The Independent Minds

Fix the root cause, not the symptoms: a smarter way to train. Most workplace training doesn’t fail quietly — it fails expensively. In this explosive episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds, learning architect Dr. Carrie Graham and host Michael Millward identify why organisations keep pouring money into training that never changes behaviour, never fixes the real problem, and never del...

How to prepare for what you don’t see coming - Marketing Edition Like most entrepreneurs there came a time in Brady Dahmer career as a business owner when he looked back and relived the trauma of the mistakes he had made in building his business Tropoly a brand studio. Brady lamented that there had not been a way for him to learn how to avoid the mistakes he knew he had made. So, Brady decided to...

Untangling Communication So Teams Can Get Things Done Maria Garaitonandia is a leadership communication strategist, which means that she helps leaders in any organisation plan how they are going to communicate with their teams. The outcome is, in many ways, that team members can answer the ‘what’s in it for me question’. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds, Maria discusse...

A conversation about leading consciously at work and in life Being led and being a leader can be something that happens to you; when it should be an activity that happens for you. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Diane Taylor from GLOW Leadership explains the difference to host Michael Millward. During their conversation Diane and Michael discuss How she helps leaders...

Management Learnings from the Sports Field Jay Paterno was a very successful college American football coach before he became an international sports pundit, writer, and podcast host. Following the publication of Blitzed! The All-Out Pressure of College Football's New Era, his third book Jay joined Michael Millward on the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds to discuss the lessons business manag...

Successful selling depends on building trust, but how do you build trust? Scott Schilling is an internationally successful sales person who became a much in demand international sales trainer and speaker . In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Scott explains his approach to successful selling to host Michael Millward . Scott explains how he encourages sales people to become...

Lessons from major disaster management for organisations who are addressing a crisis. Angela Devlan is a crisis management expert, founder and CEO of Meridian Ventures , and Co-Founder and COO of Novera Sports Agency, In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Angela and host Michael Millward discuss how disaster managers communicate key information to the front-line workers and...

A Team Building Strategy for Overloaded Leaders Who Want Stronger Team Trust, Better Results, and More Time Daria Rudnik is a Team Architect who helps leaders design self-sufficient, high performing teams. In her book, CLICKING: A Team Building Strategy for Overloaded Leaders Who Want Stronger Team Trust, Better Results, and More Time Daria provides a practical guide to implementing the five pilla...

How to make a Learning Management System work effectively After serving in the US Marine Corp Chris Dundy became an educator, before founding Flagship LMS . In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Chris and host Michael Millward discuss how any organisation can maximise the value they get from a learning management system. They discuss How Chris’s military experience influenc...

How A.I. can add value to customer relationships Aria Webster Berry , is an accomplished marketing entrepreneur and the founder of AWB Marketing and Ignite Funnels . In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Aria and host Michael Millward discuss how any organisation can improve customer relationships by making appropriate use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) in their Customer...

The value of discussions in an anonymous environment Hannah Verrall is a technology consultant and software designer, who was invited by David Hieatt  a co-founder of the Do Lectures to participate in an experiment. All Hannah would need to participate is a fax machine , a classic piece of communications technology, and the time to answer one question every week for a year. Hannah along with...

Understanding the intersection between military and civilian technology Jason Hilker is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corp who gained a doctorate in strategic leadership. Reflecting on his military experience and his academic studies he started to identify how the different approaches of military and civilian leaders could be combined for the benefit of both. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast...

Understanding how to build and market any product or service David Fradin returns to the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds to tell host Michael Millward about his book Building Insanely Great Products . David learnt about successful product development and launches working at Hewlett Packard and Apple. David now runs S.P.I.C.E Catalyst a product and service launch model that increases the cha...

Build a business to the size you want. Ashish Gupta had a successful corporate career and successfully scaled and sold two of his own businesses, before founding ScaleUpExec.com a provider of fractional Chief Operating Officer services. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Ashish and host Michael Millward discuss the trials and tribulations of scaling a business. Their con...

Values, Culture, Strategy – it’s how we do business. David Cohen is known as the contrarian executive management consultant for his no-nonsense approach to helping organisations get better using values and culture to drive behaviours that will result in the successful implementation of a strategy. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds David and host Michael Millward discuss...

How to build a real business that makes money without burning through your life savings, or losing your mind Dave Saunders is a successful serial entrepreneur who identified that many people believe you need external investment to set-up a business. The reality is he says that most businesses are boot-strapped by founders. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Dave explains...

Systems and data are the catalysts of entrepreneurial success Anthony Lindsay is the Wall Street banker who founded the Astor Business Centre in East London UK to help entrepreneurs create successful businesses. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Anthony explains to host Michael Millward what makes a successful entrepreneur and the data driven system that he uses to help...

The focus of marketing activities needs to change Rich Kozak has worked in marketing for almost fifty years. Now he is the founder and CEO of RichBrands , a company that helps individuals and businesses create clear brands that deliver increased impact. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Rich explains to host Michael Millward the seven steps that ensure a brand will impa...

Why leaders should focus on making their team members happy Lindsay Tsang is a Toronto based organizational Psychologist, and the founder of Reset Barrie and Happy Hires . He is also the author of Live Free: Re-Write Your Story In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Lindsay explains to host Michael Millward the reasons why leaders should put more focus on making their team m...

How to make Ai work so that your company can earn more Gary Dhanda , is the founder of Tekmait and Ai Twin . In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Gary explains to host Michael Millward the approach any organisation could take to ensure that they maximise the benefits of implementing Ai as a business tool. Gary and Michael discuss The history of Ai Absence of imagination in...

Growing Your Own leaders ensures the sustainability of your organisation. Rich Ashton is an entrepreneur who rescued a company from bankruptcy and over more than thirty years developed Toms Mechanical into a successful business. When Rich developed an interest in retiring, he started to look for ways in which he could exit that business. After investigating all the options, he decided that the peo...

There are three different ways that people make decisions Eric Staples is the Director of Growth Strategy at Blue Dog , a Chicago based strategy and innovation consultancy. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Eric and host Michael Millward explore the different ways that drive individual and collective decision-making. The three intelligence systems, Head, Heart, and Gut...

How your people grow impact how your organization develops Justin Abrams is the founder and CEO of Aryo Consulting Group (ACG) based in Boston, MA USA. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Justin and host Michael Millward explore the employee succession plans organisations have impact the development of those organisations. They discuss the Role of having the correct strat...

It’s the questions you ask – not the answers you give Amber Johnson is the founder of the Bright Threads Leadership Group , based in Chicago Illinois. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Amber helps host Michael Millward explore how the ideas of Appreciative Enquiry can be applied by leaders to improve the outcomes they achieve. Amber starts by defining Appreciative Enqui...

How can leaders use stillness to improve performance Moving from Europe to North America gave Markus Neukom the opportunity to reflect on his career as an executive coach. He asked his clients what the most valuable aspect of working with him had been. Their response was the sense of stillness that he created in meetings. In this episode of the Abeceder podcast The Independent Minds Markus explore...