O-Types Rising
Stagione 1
Ecosystems, AI and Perspective Shifts - with Futuring Architect Ron Kersic
di Jen Rice
Our guest this week is Ron Kersic, a Digital Strategy & Innovation expert at ING who advises both internally and externally with startups and scaleups. In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover platforms and ecosystems, AI's impact on our relationship with computers (shifting from "oracle to muse"), and the importance of rethinking business structures, perspectives and mindsets. Ron also offers practical advice for founders and 'O types' on focusing their curiosity and embracing ambiguity as a strength in the modern business landscape. You can find the Futuring Architectures Substack here. 00:00 Introduction to O Types Rising 00:22 Meet Ron Kersic: Futuring Architect 01:53 Exploring Ecosystems and Platforms 05:54 The Role of Technology in Business 11:14 Generative AI: A New Paradigm 21:25 Rethinking Organizations 24:52 The Value of Niches and Ecosystems 25:59 The Role of External Participants 27:31 Lessons from Airbnb's Ecosystem 28:52 B2B and Ecosystem Innovation 33:44 The Importance of Slowing Down 36:58 Embracing the O Type Mindset 39:16 Advice for O Types and Founders 42:25 Closing Thoughts and Reflections
In this episode of O Types Rising, host Jen Rice interviews Graham Glass, the founder, CEO, and CTO of Cypher Learning - an AI-powered Learning Management System in scale-up mode supported by $40 million in funding. Graham shares his journey from childhood inspiration by English sci-fi to becoming a serial entrepreneur. He discusses the evolution of AI, the future of personalized learning, and how intelligent agents can revolutionize education. Graham also talks about what it takes to succeed as a founder, maintaining a distributed workforce, and the value of mentorship. 00:00 Introduction to O Types Rising 00:22 Meet Graham Glass: Founder of Cypher Learning 00:47 The Genesis of Cypher Learning 04:53 AI and the Future of Education 08:08 The Role of Humans in an AI-Driven World 14:17 The Personal Qualities for Success 24:33 Distributed Workforce and Company Culture 30:40 The Most Important Lesson Learned 33:10 Wrap up
In this first episode of O-Types Rising, host Jen Rice interviews John Durrant, co-founder of Human-Centric Engineering. We discuss the oft-overlooked people and relationship issues within software engineering, focusing on the importance of collaboration and empowerment for true value creation. The relevance of this conversation expands far beyond software teams, delving into the value of self-organizing systems, the benefits of team topologies, and the need to balance specialists with generalists. The episode also explores O-Types, individuals who thrive on curiosity and holistic thinking, and how their contributions can enhance organizational effectiveness at all levels. 00:00 Introduction to O-Types Rising 00:23 Meet John Durrant: Human-Centric Engineering 01:15 The Importance of Relationships in Engineering 01:54 Software is a Team Sport 02:59 No One Wants to Be a Cog in the Machine 04:44 Under-leveraged Potential of SEs and O-Types 07:35 Self-Organizing Systems and Trust 11:34 Team Topologies and Organizational Structure 21:31 The Drawback of Overspecialization 27:32 Balancing Curiosity and Focus 30:12 Unlocking Engineering Team Performance 34:28 Final Thoughts and Advice -- Resources: https://humancentricengineering.substack.com/ https://www.humancentricengineering.com/ Reflections on Palantir re: "forward-deployed engineers"