Margaret Heffernan: The Big Impact of Small Changes

Join one of the best episodes of Season 2 with author, CEO and TED speaker Margaret Heffernan. 

This episode can help any school leader that is looking to better drive change, build a stronger culture, and ultimately to build the best possible district and school.

How small, frequent changes can be more effective for organizations than big, sudden transformationsThe importance of constructive conflict and different perspectives within collaborationsStrategies for open communication and honesty within organizationsThe value of social connections and relationships (social capital) in schools and businessesWhy efficiency can sometimes undermine effectiveness in complex human systemsPreparing students and organizations to be adaptable, resilient, and manage uncertainty

Key Quotes & Timestamps

"What truly changes organizations are small choices made by everyone." [00:04:04]

"Collaboration often requires constructive conflict and debate to reach the best ideas." [00:07:21]

"Taking 5 minutes to talk to somebody before or after a meeting can really help you get to know people in the round." [00:29:40]

"The teacher or executive that takes a personal interest in somebody - it is probably the most potent tool they have." [00:40:11]

Guest Bio:

Dr. Margaret Heffernan produced programs for the BBC for 13 years. She then moved to the U.S. where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard & Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation, was named one of the “Top 25” by Streaming Media magazine and one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” by The Hollywood Reporter. 

The author of six books, Margaret’s third book, Willful Blindness : Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril was  named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. In 2015, she was awarded the Transmission Prize for  A Bigger Prize: Why Competition isn’t Everything and How We Do Better, described as “meticulously researched…engagingly written…universally relevant and hard to fault.” Her TED talks have been seen by over 13 million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes. 

Her most recent book, Uncharted: How to map the future was published in 2020. It quickly became a bestseller and was nominated for the Financial Times Best Business Book award, was one of Bloomberg’s Best Books of 2021 and was chosen as the “Medium Best of the Best” business book. She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations. She chairs the board of DACS and is a parish councillor. Learn more about Margaret and her work at www.mheffernan.com

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