In this second edition of the Cosmic Conference's closing panel,  we debated the topic of remote teams and the importance of the “workplace”. Speakers discussed the arguments for or against co-location citing lessons learned from their own research or experiences.  Marilyn read out the 5 motions and asked our panelists to state whether they are for or against the motion, inviting them to cite...

Diversity in the workplace has been hyped up a lot in the last few years. Various studies have shown that diverse teams and companies, ethnically and cognitively, outperform those that aren’t. For example, a Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation. From such statistics we can see the importance of diversity in...

Last year, during the ‘Future of Work Conference’, we hosted a panel titled, ‘ Is the office dead? ’ We were curious if it was time for the office to be reborn. This year, we wanted to continue this conversation and explored whether COVID-19, unlike the Internet, was able to drastically change the layout of our workspaces. Marilyn Zakhour, CEO and Founder of Cosmic Centaurs, was joined by 2 guests...

Internal Communications has long been an important function in organizations, but it is often overlooked. The pandemic, however, has made keeping employees informed, motivated and connected vital for the success of remote collaboration. The only way to do that is through effective internal communications. In this session, Tala Odeh is joined by two internal communications experts who shared how to...

Sports and (e) sports teams remind us that success is driven by collaboration. These teams are great to study and learn more about leadership, performance, culture and teamwork. The second session of the Future of Teams Conference explored the learnings from a few sport and e-sport teams, as well as two leaders who study and coach teams.  About the speakers: Evelyn Tan is a PhD Researcher at the U...

In the opening keynote of the second edition of the Cosmic Conference all about the Future of Teams  Mark Mortensen Professor and Former Area Chair of Organizational Behavior at INSEAD unpacks the challenges of hybrid work and discusses what Mark has learned from studying remote and hybrid working models over the years Five Key Takeaways: The future of work is somewhere between remote and in the o...

The second episode of CentaurStage with Ziad Rahhal explores what it means to lead in today’s world, how his approach to leadership has evolved, and why empathy is not the same as compassion. The conversation also shed light on LinkedIn’s bold mission, how it's growing its products to create more value for its users and why the term ‘customer-centricity’ has new meaning for sales and marketin...

Iulia Istrate joins Cosmic Centaurs CEO & Founder Marilyn Zakhour for the inaugural episode of Centaur Stage, a new weekly show exploring bold ideas about the future of work and learning. In this episode, Marilyn & Iulia debate how culture can be developed and maintained in distributed settings. For more, read check out our  key insights article ,  visit our website: www.cosmiccentaurs.com...

Centaur Stage is a podcast by Cosmic Centaurs exploring bold ideas about the future of work and learning. In each episode, podcast host, CEO & Founder of Cosmic Centaurs Marilyn Zakhour is joined by incredible guests to share insights, opinions, and perspectives about the future of how we work and learn.