The world is changing, but are you changing fast enough and looking to go far enough? Plenty of companies thought they were, but they’ve since been consigned to the history books. Are we facing a mental block that prevents us from seeing the true transformation that’s required? Retail expert and author of Leaders Leap Steve Dennis joins to explain how retailers can avoid the trap of timid transformation and instead prepare themselves for a meaningful shift.
Listen to this episode of the Retail Transformation Show and hear:
- Why we’re coming up against a transformation gap that we can’t see.
- The seven mind leaps that retail leaders need to prepare for in order to lead the organisation forward.
- How to find the balance between timid transformation and an unrealistic moonshot.
- Why leaders are facing a new paradox of change.
Introducing Steve Dennis
Steve Dennis is a strategic advisor, keynote speaker, podcast host, and bestselling author of Remarkable Retail. His new book, “Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption” is out now. He has been named a top global retail influencer by multiple organizations, and his thoughts on the future of shopping are regularly shared in his role as a Forbes Senior Contributor, as well as through other media, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg.
As a sought-out keynote speaker, Steve has delivered talks on six continents, sharing his unique perspective on what it takes to reignite customer growth in a world of unrelenting change and shifting consumer preferences.
Steve is President of SageBerry Consulting, where he has advised dozens of brands on their growth strategies. Prior to founding Sageberry, he was chief strategy officer and SVP, multichannel marketing at the Neiman Marcus Group.
He serves on multiple for profit and non-profit boards. Steve holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Tufts University. He lives in Dallas, Texas.
Find out more about Steve Dennis on his website, stevenpdennis.com
Leaders Leap
In his new book, Leaders Leap, Steve Dennis discusses how traditional business giants have fallen behind due to their inability to deliver unique value rapidly enough to meet changing customer preferences and technological advancements. He recognises that merely adapting through incremental changes is insufficient to remain viable in the long run. Instead, he advocates for a complete overhaul in the leadership mindset, encouraging us to embrace agility, intensify customer focus, and innovate at the “speed of disruption”. Steve pulls on his experience, predominantly in the retail sector, and applies these learnings to the broader business world. He encourages readers to make seven “mind leaps” to remain competitive and relevant in today’s fast-evolving commercial landscape.
Leaders Leap is out now, wherever you prefer to buy your books.
Additional episodes of the podcast to listen to
Steve Dennis was previously on the podcast in episode 83: Being Remarkable In Adversity (part 1) and episode 84: (part 2) as he launched his first book, Remarkable Retail. In this two-part episode, discover how to overcome the challenge of becoming a mediocre retailer and the different aspects of becoming remarkable.
Understanding how the mind impacts transformation is of course an important topic that we cover regularly on the Retail Transformation Show. In episode 288: How Our Own Brain Blocks Meaningful Work, Oliver explores how immediate gratification can cause us to focus on the easy tasks and procrastinate to avoid the more complex tasks which are more likely to be the meaningful work.
Another factor which can regularly impact the ability to transform your company is organisational alignment. In episode 266: Achieving Alignment Across Silos, Oliver explores how you can co-ordinate teams and divisions within the company. Listen to this episode to hear ideas from Oliver’s book, Driving Retail Transformation.
