leadership – Gérard Métrailler

April 1, 2025April 1, 2025

GenAI for Business Leaders: Strategic Lever or Cognitive Trap?

Generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs), such as GPT-4o, have swiftly revolutionized our work dynamics. They have emerged as indispensable business tools, reshaping the modern corporate landscape. These advanced AI systems promise transformative benefits, driving unparalleled productivity, innovation, and profitability. Despite the complex challenges that come with their adoption, companies embracing GenAI are on the brink of a transformative era. The success of this journey hinges on intentional oversight, robust governance frameworks, and a strategic balance between automation and human judgment. How prepared is your organization to harness the full potential of this transformative era?

February 26, 2025February 26, 2025

Are you leading or just reacting? A look at the systems thinking mindset

Most leaders don’t realize they’re stuck in a cycle of reacting to problems instead of solving them at the source. In this episode, we explore Systems Thinking—the mindset that helps leaders break silos, anticipate ripple effects, and make smarter long-term decisions. From the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 🧻 to business strategies that backfire, we’ll dive into why understanding the bigger picture is the key to effective leadership.

📖 Read the written companion to this episode: ccworld.ca/systems

January 31, 2025January 31, 2025

Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Why Leaders Need a Systems Mindset

Leading a business is like running a control center. Every switch, gauge, and flashing red light represents decisions, external forces, and a network of human relationships. It’s tempting to jump from crisis to crisis, putting out fires. But without stepping back to see the whole system, leaders risk missing the bigger picture. Problems persist, and root causes remain untouched.

Systems thinking shifts focus from firefighting to foresight. It reveals hidden bottlenecks, delays, and inefficiencies. It helps leaders make smarter decisions by understanding how changes ripple across an organization.

My introduction to systems thinking came when I decided to attend an elective course at university. What I learned about seeing the bigger picture and inter-connectedness has shaped my thinking ever since. This mindset has helped me always consider how decisions ripple through organizations over time.

March 9, 2023February 26, 2025

Go beyond PLG and focus on the Customer Journey

In this podcast episode, I look at why it isn’t about Product-Led, OR Sales-Led, OR Marketing-Led Growth. It’s all the above simultaneously. It’s about Customer-Led Growth. It’s about delivering an end-to-end experience at every touchpoint of the customer life cycle that feels like one, delighting the user at every step.

This episode has a related blog post, and includes a graphical representation of the Customer Journey “Game of Life” and the Product “Ferris Wheel”.

May 25, 2022June 17, 2022

V1 innovation within a V+1 organization

In this podcast episode, I look at how mature organization can be successful at disruptive innovation when everything they do if focused around incremental product improvements.

This episode is based on a corresponding blog post I wrote a few weeks ago.

May 4, 2022May 4, 2022

V1 innovation within a V+1 org

Startups are optimized towards launching version 1.0 offerings, identifying product-market fit, and putting in place the best go-to-market organization to attract new customers. Once the “magic” happens (or should I say the challenging work pays off), when users and products find each other in a happy place, the growth loops evolve towards retention in addition to the original focus purely on acquisition. As the company matures, there is a natural tendency to increasingly drive the business towards delivering incremental products, focusing on the existing target audiences. After all, that’s where the revenue has come from historically, so why not concentrate the R&D and go-to-market investments on what we know best and minimize financial risks? Larger companies sometimes have a hard time going after something unproven that will take investing multiple years to become a meaningful part of the revenue. It could even take market share away from existing offerings!

January 14, 2022January 14, 2022

Freedom and Responsibility

This podcast episode is by a Guest speaker, Marielle Métrailler and she looks at the relationship between freedom and responsibility.

My wife Marielle is a Leadership and Life-Balance Coach. She founded Clarivia in 2016 with the clear vision of enabling people to achieve their full potential, one conversation at a time. She has worked throughout Europe and North America, applying her skill-set to industries as varied as luxury goods and biotech, as well as to pharmaceutical advocacy organizations. Marielle combines proven methodologies with her strong natural aptitudes: listening, empowering, guiding, facilitating, and change management. With care and precision, she enables individuals and groups to achieve their best and to meet and surpass their personal and professional goals.

This episode is based on the article Marielle published recently on Linkedin.

May 10, 2021May 10, 2021

It’s not your opinion, it’s your expertise that matters

Everyone has plenty of them, and sadly, many of us are not afraid of sharing them regularly. Not only that, but they often have absolutely no relation with reality. Problematically, the more authoritative your position, the more significant their effect. Yes, I’m referring to opinions. Yet ultimately, what matters is expertise, not opinions.

November 9, 2015March 2, 2021

Microsoft’s transition to a customer-centric company

High-technology products can be divided into many different categories. One such segmentation is to divide products into those you want to use vs. those you have to use.

For the first group, many Apple products almost certainly come to mind. Its devices are beautiful and designed to enhance the overall user experience. Together, the hardware and software are recognized as being among the best—if not the very best—around.

When it comes to products you have to use, however, did Microsoft come to mind?