The Business Simplicity Podcast

Frank started his career at Philips Electronics directly after fulfilling his military service at age 20. Combined that with evening studies. He himself often proclaims not having large theoretical background has the advantage you suffer less from bias to tackle issues – later that was called “being able to think outside the box.” He started in accounting, but quickly saw the opportunities of ICT, just starting up in the early days of his working life. Made the swift from accounting to IT when ERP became hot and happening. Learned a lot from defining a global kernel for Philips – present in 40+ countries. After altogether 29 years of service at Philips, lastly as an architect for accounting, consolidation, fiscal and legal, he switched to the financial institute arena. First at DLL (Rabobank lease affiliate, as IT responsible for innovation) and later to ABNAMRO Lease as an enterprise architect. The various roles forced him to think about how to remain consistent in management support (including reporting of course), as well as how to keep the flexibility to fulfil the spread of local (legal) requirements. And here is where the simplicity journey of Frank began – and he never left that path since. And if there are golden tips on how to achieve simplicity, these are Frank’s; First, you can prepare by knowing very well what are the essential characteristics. In that sense, you really have to master the topic. Essential characteristics can be found “easily” because there is always a clear answer to the question: “which (management) decisions will be influenced if these characteristics are not (or no longer) available?”. Second, once you have the list of essentials, make absolutely sure these are used / registered in the purest form. Pollution equals adding complexity. Nice to-haves are permitted as long as they don’t add complexity = don’t pollute the essentials. With these simple rules, you make everyone’s life easy and simple. However, it takes effort to get to that point but if you can then you can achieve the simplicity nirvana! Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/complexity-creates-itself/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries. Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast

Anil Nashier is a Digital Transformation leader and CIO with almost 25 years of global experience in Senior Leadership/Executive roles spanning Europe, APAC, US & India. Anil has proven credentials in enabling new business models & transforming customer experience via setup of a data-driven digital enterprise. His expertise also includes optimising operating costs through outsourcing and implementing intelligent automation.   He is highly experienced in setting up and managing strategic, operational and financial performance of group-wide technology function for global businesses. An Electronics Engineer and an MBA with dual specialisation in IT and International Business. He also possesses an executive certification in Advance Corporate Finance from the London Business School. Message: He fundamentally believes that technology function must be called as business technology, not information technology. Technology is there for business and businesses are becoming more and more technology.   The core of modern Business Technology function must be to help businesses act as a data-driven digital enterprise. Don’t underestimate the power of “Success creates Success”. Once your snowball starts rolling it can soon become unstoppable (either way!!) In simple words make sure that “RUN” Part of your organisation is on “Auto Pilot” and your “business as usual” is to continue investing in creating differentiating capabilities towards your customers CTA: Businesses with “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality could force them out of business in no time. Understanding and dealing with step change compared with continuous improvement is a critical element of any organisation’s journey towards being a true digital enterprise. Don’t wait otherwise it is too late!!    Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/business-technology/  The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits.   Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.   Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business!   #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast

Chris Parker is the host of The Business Simplicity Podcast and was a participant and facilitator during the Sustainability Sprint with Dstny. On this episode, we flip the script and the other coaches interview Chris about his experience. Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/sustainability-chris/ The Sustainability Sprint The Sustainability Sprint is a series of five half-day workshop sessions, designed and facilitated by expert coaches, for organisations to kick-start their sustainability ambitions. In a structured process, participants explore and align with each other on how best to address sustainability in their business. Over the course of the Sprint, they develop an all-around view of the issues and potential solutions. The sessions combine individual and group assignments, inspiration from guest speakers, customer feedback, and a pitch to executive management. The outcomes are a clear action plan, a high level of motivation, and a feeling of empowerment. The Sustainability Sprint: https://www.qhuba.com/diensten/sustainability/sustainabilitysprint/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #sustainability

Simon Brod is an energy expert, business and sustainability consultant, poet, Argentine tango dancer, and trainee Feldenkrais practitioner. Born in Oxford, he has made Amsterdam his home. He is the owner of Circulus Works, an advisory practice helping corporate clients navigate the transition to clean energy.    Simon previously held management positions in large and small companies in the energy sector, in a career spanning engineering, production planning, commodities trading, commercial development, strategy, and innovation. Alongside helping businesses in the areas of energy and sustainability, he has a deep interest in the body-mind connection and in how we can acquire and train behaviours and attitudes. He is currently attending the London IV Feldenkrais Training and will start offering body-mind learning programmes to clients soon.   Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/sustainability-simon/ The Sustainability Sprint The Sustainability Sprint is a series of five half-day workshop sessions, designed and facilitated by expert coaches, for organisations to kick-start their sustainability ambitions. In a structured process, participants explore and align with each other on how best to address sustainability in their business. Over the course of the Sprint, they develop an all-around view of the issues and potential solutions. The sessions combine individual and group assignments, inspiration from guest speakers, customer feedback, and a pitch to executive management. The outcomes are a clear action plan, a high level of motivation, and a feeling of empowerment. The Sustainability Sprint: https://www.circulusworks.com/sustainability-sprint The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #sustainability

