Jim Lafferty spent 30 years leading in some of the world's most volatile markets. His secret weapon? A test so simple your mother could apply it.

What if the smartest person to pressure-test your strategy isn't a consultant or an MBA — but your mum?

Jim Lafferty didn't follow the traditional path to Fortune 500 leadership. He started as a fitness instructor, built his career across Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland and beyond, and learned that in volatile, uncertain markets, simplicity beats sophistication every time.

In this conversation, Jim shares:

The Mother Rule — If your strategy is so intellectual that the person buying the diapers doesn't understand it, you don't have a strategy. You have muddled thinking.

The Bumblebee Principle — You can coach almost any skill, but you cannot coach desire. Jim explains why he'd rather hire someone who shouldn't fly but does than a polished graduate who lacks fire.

A Principle Isn't a Principle Until It Costs You Something — Jim recounts the night he was offered a $7 million bribe, and why saying no hurt more than he expected.

The Church Sampling Story — How Jim secured Vatican approval to distribute products at 3,500 Polish church services — and grew the business 35% in a single year.

Getting Fired with Dignity — What it means to leave standing on your feet, not on your knees.

This is leadership without the polish — raw, practical, and forged in markets where complexity isn't a theory but a daily reality.

Connect with James:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-michael-lafferty-2737071/
Website: https://jamesmichaellafferty.com/

Send your thoughts to Arkaro

Connect with Arkaro:

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn:
Arkaro Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkaro
Mark Blackwell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrblackwell/
Newsletter - Arkaro Insights: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/arkaro-insights-6924308904973631488/

🌐 Visit our website: www.arkaro.com

📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@arkaro

Audio Podcast: https://arkaroinsights.buzzsprout.com

📧 For business enquiries: mark@arkaro.com

You cannot just be a leader that takes a can of digital paint and paints over the analogue cracks of your business. It will not survive the disruption that's coming.

In this episode, Marco Ryan, former Chief Digital Officer at BP and co-author of Rewire or Retire: AI for Leaders, challenges us to rethink how we lead in an AI-driven world. Marco argues that AI isn't fundamentally a technology issue—it's a leadership issue. And the choice facing every leader is clear: rewire your approach or retire gracefully to let others lead.

We explore why most executives are "nearsighted" when it comes to AI, how to find the AI whisperers already in your organisation, and why wisdom and judgment don't always sit at the top of the table. Marco shares practical advice on using AI as a "strategy buddy" and explains why digital curiosity—asking "what if?"—matters more than technical expertise.

Whether you're overwhelmed by AI or just getting started, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at what leadership demands in the age of artificial intelligence.

If this conversation pushed your thinking, subscribe, share it with a colleague who’s wrestling with AI strategy, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Then tell us on LinkedIn: where will you rewire first?

Marco Ryan is a Non-Executive Director, author, and former Chief Digital Officer at BP with over 30 years of experience in digital transformation and board-level leadership. He has held senior roles at Wärtsilä, Thomas Cook, and Accenture, and is currently Cyber Leader in Residence at Lancaster University Management School. Marco is the co-author (with Alastair Lechler) of Rewire or Retire: AI for Leaders and 51 Essential AI Terms for Leaders.

Links & Resources

• Marco's website: marcoryan.com
• Book: Rewire or Retire: AI for Leaders – available on Amazon

Send your thoughts to Arkaro

Connect with Arkaro:

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn:
Arkaro Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkaro
Mark Blackwell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrblackwell/
Newsletter - Arkaro Insights: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/arkaro-insights-6924308904973631488/

🌐 Visit our website: www.arkaro.com

📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@arkaro

Audio Podcast: https://arkaroinsights.buzzsprout.com

📧 For business enquiries: mark@arkaro.com

Welcome to the Arkaro Insights podcast. This episode is based on original content developed by Arkaro. At Arkaro, we're committed to innovation in everything we do—including how we share our insights. We've utilised advanced AI technology to transform our written expertise into this conversational format, making our content more accessible and convenient for our busy B2B audience. What you'll hear is a two-person discussion generated through AI voice technology, designed to deliver our insights in a more engaging way than traditional reading. As we continue to evolve this approach, we genuinely value your feedback. Thank you for listening to Arkaro Insights, where professional expertise meets innovative delivery.

Full article: From Technical Fixes to Adaptive Solutions: How Arkaro's Approach Transforms Technical Problem-Solving Cultures

The greatest obstacle to transformation often hides in plain sight. For technically brilliant B2B organizations—especially in agriculture, food, and chemicals—it's not technical capability that stalls strategic initiatives, but the failure to recognize when you're facing an adaptive challenge rather than a technical problem.

Drawing on insights from Mark Blackwell at Arkaro, we explore this critical distinction that determines success or failure in organizational change. Technical problems exist in what systems thinker Dave Snowden calls the "complicated domain"—where cause and effect relationships can be discovered through expert analysis. These challenges respond to the sense-analyze-respond approach that engineering cultures excel at. Adaptive challenges, however, live in the "complex domain" where solutions can't be predetermined but must emerge through experimentation and learning—requiring a probe-sense-respond mindset.

The consequences of misapplying technical approaches to adaptive challenges appear everywhere: strategy implementations falter despite solid analysis (with only 28% of executives able to list three strategic priorities), Integrated Business Planning systems struggle despite perfect process design, innovation initiatives stall despite structured methodologies, and customer-centricity programs fail to change organizational behavior despite comprehensive market research. The root cause? Technical leaders trying to solve adaptive challenges requiring cultural shifts and behavior changes using the same toolkit that made them successful with technical problems.

Arkaro's four-step methodology offers a path forward: Understanding (moving beyond problem definition to challenge recognition), Co-creating (shifting from expert solutions to collective learning), Enabling (building adaptive capabilities alongside technical skills), and Sustaining (embedding these capabilities for future challenges). Through their "do-it-with-you" approach, Arkaro works alongside organizations to build internal capability while solving immediate challenges—creating a bridge between technical excellence and adaptive leadership.

Take an honest look at your organization today. Where might your established technical expertise actually be hindering your ability to adapt to complex, ambi

Send your thoughts to Arkaro

Connect with Arkaro:

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn:
Arkaro Company Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkaro
Mark Blackwell: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markrblackwell/
Newsletter - Arkaro Insights: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/arkaro-insights-6924308904973631488/

🌐 Visit our website: www.arkaro.com

📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@arkaro

Audio Podcast: https://arkaroinsights.buzzsprout.com

📧 For business enquiries: mark@arkaro.com