#121 - Understanding Value in a GenAI Powered World with Simon Wardley

Strategic tools can help you navigate organisational and market complexities. But how do you even begin to make sense of it all?In this episode, Simon Wardley, the creator of Wardley Mapping and one of the most profound thinkers and influencers in strategy, explains the power of mapping complex ecosystems. He speaks on how building resilient organisations goes beyond clever tactics and requires a deep understanding of the landscapes you’re navigating. He highlights how most organisations still struggle to truly understand their customers, and emphasises why it’s crucial to realign strategies, foster a shared language, and enable cohesiveness to create true “value.”For leaders, this conversation serves as a call to rethink how you approach both organisational structures and the strategies needed to stay adaptable in a constantly changing landscape.Simon brings a wealth of experiential knowledge in strategy, having contributed to the growth of some of the biggest organisations worldwide. In this podcast, he delves into the evolution of technology, organisational structures, and strategy, with a particular focus on the impact of AI. He challenges our fear of rapid technological advancement by sharing how tech’s true development follows a more gradual process, ultimately leading to sudden bursts of change - a more nonlinear growth.He also explores other critical themes like - the evolution of organisational structures, referencing his explorers-villagers-town planners model, the need to have strong guiding principles, and also shares why the engineer is the true architect of a technology.So, for anyone seeking a roadmap to navigate complexity correctly, this conversation is a must-listen. Tune in.

Key Highlights
👉 Strategic tools must account for complex and rapidly shifting environments - mapping systems can help you visualise and adapt to these changes.
👉 Understanding the landscape is like seeing the entire chessboard – without it, organisations risk making strategic moves without fully grasping the game.
👉 Technology evolves through long, gradual build-up phases before rapid, transformative bursts - a non-linear path.
👉 Principles, not just structures, are the foundation of organisational agility – without them, teams become unstable and revert to traditional structures under pressure.
👉 Developing a common language within organisations is critical for strategic coherence and effective decision-making.
👉 Socio-technical systems, when understood and harnessed properly, create synergies between technology and organisational culture - these connections should be fostered to drive both innovation and user engagement.

Topics /chapters
(00:00) Understanding Value in a GenAI Powered World - Intro
(02:42) Introducing Simon Wardley
(04:35) Mapping Strategic Change in an AI-Driven World
(20:14) Deterministic and Non-Deterministic Languages: Creating Shared Systems
(39:12) Building a Humanised Strategy for the future
(46:12) Creating Dynamic Systems
(52:53) Evolution of Socio-Technical Systems
(01:00:40) Breadcrumbs and SuggestionsRemember that you can always find transcripts and key highlights of the episode on our website: 

Episode recorded on Apr 17, 2025

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Music

Music from Liosound / Walter Mobilio. Find his portfolio here: https://blss.io/Podcast-Music