S5 E5 - The Transformative Power of Culture with William Kilmer

The Inspire Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, Bart welcomes William Kilmer, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author of a new book, Transformative. William’s book looks at how great companies do more than produce great products and instead transform markets they can enter and win in. Yet William explains that in his experience, leaders spend too little time on their culture, to their detriment. He explains how to retool your organization by auditing your culture, setting up a challenge culture, and then implementing a continued decision review process. A great listen for anyone who has been focused on what it takes to win in the market — and who may need a reminder to look inward at the same time. Visit William's website to learn more: https://www.williamkilmer.com/ 00:15 Show Intro 00:53 Introducing William 01:31 Book: Transformative - what it tackles 02:21 3 key challenges facing businesses 04:19 What defines great leadership culture? 05:13 Intentionality 05:57 Steve Jobs 06:14 Satya Nadella 06:42 Advice on creating good culture 07:22 Knowing who your customer is 09:12 iPod example 09:32 Netflix 10:48 Culture and values 12:29 Unique values help companies perform better 13:15 Netflix culture set by Reid Hastings 13:38 Netflix culture deck 14:56 Advantages of a good culture 16:15 Why don't CEOs put more into culture? 16:52 Most leaders have not been well-trained on culture 17:11 Auditing your culture 18:30 Shift in culture goals 20:09 Contest between command and control vs interdependence model 21:40 How do you assess your culture? 24:51 Become a challenge-setting organization 26:24 OODA loop 29:22 How do leaders make the OODA loop happen? 30:09 Overcoming your own tendencies and filtering biases 30:57 Bart sums up 32:51 Where to find out more? 33:17 Thank yous 33:31 Outro