Consulting

70% of change initiatives fail. (And it's rarely because the idea was bad.) Here's what actually kills transformation: You picked the wrong change model for the job. It's like performing surgery with a hammer. Sure, you're using a tool. But it's the wrong one. I've watched brilliant CEOs tank their companies this way: Using individual coaching (ADKAR) for company-wide transformation. Result: 200 people change. 2,000 don't. Running a massive 8-step program for a simple process fix. Result: 6 months wasted. Team exhausted. Nothing changes. Forcing top-down mandates when they needed subtle nudges. Result: Rebellion. Resentment. Resignation letters. Here's what nobody tells you about change: The size of your change determines your approach. Real examples from the field: 💡 Startup pivoting product: → Used Lewin's 3-stage (unfreeze old way, change, refreeze) → 3 months. Clean transition. Team aligned. 💡 Enterprise going digital: → Used Kotter's 8-step process → Created urgency first. Built coalition. Enabled action. → 18 months later: $50M in new revenue. 💡 Sales team adopting new CRM: → Used Nudge Theory → Made old system harder to access → Put new system as browser homepage → 95% adoption in 2 weeks. Zero complaints. The expensive truth: Wrong model = wasted months + burned budgets + broken trust Right model = faster adoption + sustained results + energized teams Warning signs you're using the wrong model: • High activity, low progress • People comply but don't commit • Changes revert within weeks • Energy drops as you push harder • "This too shall pass" becomes the motto Match your medicine to your ailment: Small behavior change? Nudge it. Individual performance? ADKAR it. Cultural shift? Influence it. Full transformation? Kotter it. Enterprise overhaul? BCG it. Stop treating every change like a nail. Start choosing the right tool for the job. Your next change initiative depends on it. Your team's trust demands it. Your company's future requires it. Save this. Share it with your leadership team. Because the next time someone says "people resist change," you'll know the truth: People don't resist change. They resist the wrong approach to change. P.S. Want a PDF of my Change Management cheat sheet? Get it free: https://lnkd.in/dv7biXUs ♻️ Repost to help a leader in your network. Follow Eric Partaker for more operational insights. — 📢 Want to lead like a world-class CEO? Join my FREE TRAINING: "The 8 Qualities That Separate World-Class CEOs From Everyone Else" Thu Jul 3rd, 12 noon Eastern / 5pm UK time https://lnkd.in/dy-6w_rx 📌 The CEO Accelerator starts July 23rd. 20+ Founders & CEOs have already enrolled. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/dwndXMAk

I interviewed 20 sustainability managers 🎙️ That's their #1 pain point 🤕 ➡️ "Reporting is 1st. Impact is 2nd". Challenges that I can see with sustainability in companies: ❌ Competing frameworks confuse. ❌ Data collection becomes more important than actual impact ❌ Disconnect between reporting teams and operational teams ❌ Excessive time spent on documentation. ❌ Risk of greenwashing through selective reporting (I am sure you have your observations to add🙄) 5 secrets to turn this into the biggest opportunity for change: ✅ Use reporting to clarify sustainability vision 100%. ✅ Identify in-company 'spoilers' - and engage them! ✅ Change sustainability reporting from 'a burden' for all, to an 'invitation to do good' for each individual. ✅ Turn deadlines into celebration moments for internal change. ✅ Use data requirements as opportunities to understand the entire value chain (and opportunities for change). You know the pain ?🧐 📲 Ping me to re-write the script on your sustainability reporting ♻️ #circulareconomy #zerowaste #sustainability

