Simon Robinson, Business Where People and Planet Matter — InnovaBuzz 547
Simon Robinson, Holonomics
Our guest in this episode is Simon Robinson, the CEO (Worldwide) of Holonomics, co-founder of the Deep Tech Network, a Technology Magazine columnist, Harvard Business Review author and co-author of Deep Tech and the Amplified Organisation, Customer Experiences with Soul: A New Era in Design and Holonomics: Business Where People and Planet Matter. Simon is respected globally for his contributions to customer experience strategy and Deep Tech, having created numerous design methods and frameworks such as the New 4Ps and the Holonomic Circle. With three decades of experience in customer experience design, Simon is an internet pioneer and award-winning innovator, having co-founded British Telecom’s Genie Internet, the world’s first mobile internet portal, and contributing to the design and launch of the world’s first smart phones.
In our conversation Simon talked to me about
- Customer experience and employee experience based on values and value proposition;
- Elevated value propositions based on customer lived experiences;
- Strategy as a way of organizing conversations.
Listen to the podcast to find out more.
Mike Wittenstein in episode 532 introduced us to Simon.
Listen to the Podcast
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Show Notes from this episode with Simon Robinson, Holonomics
Key points and takeaways from this episode include:
- It is possible to have an impact by basing your work on the five universal human values of peace, truth, love, nonviolence and right action.
- Technology should be in service of people.
- By understanding and internalizing the universal human values, companies can design products and services that give us a deeper experience as human beings.
- You can’t have digital transformation without a cultural transformation and without amplifying your impact.
- When we embody all five universal human values in what we do and in our relationships with people, that is the greatest expression of humanity.
- Deep technology is technology that has a positive impact on society by expressing or allowing people to express the five universal human values.
- Organizations need to understand the universal human values and connect people with the essence of what the organization is doing, how they provide value and the impact they seek to achieve.
- The HR team is not just an operational department. They should have a strategic role in the boardroom with a focus on the human dimension and valuing people.
- Customer experience and employee experience should be seen as a human individual that has a situation which needs to be dealt with.
- The most important thing executives can do is articulate their value proposition. This is getting away from a technology centric view of value thinking. It’s not possible to innovate and be creative without doing this kind of groundwork.
- It is good to develop things, but if those things are not fully integrated into the strategy, into the heart of the organization, they won’t have long term impact.
- Too often, technology is developed without considering how it will impact those that are not part of the development process. This can lead to negative consequences, such as exclusion or even harm. When technology is developed with people first in mind, it is more likely to be inclusive and have a positive impact.
- Customer experience can be thought of in three dimensions: customer success, amount of customer effort required and the emotional dimension — how it made them feel.
- By tapping into people’s lived experiences you can create an elevated value proposition. Start with the experience you wish to offer.
- Strategy is a way of organizing conversations and helping people to fully align themselves with the organization’s mission.
- Story is a way to capture all the complexity of a strategy in a way that articulates the interconnections and aligns people throughout the organization.
- Organizations need to have a strategy and communication that allows them to be agile, to react to an ever more rapidly changing economic and social landscape. Effective transmission of information and data as well as meaningful conversations through human values are required.
The Buzz — Our Innovation Round
Here are Simon’s answers to the questions of our innovation round. Listen to the conversation to get the full scoop.
- 1 thing to be more innovative — Think about value in terms of the experience you are wishing to provide.
- Best thing for new ideas — Writing down my ideas as soon as I have them, no matter how vague. Then review them.
- Favourite tool for innovation — Physical post-it notes. Record virtual conversations as a way to review things I’ve articulated when in a state of flow.
- Keep project/client on track — Continually check assumptions.
- Differentiate — Go deep in your work and don’t be afraid to be philosophical.
Action
Always base everything you do on your values. That will be your guide to know when to say yes and when to say no.
Reach Out
You can reach out and thank Simon through his website or LinkedIn.
Suggested Guest
Simon suggested we have a conversation with Design Manager at the Centre for Change Making and Social Innovation, Georgian College in Ontrario, Nicole Norris, on a future InnovaBuzz Podcast episode.
Links
- Website — Holonomics
- Website — Transition Consciousness
- Twitter — @srerobinson
- Instagram — @srerobinson1
- Medium
Books
- Holonomics: Business Where People and Planet Matter, Simon Robinson and Maria Moraes Robinson
- Deep Tech and the Amplified Organisation, Simon Robinson and Maria Moraes Robinson
- Customer Experiences With Soul, Simon Robinson and Maria Moraes Robinson
Cool Things About Simon
- Simon is a Harvard Business Review author, an international keynote speaker and the editor of www.transitionconsciousness.org
- He is a a guest lecturer at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, running the course Transformational Design Thinking, a unique course which combines Designing Thinking with Holonomics and his Customer Experiences with Soul framework.
- He is also co-founder of Holonomics Publishing, the international publishing division of Holonomics Education. Their mission is to publish books which are inspired by the philosophy of Holonomics.
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