Generating Your Own Crisis: How The Barcode's Organization Moves Towards The Future

Lost In Transformation

“If we want to be ready for the future, […] we have to generate our own crisis.” This podcast episode features our guest Thomas Fell, CEO of GS1, a company known for its most famous product, the barcode, as he guides as through the organization’s inspiring transformation program.
Learn how GS1 turned VUCA from a thread into an opportunity, how to build trust to master cultural change, and why GS1 now works in honey combs.

Chapters

1. Generating Your Own Crisis: How The Barcode's Organization Moves Towards The Future (00:00:00)

2. What was the reason for the GS1 transformation? (00:04:33)

3. Why the reason for transformation is often a financial crisis? (00:06:37)

4. Changing VUCA translation from a threat into a solution (00:12:13)

5. How the team of 12 people started transforming the company? (00:16:37)

6. Cultural change takes years - building trust is a marathon, not a sprint (00:24:49)

7. Vision of future for GS1 - transformation never stops (00:27:46)

8. What does it mean to turn departments into honey combs and how it works? (00:29:21)

9. Four main metrics for GS1 - net promoter score, free cashflow, employee engagement index and revenue (00:31:52)