30m PowerPoint presentations are generated daily. Why is this significant? Your average professional dedicates up to 2 workdays weekly to crafting or attending presentations. This is a costly issue: Slides can hinder efficiency, encourage shallow thinking, and potentially lead to a disengaged team. "Many years back, we banned PowerPoint presentations at Amazon. It's probably the wisest decision we ever made." – Jeff Bezos Here are 8 alternatives to 'Death by Powerpoint': 1 - Compose a Memo At Amazon, meetings begin with participants quietly reading a six-page, narratively-structured document.  The outcome: sharper thinking, improved decisions. 2 - Present a Video In today's world, videos are simple to create using smartphones and AI tools.  The outcome: enhanced creativity, greater engagement. 3 - Implement Ignite Talks Five minutes, 20 slides, automatically advancing every 15 seconds.  The outcome: More succinct and powerful presentations. 4 - Craft a Narrative Using appropriate frameworks, we can develop a story much quicker than building a deck.  The outcome: People are 20 times more likely to retain facts woven into a narrative. 5 - Conduct an Interactive Workshop Engage the audience and allow them to devise solutions in smaller groups.  The outcome: Rather than being passive listeners, they become highly involved and take ownership. 6 - Offer a Live Demonstration Showcase your product or concept. Allow others to experience it.  The outcome: The multi-sensory experience reinforces your message. 7 - Organize a Role-Play How might customers, investors or employees respond? Discover through a role-playing exercise.  The outcome: More enjoyable, fresh insights, less preparation time. 8 - Deliver a TED-style Talk Present your idea in a TED Talk format, emphasizing storytelling and audience connection. The outcome: You convey a compelling message in a memorable manner. ♻️ Please share with your network. 📌 And follow Oliver Aust for more practical tips on leadership communication.

Let's talk about "disability simulation" activities. You've likely heard about or participated in them. They involve having nondisabled people try to push a wheelchair around, put on a blindfold, or pop in a pair of earplugs with the intention that it'll bring about more empathy and awareness toward the disability experience. The problem? These activities can do way more harm than good. It's essentially playing a game of pretend with an identity, and it completely ignores the nuances that come from lived experiences. In many cases, simulating disability can have the opposite of the intended effect to promote genuine understanding, instead evoking confusion, fear, and pity. Skift Meetings recently sang the praises of disability simulations hosted by PCMA as a way for event planners to learn how to make events more inclusive. (I'm sharing the article only for context, not because I wish to promote it.) They recommended having nondisabled planners use a wheelchair in an event space as a "top tip" for ensuring an environment is accessible. Please, DO NOT take this advice. An hour of a supposedly "immersive" and "experiential" activity barely offers a glimpse into the nuanced day-to-day experience of navigating the world as a disabled person who uses a custom piece of mobility equipment. Disability is a part of me, and how I get around is intrinsic to my existence. The disability community constantly advocates for access and repeatedly shares insights based on what we know about inhabiting our minds and bodies. Event organizers shouldn't have to "try on" a disability like a new pair of shoes in order to take us at our word about accessibility needs. Especially considering that it's Disability Pride Month, it cuts just a little bit deeper knowing that a major organization is being so willingly reductive toward disability under the guise of promoting accessibility and inclusion. The best way to ensure accessible events? Simple: hire disabled accessibility consultants as part of your planning process. Instead of trying to roll a mile in my chair, please move alongside me and I'll gladly be your guide. #DisabilityInclusion #DisabilityAwareness #DisabilityPride #DisabilityPrideMonth #Accessibility #A11y #EventPlanning #MeetingPlanning #LinkedInTopVoices

Is Now the Time to Get Serious About Healthcare Costs? If Yes, Priority #1 is to identify low value specialist care for high cost claimants. This video tells you Step-By-Step How to Do That using Claims Data. 1) Identify claimants with >$100K in total medical and pharmacy spend for a plan year 2) Chronologically list their dates of service in rows with the following fields (i.e. columns): Doctor Name, NPI Number, Facility Name, Facility Tax ID Number, Allowed Amount (or Plan Paid Amount), Diagnosis Codes, CPT Codes 3) Have a clinician review this claims 'story' to see if it follows the standard of care. Those specialists that DO NOT follow the standard of care are low value specialists. Once low value specialists are identified, the solution is to STEER health plan members away from these low value specialists. This steerage can be accomplished via: 1. Primary Care 2. Plan Design 3. Navigation 4. Centers of Excellence #Healthcare #HealthcareCosts #HealthInsurance #EmployeeBenefits

