Platform Diaries with Shane Williams

Recorded in October 2020 as research for the book that would become ‘The Platform Owner’s Guidebook’, Mike Kasparian is CIO at Forrester Research shares his insights into the importance of governance and demand management to successfully deliver and support a customer-obsessed technology vision & strategy. Platform Owner’s Guidebook: https://www.shanewilliams.com.au/boo...

Just like professional athletes, platform teams are expected to continually and consistently produce exceptional results. Is the secret to a perpetual A-Game hidden in martial arts? Frank Cuiuli, CEO of 8Squad, talks about how he combines martial arts and neurophysics to sustain high performance for his clients. He also offers a few tips for leaders on where to get started. For more about Frank Cu...

It’s not always the best idea that wins. Often, it all depends who has the best told story that captures the hearts and minds of stakeholders. Brooke Bainbridge, Business Development & Digital Transformation Manager at Castrol, shares her own story from growing up in the public bar in regional Victoria to leading digital transformation programs, and the key elements of a story that enabl...

Part 2 of 2 in a series on organisational design. When start-up’s mature they experience the growing pains of success. Those who successfully achieve hyper-growth realise what got them this far won’t scale, and so they adapt. Xero is one such organisation. Founded in Wellington NZ in 2006, it is now global powerhouse. John Railton, GM of Customer Platforms at Xero gives us some insight...

Part 1 of 2 in a series on organisational design. Jason van Lint, Head of Delivery at Flybuys (Loyalty Pacific) knows the struggle and satisfaction of building high performing platform teams in large technology businesses. We discuss the recent changes being introduced at Flybuys and Jason’s insights into how to successfully transform teams to an agile delivery model. Jason van Lint: https:/...

M&A activity creates both uncertainty and opportunity for businesses and platform teams. Nadia Herriott, Separation Stream Lead at Trustpower, shares some of the lessons from the trenches as she and her team navigate their way through a project to separate and then merge their retail business with the new parent company. Nadia Herriott LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadia-herriott-36434...

Many organisations attempt to drive value through data visualisation and reporting and yet end up never getting away from their individual spreadsheets. Mark Tossell, CIO and Principal Consultant at Visioneer360 share’s his insights into what it takes to unlock data insights and truly drive transformational change with analytics platform implementations. Mark Tossell: https://www.linkedin.co...

Rolf Krolke and his team build platform software that provides investigative analysis capabilities for organisations across the globe. Underpinning this platform is a raft of PaaS products that provide the foundation on which the business operates. But it wasn’t always this way. Rolf shares his journey of overcoming the growing pains of a maturing digital business through standardisation of...

This is the fourth of a multipart series on selecting and working with System Integration Partners. Philip Moon, Senior Manager of ERP at REA Group shares his experience in selecting platforms and partners as well as his insights into blending your partner and internal teams, being clear on expectations and metrics around value, and how to leverage your partner to unlock innovation (even on an ERP...

This is third of a multipart series on selecting and working with System Integration Partners. Matt Owens, Director of Sales & Marketing at Annexa shares a boutique partners perspective on how to approach potential partners and how to minimise effort but maximise value from the RFP process. Matthew Owens: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-owens-b8542532/ Annexa: https://annexa.com.au/ The Pl...

This is the second of a multipart series on selecting and working with System Integration Partners. Brendan Connolly, Head of Technology Sales @ Accenture ANZ shares a fresh approach to an RFP process, some tips on empowering your procurement team, and the benefits of collaborating on commercials. Brendan Connolly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendanconnolly/ The Platform Owners Guidebook by Shane...

The first of a multipart series on selecting and working with System Integration Partners. Lee Tsiamis, associate partner at IBM, shares a rare insight into the SI’s perspective on partnership. We discuss the RFP process, how SI’s juggle client objectives with their sales targets, new approaches to engaging partners, and the importance of trust in a partnership. Lee Tsiamis: https://ww...