Jessica started her career as a recruitment consultant in IT. As she is always open to new things she dove into beekeeping and made a hobby in to a second career. Helping the bees by creating more biodiversity but also educate companies around these topics. Because of her knowledge around bees and biodiversity she became a natural point of contact around sustainability. That how she started with Chris, Simon and Wim a sustainability sprint to help companies to make the first steps toward being more sustainable.   Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/sustainability-jessica/ The Sustainability Sprint The Sustainability Sprint is a series of five half-day workshop sessions, designed and facilitated by expert coaches, for organisations to kick-start their sustainability ambitions. In a structured process, participants explore and align with each other on how best to address sustainability in their business. Over the course of the Sprint, they develop an all-around view of the issues and potential solutions. The sessions combine individual and group assignments, inspiration from guest speakers, customer feedback, and a pitch to executive management. The outcomes are a clear action plan, a high level of motivation, and a feeling of empowerment. The Sustainability Sprint: https://www.qhuba.com/diensten/sustainability/sustainabilitysprint/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #sustainability

Wim Lubbersen is a certified management consultant with a background in business economics and organisational change. After working for leading companies such as KPMG and PA Consulting he now works as an independent consultant. He loves teaming up with Chris, Jessica and Simon to help organisations define their sustainability agenda with the Sustainability Sprint.  Wim lives in South Africa and combines his consulting work with owning and running Babette Bed & Breakfast, a small boutique B&B close to Cape Town.   Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/sustainability-wim/ The Sustainability Sprint The Sustainability Sprint is a series of five half-day workshop sessions, designed and facilitated by expert coaches, for organisations to kick-start their sustainability ambitions. In a structured process, participants explore and align with each other on how best to address sustainability in their business. Over the course of the Sprint, they develop an all-around view of the issues and potential solutions. The sessions combine individual and group assignments, inspiration from guest speakers, customer feedback, and a pitch to executive management. The outcomes are a clear action plan, a high level of motivation, and a feeling of empowerment. The Sustainability Sprint: https://www.qhuba.com/diensten/sustainability/sustainabilitysprint/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #sustainability

Diane Zandee is versatile.  She is a researcher at Nyenrode Business University, where she is working on her PhD on circular economy and financial challenges. She also teaches at Nyenrode on corporate social responsibility, always from the business perspective. As sustainable CFO, she helps startups understand their business model and their sustainable value in doing so. As a consultant, she also helps companies in their transition to sustainability and to integrate this into their core activities and take employees and supply chain partners along. Her goal is to make an impact and better understand the business side of sustainability. It is about building bridges between our old and new sustainable ways of working.   Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/sustainability-diane/ The Sustainability Sprint The Sustainability Sprint is a series of five half-day workshop sessions, designed and facilitated by expert coaches, for organisations to kick-start their sustainability ambitions. In a structured process, participants explore and align with each other on how best to address sustainability in their business. Over the course of the Sprint, they develop an all-around view of the issues and potential solutions. The sessions combine individual and group assignments, inspiration from guest speakers, customer feedback, and a pitch to executive management. The outcomes are a clear action plan, a high level of motivation, and a feeling of empowerment. The Sustainability Sprint: https://www.qhuba.com/diensten/sustainability/sustainabilitysprint/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #sustainability

Pepijn Palmans is Head of Cloud Infrastructure for the Dstny Group. He has more than 20 years’ experience in IT and 15 years as Managing Director of both Stuart and Kangaroot. This gives a unique insight into both technology and the needs of customers. His technology background, in combination with his people management skills, makes Pepijn the ideal partner to guide companies through large, mission-critical projects.   Pepijn has led several large architecture, operations, and migration projects for bpost, VDAB, the Flemish Government, DHL, and ASA bank, among others. He was responsible for the architecture of Stuart’s Cloud Service Portfolio, which was acquired by Dstny in 2022.  In 2013, Pepijn was nominated for the Junior Chamber International (JCI) for the entrepreneur who does business sustainably in an exceptional way.   In this conversation, Pepijn shares his experience as a participant of the Sustainability Sprint facilitated by Qhuba with Dstny.   Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/sustainability-pepijn/ The Sustainability Sprint The Sustainability Sprint is a series of five half-day workshop sessions, designed and facilitated by expert coaches, for organisations to kick-start their sustainability ambitions. In a structured process, participants explore and align with each other on how best to address sustainability in their business. Over the course of the Sprint, they develop an all-around view of the issues and potential solutions. The sessions combine individual and group assignments, inspiration from guest speakers, customer feedback, and a pitch to executive management. The outcomes are a clear action plan, a high level of motivation, and a feeling of empowerment. The Sustainability Sprint: https://www.qhuba.com/diensten/sustainability/sustainabilitysprint/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #sustainability