Basics of Cybersecurity: What Every Tech Professional Must Know Today In our world, cybersecurity knowledge isn't optional anymore. Let me share some actual numbers and practical insights that matter to every Tech professional: The Big Three Threats You Need to Know: 1. Phishing attacks cause 90% of all data breaches. These aren't just spam emails - they're sophisticated scams that can fool even experienced users. The fix? Strong email filters and two-factor authentication are your best defense. 2. Ransomware isn't just about paying ransom - companies lose millions in downtime alone. Regular backups and solid recovery plans are essential, not optional. 3. DDoS attacks can shut down your entire business in minutes. Cloud-based protection and load balancing aren't fancy extras - they're basic necessities. What has really worked in 2024: - End-to-end encryption for all sensitive data - Regular security training for all staff (not just IT) - Automated threat detection tools - Continuous system monitoring The Truth: Most successful attacks exploit basic security gaps. Good security isn't about complex solutions - it's about getting the fundamentals right every single day.

In 2021, I became the first woman to head a unicorn in Israel, AKA Startup Nation. In many parts of the world, women are excluded from even the most basic financial services, so leading a fintech company is far from their reality. United Nations data estimates that 3.8 billion women live in the world, 50% of which are adults. According to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database, 1.4 billion of those 1.9 billion adult women, are unbanked. That’s 73.65%. Visit that statistic again. It represents a disturbing gender gap in financial access, with women being far less likely than men to have bank accounts or access formal financial services. This financial exclusion has personal impact. It diminishes women’s economic empowerment by restricting access to education and limiting their potential for personal growth and independence. It makes women more financially dependent, and therefore, more vulnerable. There's economic impact, too. Research by McKinsey highlights the economic loss due to financial exclusion of women, noting that closing the gender gap in labor force participation could add trillions to global GDP. Financial inclusion isn’t just a matter of equality – ensuring the same opportunities for all. It’s a matter of equity - ensuring women have the tools and access they need to fully participate in the global economy. That’s where technology enters the picture to level the field. The rise of mobile banking is a great example of innovation enhancing financial inclusion. According to a report by the International Finance Corporation, mobile money accounts are more popular among women in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa, where access to traditional banking is limited. Various fintechs provide financial literacy resources, helping women understand financial products, budgeting, and saving strategies. Other solutions include AI-driven platforms that offer personalized recommendations and advice, empowering women to make informed financial decisions. Aside from personal apps and solutions, fintechs can facilitate community-based lending and saving initiatives, allowing women to support each other through group savings or microfinance schemes, fostering a sense of solidarity and shared purpose. This International Women’s Day’s theme is "accelerate action". In my mind, nothing accelerates action like innovation. As we mark International Women's Day, let’s advocate and innovate to enhance financial inclusion for women worldwide. #IWD2025 #financialInclusion Papaya Global

We grew an email list from 0 to 500K subscribers in just 10 months. If I were starting from scratch today, here's exactly how I'd do it again: 1) Nail the Lead Magnet: The fastest way to grow your email list is by offering something valuable in exchange for an email. Think of it like this: people won't give up their email for nothing. Create something they can't ignore: a discount, exclusive content, or a tool they can’t find elsewhere. For us, offering free travel guides was a game-changer. 2) Optimize for Opt-Ins Everywhere: Your website, blog, and even social media accounts should work like opt-in machines. For example: - Add pop-ups and fly outs on key pages. - Place CTAs above the fold. - Use scroll-triggered modals when visitors are engaged. We tested endlessly, and this attention to detail paid off big. 3) Tap Into Paid Growth Early: Ads get a bad rep, but when done right, they’re a growth accelerant. We launched targeted ads promoting our lead magnet and built a funnel that turned traffic into email signups. Paid campaigns helped us scale fast while testing which offers resonated with our audience. 4) Partner with the Right People: Collaborations can grow your list faster than any single effort. Whether it’s co-branded giveaways, email swaps, or shoutouts, find brands or creators that share your target audience. A well-executed partnership will unlock exponential growth. One really unique thing we did: We bought a bunch of viral social accounts and rebranded them for our business. This was huge in kickstarting massive and sustainable growth. And we fast-tracked the social proof we needed to build trust and scale quickly. 5) Focus on Quality, Not Just Quantity: A big list is meaningless without engagement. From Day 1, we focused on high-value emails to ensure subscribers opened, clicked, and stayed. Here’s a pro tip: Consistency wins. Sending emails weekly or bi-weekly keeps your list warm and engaged. 6) Build a Content Machine: Pair email growth with an organic content strategy that feeds your funnel. Blog posts, social media, and SEO aren’t just good for traffic—they create trust. The more valuable content you share, the more people will want to hear from you. 7) Leverage Cheap Marketing Channels in Ways Others Haven’t: This is going to ruffle some feathers but we absolutely dominated cold email for user acquisition. To the tune of 6 figure subscriber acquisition. No one was doing cold email for B2C the way we did it. This proved to be the most scalable yet cheapest acquisition channel we had. — To recap: - Offer something valuable for free to grow your list. - Use every channel—paid and organic—to drive opt-ins. - Build relationships with partners who already have your audience. The result? A system that scales. Your list is the one asset you fully own—start building it ASAP!