Digital transformation projects seem to be increasing in time and complexity, but in the post pandemic world, business leaders can afford little time to realise value. Paul Jackson of Sayers Group is a man on a mission to buck the trend. We discuss how organisations can adopt a platform strategy that enables rapid delivery of value and explore a real-world example of taking a retail internet servi...

“That person is capable of so much more”, “I just got lucky”, or “I shouldn’t be here” - These are the manifestations of the Imposter Complex; that voice in your head that lets you believe you aren’t good enough. Jen Brown shares her expertise on how the imposter complex plays out in both individual and team contexts and how leaders can achieve high-...

We often hear “people are our most important asset”, yet frequently leaders and organisations will rely on an EAP program to deal with the fallout of stress rather than catch it early. Mark Butler is a mental health expert and strategist who helps organisations build capability in their teams to get in front of those mental health issues that hinder peak performance. We discuss the mea...

Governance – it can bring on fear and loathing but it doesn’t need to. Rob Pickering, GM of Technology at the AFL, offers a unique perspective on how to right-size governance for your context. We explore Rob’s perspectives and recommendations derived from decades of multi geography experience in for-profit and for-purpose organisations across regulated and unregulated industries....

Marketing technology (martech) is a rapidly evolving technology space. Nerida Cook, Director of Marketing, Data and Technology at Deloitte Digital shares her perspectives on building high-performing martech teams and how rapid changes in technology mean even the experts need to challenge their own experience. Nerida also provides insights into the big changes happening in Martech. Nerida Cook&nbsp...

A whole of business transformation can be a long, complex and expensive process – but there’s a few critical must-do’s to ensure success. Mark Geraghty, Executive General Manager of Membership at RACV shares the lessons from their 3-year transformation journey and his tips for navigating the storm. Shane Williams: https://www.shanewilliams.com.au/  See omnystudio.com/listene...

Business transformation is hard work, especially if we lead with technology and forget the people. Rebekah Vesali, Transformation Implementation Director at WorkSafe Victoria, shares her experiences starting and recovering transformation programs and how she leverages her passion for people, underpinned by roots in Engineering and Lean Manufacturing to successfully deliver transformation programs...

Gavin Diamond MD of Box.com shares his career story to emphasise the non-linear nature of careers in the platform space. Gavin also discusses with host Shane Williams the concept of micro-credentialing, and how education is going through a revolution that is unlocking the power of diversity to deliver truly customer focussed customer value centred around empathy. Gavin: https://www.linkedin.com/in...

Highly autonomous multi-disciplinary teams working towards a clear shared purpose – is this the utopia of high-performance platform capability? Rory Fitzpatrick, MD of Service-Now Elite partner CloudGo, is an entrepreneur who has built and led high-performing teams across Asia and the Pacific. Rory shares his perspective on the value of organisational culture and how autonomy and transparenc...

With so many exciting roles and organisations to choose from, what set’s your team apart from the rest? How will you attract and retain the right talent and IP in a competitive market? Ben Duncombe founder of Salesforce Recruitment firm Talent Hub discusses employee value proposition. Talent Hub – https://talent-hub.com.au/ Shane Williams: https://www.shanewilliams.com.au/ See omnystud...

Is your gym membership ‘expensive’ or a good investment in your health? Getting value from your platform investment is often hinged on how well and often it’s used. Andrew Price, Director of Product Management for Tableau Cloud at Salesforce, discusses the complexities of platform adoption and offers his opinion on how to succeed. Shane Williams: https://www.shanewilliams.com.au/...

Platform vendors have millions of customers but only a handful become their keynote clients. Rudi Khoury and Fisher & Paykel appliances are one such success story. Rudi discusses their journey from a small platform investment to a multi-cloud platform play serving customers globally across multiple channels. Rudi also lets us in on the secret to getting the most value from your platform and im...

You’ve heard terms like ‘no-code’ and ‘low-code’ used to describe SaaS platforms. So, surely, concepts like ‘architecture’ have joined VHS and rotary dial phones, right? Steve Baines, CEO of Forcivity and Salesforce Certified Architect, discusses the criticality of good architecture principles and offers some practical advice for organisations. Forcivity h...