Dave is Vice President of Information Technology for National Material L.P.; a partnership of over 30 business units in steel, metals, and related operations that is now one of the largest suppliers of steel in America. That is a high-profile role where there’s a lot at stake. Dave, though, has a way of boiling down the complex into simply, straightforward tasks. To me, a sign he’s not only very good at what he does, but likely a very good person to work with. Give it a listen

His industry recognized expertise helps clients navigate those often-competing forces towards better project outcomes. These large projects tend to have a host of competing stakeholder interests, and things can get complicated fast. Luckily, markets respond quickly to public priorities and, consequently, there’s some cool stuff happening in rail technology.

Big trains and cool technology, what more do you want!? Listen in…..

A transformation that took time, some failure, learning to ask questions, and how to value those answers. He gives some great examples of how being open to learning, by whatever means, he developed skills and interests that he didn’t know he had or even wanted. The lesson is that even perfectly designed plans, developed in a vacuum, are often useless without the input of all the stakeholders involved.

If that isn’t strategic, I don’t know what is. Give it a listen.

This is a great business with competitive advantage and high returns to capital. A nice place to be for any firm, but the question then becomes what are you going to do next? Rio Tinto isn’t standing idle. They’re innovating for efficiencies, embracing technology to lower environmental impacts and continuing to explore the world for the resources it needs.

It’s a good story and you should hear it.

So, what’s the product, and who’s the customer? Well, it depends. For Howard’s group, it’s firm’s looking for market intelligence to grow their business but what about the others? Such is the nature of a multi-sided platform. A business model that seeks to create value for distinct groups interacting across a core technology platform. LinkedIn has built a very elegant and focused version of this model.

What to know more? Keep Listening!

Jason talks about his current work, new developments in value-based care, information sharing and big data, and the potential of non-traditional health determinants. Evolving markets do make strategy challenging, but Evolent recently showed its strategic guile by refocusing into value-based, specialty care. Indicating this market could be engaging in value addition; a concept where firms focus on separate & distinct segments and increase value for everyone.

A rare economic win/win? Listen in.

In this increasingly competitive industry, there are reasons why this segment would seem difficult to crack, even for AWS. So how do they overcome these difficulties? Using the strategic principle of looking ahead and reasoning back. AWS looked ahead to each stage of client interactions, anticipated obstacles (perceived or real), and designed optimal responses to reinforce their market leading strengths. Leading with your strengths, I like that!

You should give it a listen.

Why? During uncertainty, a leading firm’s priority is to protect its position. This partnership allows Daimler to participate in the advancement of autonomous technologies in its own vehicles. Simultaneously protecting its position and embracing the change, whatever that looks like. Smart!

Listen in.

Still, forward thinking firms like Walgreens are widening their definition of stakeholder to include social and environmental interests, seeing the potential payoff of cooperation between this wider interest group. In essence, Liam’s role is seeking, what economic theory calls, a Pareto optimal solution, where all these interest groups are served while taking away from none.

How does he do that? Listen in.

This is a great example of firm-level microeconomics where investments change production functions and the allocation of resources towards more efficient use. Seems intuitive but nice to see theory meet reality. Efficiency is always a strategic imperative and not just in perfectly competitive markets. Philip helps his clients get there. He’s also got a terrific outlook on life and business that’s worth hearing too.

You should listen!