The real work begins after the ink dries – my M&A learnings. According to most studies, between 70-90% of M&A transaction do not deliver the targeted goals. Experienced M&A practitioners identify problems in the integration as a primary cause. Over the past years, I have had the privilege of being involved in several M&A transactions at HDI International – from strategic evaluation to post-merger integration. Each deal brought its own dynamics, but one truth remained constant: the most challenging time begins after the signing. Here are my top personal learnings from post-merger integrations: 1️⃣ Start integration early and move fast – Integration planning should begin very early on, even before signing. A clear roadmap for the following months sets expectations and creates transparency thus reducing the uncertainty each integration phase will inevitably bring. Moving diligently, but fast through the integration phases and defining the leadership teams early on also helps to reduce the uncertainty. 2️⃣ Define clear targets and keep a business focus – We defined for the integration financial and operational goals overall and for each area top-down and bottom-up. This created clarity and commitment. We also continuously tracked the progress made. This helped to keep a clear focus on the market and our business momentum while also achieving the targeted synergies. 3️⃣ Culture is not a soft factor – It’s often the hardest and most decisive element. Our teams made it a priority to establish a common culture that fits both companies. True to the motto: listening, adjusting, and moving forward together. Our overall values of transparency, engagement and collaboration are at the basis of the new common culture and were critical in each integration process. 4️⃣ Embrace feedback – A healthy error culture and open feedback loops are essential. When moving fast in such a complex integration process, surprises and mistakes will happen. It is thus key to identify and address them quickly and to learn from them. 5️⃣ It’s a team effort – Integration success very much depends on the team you have on the ground, not only in our decentral organization. We have leaders who know the market, their business operation and their teams deeply. In addition, quite a number of leaders already have vast experience in post-merger management. On top, it wasn’t just our leadership teams who made the difference – it was every colleague who embraced the integration as an opportunity to build a leading business in their market, adapting and supporting each other, going the extra mile while maintaining the business momentum. 🙏 I’m grateful to everybody who has made the integrations of the past years successful – with dedication, resilience, openness, and a shared vision. The results and progress we achieved so far would not be possible without you. I would love to hear from you: What are your key learnings from post-merger integrations? What worked – and what didn’t?

Convincing your client to approve your design is not easy! Often, clients may not be aware of design principles but their input is invaluable because they are the final approvers.  So how do you ensure the client not only understands the design but also feels confident in its effectiveness? This is why our team presents the logo in real-life scenarios:  → Showing a logo in practical situations like products, billboards, social media, or business cards gives a tangible sense of its application. A flat design might look great on paper, but seeing how it will look practically creates a stronger connection. → Use slides to narrate how the design aligns with the brand’s identity and communicates its message. Visual aids like showing the logo in a monochrome version or alongside branding elements help clients visualize the bigger picture.  A good presentation will not only get approved faster but also ensure the client sees its value. In fact, more than 50% of our clients mention how interactive and personalised the presentation was making it easier for them to make a decision. Do you give your clients a practical overview of your logo? #graphicdesign