A Corporate Roundtable Reflection
6 thought provoking things I heard at The Heart’s Corporate Roundtable: Platform Economy
The Corporate Roundtable is one of the greatest opportunities available for the continued development of business leaders in Warsaw. It isn’t simply a chance to gain more valuable knowledge that will take you and your organization to the next level, but it is an opportunity to connect with other incredible thinkers, business leaders and passionate entrepreneurs. It is a place to share, be inspired, think outside of the box and, from the 38th floor of the Warsaw Spire, with the view of Warsaw stretching out below you, it is a visual reminder that you can go as far as your vision allows when your mind is lifted from the busyness of the day to day.
While there were so many incredible ideas, thoughts and takeaways from this edition of The Heart’s Corporate Roundtable: Platform Economy, six powerful statements resonated with me as I listened to great leaders in their field share their vision, experiences and strategies in order to help take my leadership and the leadership of those present to the next level. Here are six of my favorite takeaways:
1. “The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. He depends, for his power, on his ability to make others powerful.”
In his welcoming session, CEO of The Heart, Tomasz Rudolf, cast the vision for the day with this incredible quote from Benjamin Zander. This simple statement sums up the core of platform economies and the focus of orchestrating growth with external ecosystems. Tomasz made the point that we are living in a world in which 70% of the unicorns are platforms and we are realizing that in order to truly be successful in business we must harness the power of networks and work at being hero makers rather than simply the hero. Tomasz has worked tirelessly to create a place where others can succeed. The Heart exists help startups and corporations succeed through the power of collaboration and their ability to make others powerful.
2. “Who is in charge of everything you haven’t done yet?”
This was the question that was raised by Magda Dziewguć from Google as she shared the story of Ocado and their ability to completely redefine a market based on their use of platforms. In a world that is constantly changing and, in which the future is approaching faster than we can imagine, this simple question resonated with the leaders at the Corporate Roundtable as well as myself. We have the ability to do more, achieve more and make more global impact than any previous generation of business leaders. Most of us in leadership are visionaries and achievers, so this powerful question is one we must ask ourselves regularly, “Who is in charge of everything we haven’t done yet?”
Ok, I have to give you this extra thought for free: In her session, Magda also shared that one of the powers of platforms is the ability to collect an unprecedented amount of client data. With each click on a mousepad their likes, dislikes, preferences all work together to create a profile that gives more information than was every before accessible. Her observation is that there will be no advertisement in the future, we will only see the information that we want to see. We all know that this data has the ability to completely transform our businesses and, as Magda said, “Data is everything. How well you use your data can determine the degree of your success.”
3. “How do you make customers engage with you?”
The case study with Wolters Kluwer HR Director Małgorzata Tłuchowska and Software Development Director Marcin Kleina, raised this question. They have a 180 year heritage of strong values, deep domain knowledge and their ability to innovate with a focus on the client has allowed them to withstand the test of time. When a company that has been around for nearly 200 years shares insight into customer engagement, you know there is going to be something of value. One of the key things that connected with me, I will simply summarize like this: “We needed to start inside. We decided to start with ourselves and teach our employees about the power of our platform. As they become raving fans, contributing to its efficiency, they will naturally teach the same attitude outside to get people engaged.”
They have worked to create systems within Wolters Kluwer to create incredible engagement within their employees. Part of this was done through a gamification process designed to help employees engage in desired actions and problem solving, find and connect with mentors to help take them to the next level, and even provide employees with the opportunities to gain points, badges and virtual money. They understand that in order to create healthy client engagement they must first have a healthy and engaged corporate culture. For me, it was refreshing to hear an organization who understands the power of starting the change at home before you attempt to change the world.
4. “More Knowledge isn’t what is needed for employees to solve problems, what is needed is for corporations to simply create a space for their employees to be creative and solve the problems.”
I am a huge fan of simulation games in the business context. I have seen their power within teams all over Europe and beyond and I have seen the benefit they have been for many businesses. I am also a huge fan of Lego. Who isn’t? So when Per Kristiansen from Lego Serious Play held a workshop at the Corporate Roundtable, connecting both simulation games and Lego, I was all in. His ability to open up a space for creativity with our Corporate Roundtable group was incredible, and the insight Per shared relating to releasing creative energy from your employees and teams was not just given through the lens of experience, but also demonstrated through one of Lego Serious Play’s simulation games. This allowed us to gain insight, not just from ourselves as we shared our experiences, but also by listening to other participants around our table, giving us an opportunity to connect and hear the experiences and inspirations of others.
5. “We, as an organization, take a lot of risk. Even people in companies, when I come up with ideas, say “That is completely crazy.” Some of those risks are good, some not so good, some really bad. We just take a risk and do it. Sometimes we fail, sometimes we succeed and sometimes we think we will fail, but it just takes time and patience and it becomes a great success.”
I know that is a big quote, but when the CEO of IndaHash, Barbara Sołtysińska, shared about her journey from an employee, who actually really liked being an employee, to starting her own company in order to have the freedom to create things that were on her heart which didn’t fit within the corporate context. IndaHash has become a transformational marketing app that uses the power of over 500,000 influencers around the globe to advertise major brands such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Sephora and many, many more. IndaHash has realized that the real power of advertising is in the hands of your next door neighbor more than in those of celebrities and impersonal recommendations. Barbara’s story is one of risk, IndaHash is company that experiments with risk and pushes the boundaries. Many of us have dreams on our heart and hearing the story of Barbara and IndaHash’s rise to becoming a global influencer, I know, inspired some of us to “just take a risk and do it.”
6. “In order to make this work, our biggest need is transparency and trust so we can work together as one. This is a big challenge.”
When five CEO’s from the top banks in Poland sit down to discuss creating a start-up, that will benefit each other, there are going to be powerful lessons to learn. As a mobile payment platform, BLIK, has become a powerful example of the benefit of collaboration, start-up and serving clients more effectively. Dariusz Mazurkiewicz, CEO of BLIK, shared the beauty and the challenge of passionate leaders coming together with a dream to create a payment platform together. Dariusz shared that these five CEO’s are crazy about startups and they come together each month to share stories, ideas and experiences to motivate each other and continually push for innovation. As a foreigner working with high capacity leaders in our Polish context, I was inspired to hear BLIK’s story. It shows the incredible possibilities of this Transformation Nation, as Dariusz and the other five CEO’s lead by example, paving the way for more and more collaborations that put the needs of the customer in focus and prove that we can all do more and go further together.
The Heart’s Corporate Roundtable is a regular event and, again, I believe it is a great chance for high performing leaders to connect and grow together. I look forward to the next edition and the many more lessons, thoughts and inspirations we will walk home with.
~ By: Nathan Berry
If you would like more information about how to connect and be a part of next Corporate Roundtable, simply contact Martyna Dudkiewicz at m.dudkiewicz@theheart.tech or visit our website with upcoming events, and hopefully we will see you there and have a chance to learn from your experiences and be inspired by your vision as well.
