Pragmatism in Practice

With so many different definitions, it can be difficult to understand exactly what product thinking is, and how it can transform your organization. In this episode, Thoughtworks' product leaders, Rujia Wang and Jonathan Savage, explore how it can help you enhance your customer experience, and dispel some common misconceptions. It's essential listening if you're a product leader seeking to refine y...

How does an industry titan like OTTO, spanning retail, logistics, and online marketplaces, embark on a transformation journey that ensures relentless competitiveness? Knut Talman and Matthias Wlaka, share the strategies that empowered OTTO to pivot with agility, craft innovative business models, and leverage technology to achieve seamless, uninterrupted growth. If you are a leader embarking on a t...

In today's world, we're all leaders in various aspects of our lives. Effective leadership is crucial, whether at work, home, or in our communities. Kirstin Ferguson, a renowned leadership expert, author, and columnist, shares insights from her book 'Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership,' emphasizing the balance between analytical thinking (head) and emotional intelligence (heart) in leadersh...

In today's landscape, organizational sustainability has become a prevailing concern, as companies publicly pledge to meet sustainability goals. Nonetheless, current approaches often miss the mark in generating substantial impact. Join Kathleen Walker, Sustainability Advisor, and Andy Nolan, Director of Emerging Technology at Thoughtworks Australia, as they delve into effective strategies for leade...

As AI continues to shape our world, more and more business leaders are faced with the challenge of integrating this technology while prioritizing human needs. Award-winning writer and keynote speaker, David Sax, joins us to shed light on the pressing questions business leaders must ask themselves when crafting an AI strategy that serves the needs of both the organization and its customers

Technical debt has bounced into the spotlight after major system failures hit US aviation hard, forcing executive leaders to consider their own risk. Mike Mason and Rachel Laycock, Thoughtworks' Global Heads of Technology and Enterprise Modernization, explore why addressing tech debt matters and how doing so can benefit your bottom line. If you are a business leader seeking practical ways to strat...

To thrive in today's fast-changing world, organizations need a systematic and sustainable approach to surfacing and prioritizing new ideas to take to market. Andy Nolan, Director of Emerging Technology at Thoughtworks Australia, shares practical advice for navigating common innovation challenges in your organization. If you are a leader, trying to balance innovative growth with managing operationa...

Conveying the right type of information for a group so that they can make accurate decisions can be challenging. Barbara Tversky, Professor Emerita of Psychology at Stanford University and Professor of Psychology at Teachers College at Columbia University, alongside our take-over hosts, Barton Friedland and Jarno Kartela, uncover how people think about the physical and digital spaces they inhabit...

To achieve their full potential, today's leaders must create intentional space to synthesize a huge amount of information and consider the impacts of any decision they undertake. Transformational leader and agile executive coach, Pat Reed, alongside our take-over hosts, Barton Friedland and Jarno Kartela, share the ways in which simulation technology and visualization tools can help leadership tea...

Despite living in an age of ever-increasing uncertainty, advancing technology has amplified and improved our ability to make better business decisions. Alongside our take-over hosts, Barton Friedland and Jarno Kartela, special guest, Keith Grint, Professor Emeritus at Warwick University, explores how leaders can address 'Wicked Problems' that can seem impossible to solve. If you are a business lea...

A Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Thoughtworks examined the practices of organizations with successful modernization initiatives and two factors came up frequently: 1) working with partners and 2) investing in and retaining knowledgeable staff. Before embarking on a transformation project, listen to this podcast featuring Forrester to learn about how to put the right people and partners...

Software professionals and their skills are in high demand and organizations are constantly thinking about how to invest in capability development. In this podcast, we speak with Austin Lamon, about how Spotify created the Backstage platform to empower happy developers. Listen to learn more about creating an environment where development teams can thrive.

Creating and executing a data and AI strategy can help an organization drive value and growth. How do you unlock the benefits, operationalize at scale and manage change for employees? Sanjeevan Bala, Group Chief Data & AI Officer at iTV and Danilo Sato, Head of Data & AI, Thoughtworks UK explore how to develop and drive an offensive data strategy that delivers revenue and EBIT growth. Learn how da...

Growing preference for digital payments over cash is changing the nature of how people interact with money, with significant implications for businesses. Digital payments are helping new businesses reach consumers in new ways and established businesses to expand and diversify their client bases. How should companies adapt their products, services and payments infrastructure to remove the pain of p...

Enterprises are under pressure to move to more sustainable business models. Looking closely at a company's supply chain is an opportunity to identify areas of improvement for sustainable measures and cost savings. But the options to make adjustments across the supply chain are endless. George Earle, Global Commercial Director in Thoughtworks' Office of the CTO, will explain how a decision science...

Governments have access to large amounts of critical information that could be used to drive decisions in creating effective public systems and improve societies. And the public sector is under intense pressure to evolve and make better use of their data and offer new data-rich services. This episode uncovers the most crucial aspects of creating an effective data strategy, and why it is so importa...

Accessibility is increasingly a hot topic, not only because it is just the right thing to do, but there is a huge opportunity for businesses to serve a broader population. In this podcast, Matthew Johnston, Technical Delivery Lead, Thoughtworks, makes the case to push accessibility "left" to embrace innovation, create an inclusive workplace and tap into the "purple dollar."

Every company in the world will face pressures to understand their carbon footprint and decarbonize what they do. Adrian Cockroft, VP of Sustainability Architecture at Amazon Web Services, joins us to discuss more on their sustainability journey to the 2040 Climate Pledge. Listen to this podcast to hear the challenges, the benefits and the opportunities for companies that embrace the commitment to...

In healthcare, powerful new data-based tools are revolutionizing the way we make decisions - putting individuals in charge of their own healthcare journeys and supporting the effective delivery of proactive and preventative care. What are the key trends that will help healthcare organizations shift from patient care to continuous wellbeing? In this podcast episode, Scott Davies shares the trends a...

Cloud infrastructure has been universally praised for its simplicity, an intuitive, scalable, and cost-effective alternative that promised to transform how we approach IT infrastructure. But as offerings from the major public cloud providers have become more sophisticated, cloud is becoming increasingly complex. Listen to this episode with Max Griffiths, Principal Infrastructure Consultant, to lea...

UNICEF USA implemented a technology strategy to create a consistent donor experience and put the supporter at the center of their operations. Their technology work meant that during a crisis like COVID, the nonprofit could quickly adapt their operations, workforce and donor relations. Andy Rhodes, CIO for UNICEF USA, shares details of their digital journey, how it has helped increase their social...

Companies are looking to AI/ML to deliver better customer experience, improve productivity, or keep up with the competition. Beyond the popular use of replacing tedious and repetitive tasks with automation, Principal Consultant Jarno Kartela explains the more creative and strategic opportunities to solve business problems and improve product innovation. This episode is for modern decision-makers w...

With the advent of big data analytics, powered by the ease of moving data to the cloud, the pressure on companies to get data right to make million-dollar decisions in a few seconds has become paramount. How can organizations set themselves up for success when it comes to data? What are some of the foundational elements to have in place? In this episode, Jason Hare, Data Governance Principal at Th...

A recent study shows there is a close correlation between technology proficiency and business growth. How does your organization's level of digital proficiency compare to competitor brands in your market? How can you build technology as a culture into your organization at all levels? In this podcast, we discuss the advantages that lie in technology proficiency existing beyond the office of CIO and...

The last episode in this four-part series explores the final prong of the ABCD framework to help leaders thrive in today's ambiguous climate – drive. To thrive in ambiguity, requires purpose-driven drive. Based on practices from the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks, this episode will help leaders translate drive into building resilient and high-performing teams.