Digital, New Tech & Brand Strategy - Minterdial.com

Minter Dialogue with Davide Bollati Davide Bollati is the owner and chairman, since 2006, of Davines Group and Comfort Zone. Davide has steered Davines Group, which was founded in 1983, to be a worldwide recognised professional brand providing high-end haircare solutions for hairdressing salons and skincare (with Comfort Zone) for spas, that is known for its commitment to ethical sourcing and sustainability. In 2016, Davines became a certified B Corp. Present in some 90 counties and with about 800 employees, Davines Group is a tremendous success story. In this conversation, we discuss Davide's career path, some of the critical choices he made, the route to and effects of becoming a B Corp, the use of La Carta Etica, the building of the Davines community, the use of a philosopher to help craft the direction of the brand, and much more. An enlightening story.   If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes a

Minter Dialogue with Dan Egan Dan Egan is the world-renowned skier and pioneer of extreme sports. He is known for skiing the most remote regions of the world, and has been named one of the most influential skiers of our time. He has been a central feature, along with his brother, in a number of amazing Warren Miller films, including "Born to Ski," "Vertical Reality," and "Future Retro." Dan's also the author of the book, "Thirty Years in a White Haze: Dan Egan's Story of Worldwide Adventure and the Evolution of Extreme Skiing." In this conversation, we discuss his upbringing, some of his feats and experiences, including how he spent 38 hours trapped 17,000ft high in Russia, how he balances adventure, risk and safety, the nature of flow, the battle of freestyle to gain legitimacy, and much more.  If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please ta

Minter Dialogue with Richard Earnest Richard Earnest is the founder of Earnest Enterprises and author of the book, "Leading with Ethics and Humanity -- Do you have the guts?" that came out in August 2022. Richard graduated by the US Naval Academy in 1964 to become an officer and highly decorated pilot during the Vietnam War. Then, having had over 30 years of experience as a top executive in high-tech industries, he's a mentor and coach of young entrepreneurs and leaders who face tough challenges and opportunities. In this conversation, we explore Richard's career, the impact of having been in war, serving as an officer. We examine the qualities of resilience and agility in leadership, the ways that leaders can bring ethics and humanity into their daily practice to build an effective culture and business. And we look at the difference of leadership in the military, politics and business. If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or y

Minter Dialogue with Daniel Priestley Daniel Priestley, a repeat guest, is founder of Dent Global and ScoreApp. Daniel has been been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year, written half a dozen business books, founded multiple 7 and 8 figure ventures and is on a mission to help develop entrepreneurs who stand out, scale up and make a dent. In this conversation, we discuss his entrepreneurial roots, his journey from Australia to England, the state of entrepreneurs today, the role and importance of tech for any startups or business, the pendulum swings of purpose, politics and business transformation. We also unpack ScoreApp and how and why it can help your business. The future of X (Twitter) and look at mental health issues among entrepreneurs.  If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to Apple Podcasts or your favourite

Minter Dialogue with Paul Skinner Paul Skinner is an entrepreneur with a marketing flair. He's founder and Director at the Agency of the Future, he founded and runs MarketingKind and he has also written two books, "The Collaborative Advantage" and most recently, "The Purpose Upgrade, Change your Business to Save the World. Change the World to Save Your Business," published by Little, Brown Book Group. We dive into what purpose is and means. How to approach creating a purpose that drives greater value and growth, the purpose business case, what does it mean to upgrade your purpose, the notion of what constitutes "better" in making the world better. And more.  If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast channel, to rate/review the show. Otherwise, you can find me @mdial on Tw

Minter Dialogue with Lena Rantsevich Lena Rantsevich is a rebel, treating life as an intellectual and emotional pursuit. Formerly head of Samsung Electronics in Belarus, Business Person of the Year, TEDx speaker and co-founder of businesses in decentralised justice, real estate and consultancy, Lena and her family left the Ukraine because of the war to set up in London. Her new venture, Reputy.io, is a "soul bound talent wallet" designed to help individuals find better jobs faster by matching and proving soft skills. We discuss her remarkable journey from Minsk to Kiev to London, the tremendous responsibilities Lena earned early, her life lessons and how she's faced and overcome the challenges of being uprooted by war. We discuss Reputy, the problems it solves and the intricacies of trying to map and communicate soft skills between recruit and employer. If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and com

Minter Dialogue with Ashley Dudarenok  Ashley Dudarenok is a Chinese serial entrepreneur, award-winning digital marketing professional and author. Recognised as a “guru on digital marketing and fast-evolving trends in China’’ by Thinkers50, Ashley is the founder of China-focused digital marketing agency Alarice and China digital consultancy ChoZan. She's also author of 10 books about digital China, including her latest, "Innovation Factory: China's Digital Playbook for Global Brands," co-written with Ron Wardle. In this conversation, we discuss the Chinese digital landscape, what are some of the salient trends, what can Western brands learn from Chinese corporations, the place for 'purpose' in China, the sense of trust that Chinese citizens have with the Chinese companies, leadership challenges and management styles... and much more.   If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial

