The CEO Advantage Podcast

Colin Falconer: Advantage Thinking and Reimagining Systems

In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, Paul Edginton speaks with educator, speaker and author Colin Falconer about the origins of Advantage Thinking, Open Talent, and the deeper impact language and systems have on human potential. Drawing from his own childhood experience of being labelled as a student with learning difficulties, Colin reflects on how belief, environment, and opportunity shaped his life and ultimately led him to challenge deficit based thinking across education, government, charities, and leadership. The conversation explores how organisations become trapped in problem solving models and why Colin believes leaders must shift toward solution creation, trust, and strength based approaches. Paul and Colin unpack the Seven Tests of Advantage Thinking, the influence of Aristotle on modern leadership thinking, and the dangers of institutional inertia, transactional cultures, and systems that unintentionally reinforce disadvantage. They also discuss youth employment, public service systems, burnout in the charity sector, and the role language plays in shaping both identity and organisational culture. In this episode: • The origins of Advantage Thinking and how Colin Falconer developed the framework • Why deficit based systems often reinforce the very problems they are trying to solve • The Seven Tests of Advantage Thinking and how they apply to leadership and culture • Reframing problem solving into solution creation and imagining what good looks like • The role of language, belief, trust, and systems in shaping human potential This episode is for leaders, educators, policy makers, charity professionals, and anyone interested in building healthier systems, stronger cultures, and more human centred approaches to leadership and organisational change. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠. For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

Alf Ianniello: Leading with Founders and ASX Shareholders

In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, host Paul Edginton sits down with Alf Ianniello, Managing Director and CEO of Codan Limited, to explore his progression from engineering into global business. Alf reflects on starting out in electronics engineering, working internationally in manufacturing, and how those early experiences shaped his approach to decision making, discipline, and growth. The conversation follows Alf’s career through British Aerospace and Schefenacker Vision Systems, into a fourteen year tenure at the Detmold Group, before moving into an ASX listed environment at Codan. He explains how global exposure, working across cultures, and managing manufacturing operations at scale informed his approach to acquisitions, executive development, and navigating uncertainty, including the impact of geopolitical events on business performance. In this episode: • Transitioning from engineering into commercial and executive roles • Scaling manufacturing businesses across global markets • Making decisions under uncertainty and external pressure • Managing growth through acquisitions and international expansion • Shifting from operational execution to governance and oversight This episode is for leaders, founders, and executives who want a grounded understanding of how to grow businesses, manage complexity, and operate effectively in global markets. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠. For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

Tim Silvers: Leading Culture and Performance in Elite Sport

In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, host Paul Edginton speaks with Tim Silvers, CEO of the Adelaide Crows, about leadership inside one of Australia’s most visible sporting organisations. Tim reflects on his journey through the sports industry, from early jobs and a childhood shaped by constant change, to leading major AFL clubs and building culture in high pressure environments. The conversation explores how resilience, connection, and honest leadership shape long term success. Tim shares practical insight into managing performance in elite sport, where feedback is constant and standards are reviewed every week. He discusses bringing young players and their families into a club environment, balancing on field and off field expectations, handling difficult decisions such as delistings and restructures, and why trust must be built through clear communication. He also explains how organisations can create belonging, identify rising talent, and stay aligned during periods of major change, including the challenges that followed Covid. In this episode: • Building resilience through change, uncertainty, and early life experiences • Creating belonging for young talent entering high pressure environments • Leading honest conversations about performance and accountability • Rebuilding trust and culture after disruption and organisational change • Managing difficult decisions while maintaining respect and clarity This episode is for leaders, executives, coaches, and team builders who want practical insight into culture, performance, and leading people through pressure and change. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit www.ceoadvantage.com.au [http://www.ceoadvantage.com.au] For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

Raymond Spencer: Leadership, Culture and the Discipline of Alignment

In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, hosts Paul Edginton and Milly Albers conclude their three part conversation with Raymond Spencer, focusing on his leadership philosophy and experience following the sale of Kanbay and his transition into Capgemini. The episode closes out the current season. Raymond reflects on leading within a global organisation after Kanbay was acquired by Capgemini, where he went on to build and lead the Financial Services Global Business Unit. He explains the importance of diversity beyond demographics, highlighting differences in thinking styles, education, and lived experience as critical inputs to better decision making. The conversation explores how alignment begins with a clearly defined purpose, how meetings can be structured through a simple five part framework, and how culture becomes operational through values, behaviours, and clear boundaries. Practical examples include redefining meeting effectiveness, embedding behavioural expectations across teams, and creating accountability through shared understanding rather than top down control. In this episode: * Leading through the transition from founder to global business unit leader * Defining diversity through thinking styles, experience, and perspective * Using purpose to create alignment and improve decision making across teams * Applying a practical framework to run effective and efficient meetings * Translating values into behaviours and accountability within organisational culture This episode is for leaders and operators who want practical ways to improve alignment, strengthen culture, and lead teams with greater clarity and intent. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit www.ceoadvantage.com.au [http://www.ceoadvantage.com.au]. For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.

Raymond Spencer: Building a Values Driven Global Business

In this episode of The CEO Advantage Podcast, hosts Paul Edginton and Milly Albers continue their conversation with Raymond Spencer, exploring how he built and scaled a global business by applying principles developed in the not for profit sector. Raymond shares the early formation of Kanbay, his transition into commercial leadership, and the thinking behind applying culture, values, and teamwork in a profit driven environment. Raymond explains how the business evolved from a small operation placing talent into global companies to a sophisticated organisation delivering software services at scale. He outlines how culture was operationalised through clearly defined values, behaviours, and expectations, and how this became a competitive advantage as the company expanded internationally. The discussion also covers early offshore development in India, co investment with clients, the design of a values aligned workplace, and the deliberate decisions made around salary, reinvestment, and leadership structure. Raymond also shares how the company prepared for public listing years in advance, embedding governance and discipline while protecting culture as the core driver of performance. In this episode: • Building a global business by applying not for profit leadership principles in a commercial setting • Establishing early offshore development models and working with international clients • Turning values into behaviours that shape everyday decisions and culture • Designing organisational systems that reinforce learning, feedback, and accountability • Preparing for public listing while maintaining long term culture and leadership integrity This episode is for leaders, founders, and executives who want to understand how culture can be built deliberately and scaled without losing clarity, consistency, or performance. We would love for you to become part of our growing leadership community. Visit ⁠www.ceoadvantage.com.au⁠. For leadership advice and more content, follow @ceo_advantage on Instagram. Connect with Paul Edginton on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/paul-edginton-5047a511.