Seeking Surfboards

We've got something exciting for you and it's just around the corner. Our sponsor, Solstice, is rebranding as Kin + Carta, which means our beloved Seeking Surfboards is coming to a natural end. But don't worry--the great content you've come to expect from host Scott Hermes isn't going to stop. With this broader change, we're taking a chance to revamp and reapproach this podcast and will continue to bring you fresh, timely, and incredible content from industry leaders. Watch this space--the best is yet to come! Have ideas for the podcast? Reach out to Scott at: scott.hermes@kinandcarta.com Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to ensure you don't miss great new content--coming your way soon.

Let’s talk about sustainability.    If you’re one of the cities whose grocery stores have banned plastic bags, you’re probably hearing a lot about the topic lately.    Gotta remember those reusables.    But on the most recent episode of the Seeking Surfboards podcast, we got some time with a couple of individuals who are on the cutting edge of sustainability in their industries.    Giovanni Rumbolo and Laura McCord are executives leading the way for corporate sustainability. They were guests on the show recently and talked all about:    The 4 Ps of corporate sustainability  Why PROFIT isn’t a dirty word when it comes to a sustainability program The challenges in running a sustainability program Their journeys into the world of sustainability You can find this interview, and many more by subscribing to the Seeking Surfboards Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on our website.

There’s no doubt that the digital age is changing humanity as we know it.   Why don’t we get together and talk about it?   That’s exactly what Sarah Berger (Senior Marketing Manager), Chris Weiland (Director of Solstice Labs), and the rest of the Solstice team are doing. In this episode, they dish about Solstice’s upcoming digital innovation summit: FWD.   Plus, they cover:   What homecoming really means to them at FWD The brand new theme for this year’s event What you can expect from the FWD experience You can find this interview, and many more by subscribing to the Seeking Surfboards Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Do you feel the need?   The need for speed?   Recruiting for digital talent is rapid and intense, while the need to ship software fast is higher than ever.   CIO’s and CTO’s are finding themselves turning to extreme programming and burning through talented employees in an attempt to keep up. On this episode of Seeking Surfboards, we chat with Solstice’s VP of Technology - CTO, Mike Koleno, and Director of Solution Delivery, Gretchen Goodrich, about our FleXP solution to meet the demand of the new speed of digital.   We chat about:    Lessons learned in 10 years of agile The pros and cons of both Scrum and XP  How Solstice came up with FleXP, a new way of approaching working You can find this interview, and many more by subscribing to the Seeking Surfboards Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Look out your front window.  Does your lawn need watered? How do you know? Because you can look out, see the state of your lawn, and decide if it’s had too much water, too little water, or just enough.    Too little water and your lawn becomes brown, dry, brittle, and lifeless.  Too much and it becomes muddy, soggy, and grows things like moss.  So you use your eye and intuition to decide when and how much to water.  But what if you’re watering not a lawn, but millions of acres of seed fields, like Anthony Lackore and his team at Corteva?    We sat down with Anthony recently and he gave us some incredible insight on:    Agricultural Technology The progression of decision agronomy  The role of technology in agricultural production You can find this interview, and many more by subscribing to the Seeking Surfboards Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on Our Website.

“... and they rode off into the horizon together. The dynamic horizon.” Don’t you love those stories of market opportunities and organizational capabilities coming together at the end? Unfortunately, our business tactics don’t always give way to a happy ending. That’s where an agile strategy can come in handy. We delve into this idea with Pragma Consulting’s Senior Managing Director, Ralph Fernando. In this episode, we discuss defining your dynamic horizon, tracking early anticipatory indicators, and more.

Decisions, decisions. Every day, we make an untold number of choices. Some of them are probably very important, but most of them are minor, more routine decisions. What if we didn’t have to spend our energy on those little decisions?  What if those decisions could be made for us, so we could focus our attention on the most impactful and important decisions we have to make?  Those “what if’s” are what’s driving the vision for “decision intelligence”.  On this episode of Seeking Surfboards, Karl Hampson, Director of Artificial Intelligence at Solstice, came on the show to talk about all things decision intelligence. He answers these important questions: What is it? How does it differ from the augmented intelligence we interact with as consumers? How can augmented intelligence benefit your organization?

Does your company have an employee recognition program? Not one where managers have to dole out kudos, but one where every employee can participate? Where any employee can shout out any other employee? At Solstice, we decided to take our old, paper-based recognition system and replace it with something that’s current, inclusive, and digital. We got the inside scoop of this incredible employee engagement program on this week’s episode of Seeking Surfboards. Hear directly from the creative team as they uncovered a need for change and how they walked out the process from idea to launch.

It’s nearly as old as humanity itself. Boating. It’s evolved from a necessary means for travel to a sought after pastime, but the soul remains the same. While humanity and technology are rapidly evolving, the boat hasn’t advanced quite as quickly. That’s where the team at NAUTIC-ON come in. Today's boats are equipped with all sorts of smart sensors. On this episode of Seeking Surfboards, we hear from NAUTIC-ON’s Lou Sandoval and Adam Schanfield on leveraging smart sensors and smartphone apps to help boat owners view their diagnostics in real-time and foresee future problems.

“Human centered design relies on an inextricably linked and close relationship between what we’re learning and what we’re creating.” This is the research and design approach that Cate Kompare and Dave Clark take as they improve the user experience of Solstice products. In this week’s episode of Seeking Surfboards, Cate and Dave discuss what it means to have a “human centered design” approach. Build products that people enjoy using.   Discover the “why” behind user behavior, not just the “what.” Test your product ideas thoroughly. Advocate for more research.

Every year, we look across thousands of signals for underlying patterns visible beyond the headlines. Everything from stock price fluctuations to literature preferences to tech launches, to political campaigns, business moves, author breakthrough, music preferences and more. Alone, the inferences from these signals can be difficult to ascertain. Together, they offer deep insights into what’s in store for the year ahead. This year, we had 2 key themes surface in our 2019 Trends Report. Our world is now more open and collaborative than ever before Our world is becoming more interconnected. Listen in to hear more from Dan Ptak, Solstice’s VP of Marketing and Brand Strategy

Mobile today is less about me-too and more about innovation, differentiation, and empathy. Providers need to discover and address users’ pain points. On our first full-length episode, host Scott Hermes chats to Solstice's Jared Johnson about the future of mobile and finding success through empathy by providing user-inspired solutions. 

On the first episode of Seeking Surfboards, show host Scott Hermes of Solstice, shares how this podcast will equip executives to anticipate and embrace waves of change and digital transformation by finding "surfboards" and riding those waves.