Samuel De Wever is the Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder at Destiny. He has entrepreneurship in his blood: at the of sixteen, he founded Belgian Network Solutions, a company that provides services to data centres. In 2008, at the age of 22, he launched the telecom provider Destiny, which focuses exclusively on business customers. He started out with his brother in a basement, and now they are one of the fastest-growing B2B telecom operators in Europe. The key to success has been that they do things differently than the established players. They don’t sell just to sell. They don’t grow just to grow. They have been shouting “cloud” for years because they want to co-create with customers in order to simplify the lives of people everyday. Samuel is head of Engineering at Destiny and is continuously searching for ways to innovate and for ideal partners to cooperate with. He is skilled at combining technology, business, and teamwork. Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/sustainability-samuel/ The Sustainability Sprint The Sustainability Sprint is a series of five half-day workshop sessions, designed and facilitated by expert coaches, for organisations to kick-start their sustainability ambitions. In a structured process, participants explore and align with each other on how best to address sustainability in their business. Over the course of the Sprint, they develop an all-around view of the issues and potential solutions. The sessions combine individual and group assignments, inspiration from guest speakers, customer feedback, and a pitch to executive management. The outcomes are a clear action plan, a high level of motivation, and a feeling of empowerment. The Sustainability Sprint: https://www.qhuba.com/diensten/sustainability/sustainabilitysprint/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits. Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business! #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #sustainability

Qaalfa Dibeehi is the Dean of the Majid Al Futtaim School of Great Moments – a global conglomerate (retail, hotels, property, grocery, luxury, entertainment, cinemas, etc.) where he is responsible for inspiring employees to demonstrate a customer obsessed mindset.     Qaalfa has over 25 years’ experience in the field of Customer Experience. He was previously with Forrester where he was VP – Consulting where he was responsible for Forrester’s customer experience consulting practice. Prior to that, Qaalfa was the Chief Consulting Officer of Beyond Philosophy, a customer experience consultancy.   He has authored two books on customer experience.  He also specializes in innovation, learning and development, and cultural transformation. ⁠Qaalfa holds an MBA in International Business and Management from New York University, as well as additional master’s degrees in Statistics, Psychology, and Public Health Administration from the City University, New York.    Chris and Qaalfa discuss the concept of CX realism in today’s world.  It’s still a new field, and we have learned lessons from the past from CRM.  What do we need to do to make CX achieve its potential?  It comes down to the mindset of employees to believe and care in a way they practice CX in their day jobs.    Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/making-cx-real/  In case you inspired to support men's health through the Movember campaign, learn more here: https://movember.com/m/chrisparkernl  The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits.   Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business!   #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #movember

David King Lassman is an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in EdTech, AdTech and digital content spaces. David led GIGXR in the acquisition of the Immersive Learning Group, a division of Pearson PLC, the world’s largest education publisher. He has overseen the business as it grew its presence across four continents. Today, he focuses on growing the Company’s brand as its Chief Evangelist.   David’s first company, Doublestruck Ltd, provided teacher support software products to over 95% of the UK school market until the company was acquired by AQA, the UK’s largest examination board. In 1999, he founded and was the CEO of Connextra Ltd, a UK-based Internet business providing online marketing, analytical and contextual advertising solutions to the global betting industry, where he led the business through two investment rounds to profitability and a trade sale in 2005.  David has been at the forefront of the flourishing So Cal startup ecosystem, founding and supporting startups in the digital content space while growing his venture fund and consulting company, Whitehart Ventures.   On the podcast, David and Chris a had great chat about luck, timing and perseverance in business. Is there a place for emotionally-driven entrepreneurs or, at the end of the day, is the rule book the only path to success?   Knowing when to let go of a business that isn’t working is one of the greatest challenges an entrepreneur faces, especially when they are still convinced by the vision… but cutting the cord can be a liberating experience and the lessons you can take with you from your failures will help drive your successes as you move forward.    Innovating within a new technology paradigm presents its own challenges. Part of the battle is educating users about the medium before you can talk about the value proposition of the solution. But if you can get to show someone how a new technology can make an existing challenge easier to execute, chances are you will be able to win them over.    Most importantly, the joy from the arrival of a new puppy trumps all things.    Chris mentioned David’s own podcast – ExploreXR – and in particular the episode with Luke DeVore from Unity.  Listen to it here: https://explore-xr.simplecast.com/episodes/luke-devore   Website: https://www.gigxr.com/   Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkl64/  In case you inspired to support men's health through the Movember campaign, learn more here: https://movember.com/m/chrisparkernl  The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits.   Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.  Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business!   #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #movember