Minter Dialogue with Sir William Russell Sir William Russell was Lord Mayor of the City of London 2019-2021 and is currently Alderman of Bread Street Ward. He's also Board Member of CityUK, deputy chair of the Barbican Centre, and NED at Augmentum Fintech. Will was a classmate and housemate back from my time at Eton College where we shared many experiences on the sports field. In this conversation, we discuss his fascinating career, the influence of sports on his life, his appreciation of working for American companies, what makes an effective leader today, the important challenges for boards of governors, the impact of Brexit on Britain, as well as his experience in being knighted by the King. If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast channel, to rate/review the show. Ot

Minter Dialogue with Dennis Sherwood Dennis Sherwood, PhD, with a long and illustrious career in consulting, is the owner of The Silver Bullet Machine Manufacturing Co., an intelligent innovation consultancy, specialised in helping its clients gain competitive advantage by building organisational capacity to innovate. He's also a speaker and author of 15 books, including two recently that we explore here. The first, "Creativity for Scientists and Engineers: A practical guide" (IOP ebooks), which won the Specialist Business Book Award of 2023, where we discuss some fundamental questions about creativity, the mindset that's needed for innovation, what makes a "good" idea, the threat of AI and the role of purpose in crafting innovation. We also discuss his book, "Missing the Mark: Why So Many School Exam Grades are Wrong – and How to Get Results We Can Trust," where we look at how grading is done in the UK and how 1.5 million of 6 million grades (or marks) given out annually are inaccurate. If you've got comment

Minter Dialogue with Lisa Leong Lisa Leong is an ABC (Australia) broadcaster, host of Sundays with Lisa Leong on ABC Radio Melbourne, Host of This Working Life podcast on ABC Radio National and coauthor with Monique Ross of the book, "This Working Life, How to navigate your career in uncertain times." In this conversation, we discuss a central tenet of work-life coherence, how to have ambition and manage the stresses that come with it, how to forge meaningful change, the power of vulnerability, how to design and manage a portfolio career, and uncovering one's personal values.  If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast channel, to rate/review the show. Otherwise, you can find me @mdial on Twitter.

Minter Dialogue with Ashley Recanati Ashley Recanati is a fellow French-American and now a fellow author. Living in Shanghai and working as the MD of the APAC region for a German industrial company, Ashely recently released his book, "AI Battle Royale, How to protect your job from disruption in the 4th Industrial Revolution," published by Copernicus Book, Springer (Mar 2023). In this conversation, we discuss the challenges faced by people working in business to have the right attitude and skills to adapt to this fast-changing world. How to to futureproof yourself and stay up to date with the new technologies; and how can we help our kids get ready? We look at some of the cultural differences, especially with his perspective being based in China, and we explore some of his key concepts and recommendations in his book. The one I liked the most was Guanxi.   If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and c

Minter Dialogue with Justin Hancock Justin Hancock, based in England, has been a relationships and sex educator for over 20 years. In that time he has worked with thousands of young people in schools, youth clubs, universities, and advice services. Justin created and still works at bishuk.com which is one of the leading relationships and sex education websites for young people over 14, this site attracts thousands of people per day. Justin provides training courses and RSE resources for teachers. He offers relationships and sex education for an over 18 audience too. He wrote ‘Enjoy Sex (How, when and IF, You Want To)’ with Meg-John Barker, with whom he records the ‘Meg-John & Justin’ podcast, and most recently published "Can We Talk About Consent, A book about freedom, choices and agreement," published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books in 2021. In this conversation, we look at the state of sex and relationships today, typically among the younger generations, the decline in reported sex, toxic masculinity, #

Minter Dialogue with Josh Bernoff Josh Bernoff is the author, coauthor, editor or ghostwriter of eight business books. He's published "Writing Without Bullshit" which Toronto's Globe and Mail called, "a Strunk and White for the modern knowledge worker." He was the coauthor with Charlene Li of "Groundswell" which was a BusinessWeek best seller. His latest book, and the main subject of our discussion, is “Build a Better Business Book, How to Plan, Write and Promote a Book That Matters.” We discuss the why and how of writing a business book, some super valuable tips around how to position the book, how to get your book "out there," the importance of an index, audiobooks, cowriting and many other elements that can help a business book be successful.   If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to Apple Podcasts or your

