Our Podcast
In the podcast Inflect, the FlexPoint Consulting team talks with clients and colleagues about navigating the critical inflection points of business and life. Hosted by Founder and CEO, Michael Daehne, these conversations reflect decades of experience with business transformation, curiosity in seeking out perspectives, and a sense of humility and good cheer through it all.
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Maintaining a Strong Data Foundation to Drive Business Results
Justin Nguyen, a senior data leader at the Home Depot, talks with Michael about data engineering’s critical inflection point, the importance of organizational culture and intellectual curiosity in the teams he’s led, and some of his favorite AI hacks for parenting.
Putting People at the Center of Organizational Effectiveness
Michael talks with Lynda Garcia about the value of real world, on-the-job training, the often-overlooked common-sense test, and some tips and tricks for talent calibration and succession planning. Lynda is a passionate HR executive with a proven track record of developing and implementing organizational effectiveness strategies, and she really puts people first in org design and talent management.
Building a Culture of Change Leadership
Michael talks with Biron Pickens, Vice President of Organization Effectiveness and Change Leadership at McKesson, about how great organizations like Southwest foster a unique culture, how leaders can prepare their people for advancements in technology like Artificial Intelligence, and suggestions for executives leading large-scale change management and transformations.
Preparing for Business Transformation
Michael Daehne goes behind the scenes of preparing for business transformation with FlexPoint business readiness experts Pedro Cortez and Liz Pryor. They share what has worked well for them, as well as natural tensions to navigate throughout business transformation, based on their experience in consolidating tools in a merger, building custom software, leading major transformation programs, and more.
Leading with Your Head and Your Heart
Following the announcement of her upcoming departure this fall, Amy Mills, CEO of Emancipet, joins Michael to reflect on the veterinary care non-profit’s mission and growth over the past 17 years. Amy shares her personal origin story of finding Emancipet, her experiences navigating significant cultural change as a new leader, her vision for the organization, and her favorite part of the job.
Bridging the Accounting and Technology Domains
Michael talks with William Wu, public accountant and expense optimization aficionado. William takes us behind the scenes at his firm, Expense Reduction Analysts, and talks through how they work with organizations to look at their spending across a number of buckets within the organization, compare those to benchmarks, and find opportunities going forward to more effectively manage spend.
Finding Meaning through the Hero’s Journey
Michael talks with Ben Rogers, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, about Ben’s research around the meaning of work and narratives in the workplace. They focus specifically on how the hero’s journey is a way for us all to find meaning in our work.
BBQ and Business Transformation
Since at FlexPoint, we care deeply about both barbecue and business transformation, and excelling in them can be tricky, we compiled five lessons that apply to both. Kim Ehrman shares them in this episode: Make a plan before you light the fire. Keep it simple, stupid. Measure, monitor, and adjust. Pack your patience and survive the stall. And don't over-index on the sauce.
A Human Approach to Technology Leadership
In this episode, Michael Daehne talks with Dan McDermott, Chief Information Officer at Tank Holding Corp., about lessons learned from mergers and acquisitions and Dan’s four principles of performance management, which guide him in selecting, managing, and developing talent. The lightning round includes Dan’s favorite activities outside of work, book recommendations, and what he’d be doing if he weren’t a technology leader.
Solving New Business Challenges with Generative AI
In this episode, Michael Daehne, Founder and CEO of FlexPoint Consulting, talks with Shikhar Singh, Enterprise Solutions Lead at Copy.ai. Shikhar describes how the team at Copy.ai has built and personally used generative AI tools not just to boost productivity but to solve new business challenges.
Second Anniversary Ask-Me-Anything
To celebrate the second anniversary of FlexPoint Consulting, the FlexPoint team turns the microphone on Michael Daehne, Founder and CEO, for an ask-me-anything episode.
Michael fields questions about his entrepreneurial journey and the first two years of running FlexPoint. The group also discusses working through common challenges in business transformation. Then we close with a lightning round of more casual questions.
Introducing the FlexPoint Community Investment Program
In a special mini episode of Inflect, Kim Ehrman, Director of Business Transformation, makes a special announcement from the FlexPoint Consulting team. The new FlexPoint Community Investment program includes three unique ways for non-profit and community organizations to receive strategic consulting, totally free of charge, including strategic advisory, strategic planning workshops, and flexible project work.
Navigating Change with Mental Wellness
In our fifth episode of Inflect, FlexPoint Consulting Founder & CEO Michael Daehne talks with Gloria Chan Packer, Principal and Founder of Recalibrate, about her big inflection point of shifting from management consulting to founding a workplace mental wellness firm. Gloria describes several symptoms of unhealthy stress, to help us be more aware of when stress and anxiety ramp up too much, and she shares three tips for navigating transformative change well.
Business Applications of Generative AI
In our fourth Fireside Chat, FlexPoint Consulting Founder & CEO Michael Daehne is joined by Rachel Lockett, Chief Information Officer at Pohlad Companies, to discuss the innovations and business applications of generative AI and unpack the explosive growth of tools like ChatGPT.
Excelling in Transformation Leadership
In our third fireside chat, FlexPoint Consulting Founder & CEO Michael Daehne talks with Steve Abernathy, VP of Service Excellence and Advanced Analytics at Archrock. Steve shares wisdom on leadership, key differentiators in transformation, and change management.
Leading Teams through Complex Transformations
In our second fireside chat, FlexPoint Consulting Founder & CEO Michael Daehne talks to Dan Ritch, CEO of SunStream Business Services, about Dan's journey as a technology and business leader and his pearls of wisdom for leading teams through complex digital transformations.
The Road to Transformation Success
In our first-ever FlexPoint Fireside Chat, FlexPoint Consulting Founder & CEO Michael Daehne talks to Rachel Lockett, Chief Information Officer at Pohlad Companies, about Carousel Motor Group's innovative new pre-owned car-buying experience, Carousel Online.
“Transforming core processes — our secret sauce — can be a big differentiator. That reminds me of The Process Edge by Peter Keen. He discussed leaning into identity processes to find a competitive advantage. It’s important to make sure you’re always looking forward. I ask myself: what is the process differentiates us, and how do we capitalize on that?
Often, you do have to transform that process over time because the market changes, and the world changes around us.”
Excelling in Transformation Leadership with Steve Abernathy, VP of Service Excellence & Advanced Analytics at Archrock