Gerphil Kerkhof has turned around his life several times. After having studied German Language & Literature (and Philosophy) he worked himself into the business world. He started as a market researcher in the IT market, later on, he became a management consultant in business/IT alignment and ‘ended’ as an enterprise architect.   Seven years ago he went through a process of deep personal transformation, also known (and experienced as) burn-out. During his recovery, he reinvented himself using Orientation on Being into a "Zijnsgeoriënteerd” therapist and (life) coach. His focus is on burn-out and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and in general on coaching people to turn their ‘Disaster’ into Opportunity. He lives together with Jantina for 25 years, and has three sons from a previous marriage and three granddaughters.   Essential Waves is the name of Gerphil's practice, where he coaches his clients. In addition, and as his prime means to market, he offers a website, where he publishes his views and approach of in particular burn-out and ADD, and on emotional and spiritual growth.   In this conversation, Gerphil and Chris talk about how healthy engagement at work can contribute to improved performance and better mental health overall.  We discuss the key elements of effective stress management, including having influence, autonomy and social support.  There are also risks of being too attached to your work.   Website: https://www.essentialwaves.nl/  Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gerphil-kerkhof/  Find Gerphil's first conversation on the podcast here: https://ebullient.com/podcast/gerphilkerkhof/  In case you inspired to support men's health through the Movember campaign, learn more here: https://movember.com/m/chrisparkernl  The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits.  Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.   Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business!   #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast #movember

Hessel Kaastra is an experienced business leader working at LeasePlan, a leading global Car-as-a-Service company. He managed the start-up in Mexico from 2008 till 2013, and subsequently realized an ambitious global expansion strategy as a value stream leader and CEO of the group insurance company based in Ireland. More recently, he turned around the Austrian operations, returning the company to growth and profitability.   Prior to joining LeasePlan, he studied Aerospace Engineering, worked at Thales, a leading French defence & aerospace group, completed an MBA at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, and joined Bain & Company in Amsterdam, a strategy consultancy firm.   Hessel wrote the book, “The 6 Disciplines of Leadership – How to Run Your Company Like a Tight Ship” during the last winter when he was once again caught in lockdown due to Covid. The book is the product of self-reflection over his years as a CEO / Managing Director.   Running a company is a complex endeavour and requires taking many decisions every day. CEOs need to continuously trade-off if they will stand firm and exercise power, or if they will be flexible thereby changing and adapting. The solution to that dilemma is dependent on many factors and are explored in the book along 6 dimensions:   Strategy  P&L management  Innovation & technology  People & Performance  Culture & teamwork  Self-deployment   The 6 Disciplines of Leadership is a field guide for anyone who is running a company or aspires to run a company someday. It comprises very comprehensive and practical advice on how to handle various CEO challenges, supported by many examples taken from business life.   Buy the book: https://www.the-6-disciplines.com/  Listen here: https://ebullient.com/listen/  Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/six-disciplines/ The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits.  Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.   Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business!   #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast

Mathis André is an Entrepreneur and product guy. He loves to turn ideas into new products to initially solve people's problems.   This is how he came to turn FAQs into smart agents to improve customer experience better. Mathis started his career at 16 years old building his first web business in his bedroom before starting Faqbot, he thought that all is about execution and nothing else. Today Mathis is managing the product he initially founded FAQ-bot in the Dstny Group and continues to build very cool innovations.   Mathis is first a problem-solver, he believes that the best way to build great products is by constantly hearing people and not to develop a ton of new features just because it is cool. For him, the best way to provide value is to hear people and execute a little bit of talent to create great solutions that people will use.   See Faqbot powered chatbots in action here: https://pinergy.ie/ & https://www.decathlon.cz/help/app/home (you can change the language when you click on the chatbot on the bottom right of this screen).  Listen here: https://ebullient.com/listen/ Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/chatbots-made-simple/  The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits.   Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.   Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business!   #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast

Francisco Palao is an internationally awarded innovator who has helped companies around the world transform their business models and teams.  Francisco has published a selection of books offering methodologies which transform organizations and people based on solid validated practices worldwide and his own experience.   In this episode, we explore his latest book: Positive Impact – The Purpose Launchpad mindset and the framework to improve your startup, your organization, and the world.   Learn more: https://ebullient.com/podcast/positive-impact/  The Business Simplicity Podcast is where leaders share their most successful strategies and the failures that inspired them so you can avoid the suffering and reap the benefits.   Guests have a wide diversity of backgrounds. We highlight people from around the world working in the environment, education, entertainment, and many other industries.   Simplify your thinking to accelerate your business!   #ebullient #business #simplicity #podcast