Minter Dialogue with Ross Dawson Ross Dawson is globally recognized as a leading futurist, keynote speaker, strategy advisor, bestselling author, and entrepreneur. He is Founding Chairman of the Advanced Human Technologies Group of companies and Founder of Bondi Innovation. Previous books include the acclaimed book "Living Networks," which The New York Times credits with predicting the social networking revolution, and the bestseller "Developing Knowledge-Based Client Relationships." His latest book is "Thriving on Overload: The 5 Powers for Success in a World of Exponential Information." We discuss the challenge of dealing with so much information, converting information into knowledge, encouraging stimulating strategic conversations at work, splicing through the signal to noise ratio, fact checking, and how to thrive as a generalist versus a subject-matter expert.   If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the sho

Minter Dialogue with Petra Velzeboer Petra Velzeboer is a renowned author, psychotherapist, TEDx speaker and CEO of Mental Health Consultancy PVL. Born into a notorious cult, Petra was raised in a strict environment where individuality and self expression were discouraged. Travelling the globe, she learned firsthand about cultures and people but was sheltered from education, books or friendships outside of the community. Leading a double life for many years, she knows firsthand the toll it takes to wear a mask of conformity on one side while leading a hedonistic escapist life on the other. In this conversation, we discuss her new book, Begin With You, from Kogan Page. We delve into the cult world, what distinguishes a cult from a tribe or community, an appropriate definition of mental health, the importance of adversity in building resilience, how to stop being a victim despite horrible circumstances and how to improve our mental health. If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send you

Minter Dialogue with Shelley Onderdonk and Adam Snow Shelley Onderdonk and Adam Snow, a couple who've spent their lives playing, rearing and taking care of sport horses. Shelley is a sport horse veterinarian, renowned among other things for being a pioneer in veterinary acupuncture. The success of her sport medicine principles is evidenced by the multitude of Best Playing Pony awards which their barn have accrued over the years, as well as by the longevity of their horses' careers. Shelley gives lectures and seminars on her equine wellness philosophy and is the coauthor of The Anti-Cookbook. Shelley's husband, Adam Snow, was my roommate at university. Adam played polo professionally for well over 30 years, achieving the highest rating of 10 goals in 2003. Career highlights include winning two US Open titles, competing in the Argentine Open in 1998 and 2004, winning many Best Playing Pony prizes for his horses, and twice being named Player of the Year. He was inducted into the Polo Hall of Fame in 2014. Retire

Minter Dialogue with Brooke Sellas Brooke Sellas is a digital customer experience consultant, social media customer service management and social media listening expert. She's founder and CEO of B Squared Media, is host of The Marketing Agency Show and is also author of Conversations that Connect, How to Connect, Converse, and Convert Through Social Media Listening and Social-Led Customer Care." In this conversation, we discuss the different types of conversations one can have as a brand with customers, the role of emotional disclosures, the relationship between empathy and trust, the Social Penetration Theory and the place of imperfection.  If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast channel, to rate/review the show. Otherwise, you can find me @mdial on Twitter.

Minter Dialogue with Jon Rennie Jon Rennie is a business leader, author, podcaster, and speaker. He is co-founder, president and CEO of Peak Demand Inc., a manufacturer of critical infrastructure products for electric utilities. He served as a U.S. naval officer on nuclear submarines and has close to 30 years leading industrial businesses in North America. He is also the author of several bestselling books, including "All in the Same Boat" and "I Have the Watch." In this interview, we discuss his pragmatic approach to leadership, why leadership is in crisis today, how to lead millennials and the younger generations, how to develop trust, dealing with adversity, the role of conversation, time, and handling the new conditions and demands at work.  If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to Apple Podcasts or your fa

Minter Dialogue with Alicia Dunams Alicia Dunams is an international leadership speaker and peacemaker. She is a leading expert in facilitating difficult conversations and resolving conflicts in multiple settings, including the workplace, school, and home. With more than 20 years of experience working as an executive coach, with certifications as a mediator and diversity and inclusion specialist, she actively serves on the communication board of a restorative justice nonprofit. In this conversation, we discuss her multicultural background, the line between having conviction and suppliance to listen, how to talk to your enemies, conscious living and much more. If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to go over to iTunes or your favourite podcast channel, to rate/review the show. Otherwise, you can find me @mdial on Twitter.

Minter Dialogue with Rae Shanahan Rae Shanahan is the CEO at Innovation Works, and Chief Strategy Officer of Businessolver, Benefits Administration technology. At Innovation Works, they support incubating new business strategies and opportunities focused on delivering delight to our clients and their employees. In this conversation with Rae, we discuss some of the key findings in the new Businessolver 2023 State of Workplace Empathy, in its 8th annual iteration. We talk about how the survey came to be. We explore why HR managers are feeling so burned out, how to measure empathy, the optimistic bubble of CEOs, why to hold ideas lightly and why empathy is not a weakness, despite what CEOs fear. If you've got comments or questions you'd like to see answered, send your email or audio file to nminterdial@gmail.com; or you can find the show notes and comment on minterdial.com. If you liked the podcast, please take a moment to rate/review the show on RateThisPodcast. Otherwise, you can find me @mdial on Twitter. Sho