BA Brew - A Business Analysis Podcast

For the 100th Brew we decided to do something completely different. Fabricio Laguna joins the Crew for an in real time SWOT analysis of the BA profession – captured heroically by Jonathan on Mural – and available to download as a PDF here [https://www.assistkd.com/sites/default/files/2025-05/Business%20Analysis%20SWOT_BA%20Brew%20Episode%20100_0.pdf]. Watch out for when everyone shares the one thing they would do to take the profession forward… (did anyone say ‘Empress of Business Analysis’?) Fabricio Laguna is a highly experienced BA, Business Consultant, and international speaker. He is the former President of IIBA Brazil Chapter and is currently Senior Adviser to the IIBA CEO. If you liked this BA Brew, you may be interested in the following: The SWOT Analysis is covered in AssistKD’s Business Analysis Practice course [https://www.assistkd.com/courses/business-analysis-diploma-courses/business-analysis-practice-course] and you can find a succinct description of the technique among our Free Bitesize Learning Videos [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/free-bitesize-learning-videos] Watch this BA Blog on The BA Mindset [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/ba-brew/ba-brew-28-ba-mindset-feat-fabricio-laguna-and-christina-lovelock], featuring Fabricio Laguna and Christina Lovelock. This BA Blog is about Imposter Syndrome in the BA profession: BA Blog: Confidence and Complacency in Business Analysis [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/business-alchemists-blog/confidence-credibility-and-complacency-business-analysis] AssistKD BA Career Planner Tool [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/assistkd-business-analysis-career-planning-tool]

Everyone who watches this leadership focused BA Brew with Byron Morrison can think of someone they’d like to share it with. It’s packed with nuggets of wisdom from the author of ‘The Effective CEO 2.0’, including… At 2’ 41 – how to deal with overwhelm At 7’ 19 – moving from ‘doing’ to ‘leading’ At 14’ 01 – are you setting your team up for success… or failure? At 20’ 37 – what is your ‘Zone of Genius’? At 21’ 49 – why ‘Push’ and ‘Pull’ days help you avoid burnout At 27’ 23 – how to empower (and trust) your team At ️31’08 - how to become an effective leader And there’s so much more. Byron and the Crew discuss what a ‘Not to Do’ list is; why a team of all ‘A’ players would not work; and Philippa Roll warns against dealing with work emails from Everest base camp! Byron Morrison is a speaker, author and management and leadership coach with a special interest in supporting first time CEOs. He is the author of several books including ‘Think Like a CEO [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Like-CEO-reacting-control/dp/B09LGWT11C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2709SGQKYGUS7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.e6DD4K6Uz7Ci3LM5Cjv_91uOB1xyUX6pYQOIrFsh52EW-060m-s9GydPziuDgyfyHx5s9aCs-3RjnWk86QaLJnDE2PJ-32wRXx9X4K2OmOg5TliFXdctwRcEYKgkJhyjrMt5D89eyC1OHMWnGrta0z7z09mVmT2AJvACK3klokhm2Sq5lRryPg-nQB1G4FG6GrKod-WBTk7K9ZCD-4DkNfpYbj3DmbzcQ-nj0qnRcPw.wTdKUSEzs9KyxiNnlsJHAJRSlp-2xtFTljGqj46SjxI&dib_tag=se&keywords=think+like+a+ceo&qid=1745335467&sprefix=think+like+a+ceo%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1]’ and ‘The Effective CEO 2.0 [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Effective-CEO-2-0-prioritize-workload/dp/B0D9H8XPD4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=FGE4K4RMZWKO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mwUMZHbLOzZNoSxZdfYeY7IlYYEiz2W1dnp1awKPE55kreeCn4GL3KUWkY2anxlzkZSwbonOSj-HCFziBlIbMGvcPEAP4SAAlWlY69BiWxc.J-Y6lpha3rkKhQ6x_jF-204MatbZ0YZpt1ot70_ufQE&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+effective+ceo+2.0&qid=1745335524&sprefix=the+effective+ceo%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1]’, available from Amazon and other outlets. If you liked this BA Brew, you may also enjoy the following:   BA Brew  BA Brew 51: Think Like A CEO (feat. Byron Morrison) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLsuA2TW_sc] Articles BOOK REVIEW: Think Like a CEO by Byron Morrison [https://www.assistkd.com/articles/book-review-think-ceo-byron-morrison] Inclusive Leadership: The Secret of High Performing Teams [https://www.assistkd.com/articles/inclusive-leadership-secret-high-performing-teams] Courses Team Leadership Training Courses | Business Analysis [https://www.assistkd.com/courses/business-analysis-advanced-diploma-courses/team-leadership-course] Free Learning  Free eLearning course – Effective Leadership: FREE Courses | Assist Knowledge Development [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/free-courses]  #businessanalyst #servicedesign #CEO #businessleadership #teamleadership #inclusiveleadership #effectiveCEO #thinklikeaCEO

BA Brew guest Danny Kalkhoven warns against sticking too strictly to business models (such as the BA Service Framework) and recommends adapting them to context. Jonathan is impressed by Danny’s inspired analogy – applying a business model without context is like turning up at a building site with a shiny new drill and asking where you can use it. Danny quotes British Statistician George E.P. Box: ‘All models are wrong, but some are useful’. And Debbie gets straight to the point with: ‘Always switch your brain on’! Danny Kalkhoven is a business analyst, consultant and business analysis trainer who lives in the Netherlands. His forthcoming talk at BA Conference Europe 2025 ‘Mind the Gap’ addresses the inevitable gap between business models and real-world business challenges. If you liked this BA Brew, you may also enjoy the following:  BA Brew BA Brew 35: The BA Service Framework [https://youtu.be/nz30anZiEzU] Article Creating a Business Analysis Service Definition [https://www.assistkd.com/articles/creating-business-analysis-service-definition] Introducing the BA Service Framework: FREE Course [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/free-courses] #businessanalyst #businessmodels #businessanalysis #BASF #BAServiceFramework #changemanagement #businesstools

What AI tools do you use as a BA? Business change consultant Mick Brian is an early adopter and expert on the subject. In this thought-provoking BA Brew, he discusses the challenges and rewards of introducing an LLM (Large Language Model) into a large organisation. Topics covered include: why the input of BAs is essential when introducing AI tools; the intangible benefits of LLMs; why you need to prompt AI to your level of expertise; the government’s ‘AI Playbook’ and more. As promised in the BA Brew, Mick Brian has shared these useful links for BAs with an interest in using AI tools. AI Playbook for the UK Government [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-playbook-for-the-uk-government] The Leader in Agentic Process Automation System | Automation Anywhere [https://www.automationanywhere.com/] Lucidchart | Diagramming Powered By Intelligence [https://www.lucidchart.com/pages] Process Intelligence and Process Mining | Celonis [https://www.celonis.com/] Rory Sutherland Podcast [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lziudyXwfw] Mick also recommended the book ‘Alchemy’ by Rory Sutherland [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alchemy-Original-Thinking-Mind-Numbing-Conformity/dp/0753556529/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8XLE8SEOPSX6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.S-upaDt1557j8jat_zYETCkV3Ppld6MqgsP6s3QD7AaSN2rWWflVU2rM7JS0BvSt7c6dYRWZ0n5aZchdtLoPs9xwSANL2NKK7UerRF5QGBAO_1L6kjirvXIVZt7RosTXEJ5-W6iYqxT50S3cH1IUrFtlQnemj5ensPdvuarvN_F4fJX30qGScvRcE2zfXdToiryK7FVLHsKbuWy-s74ZoRcRJ9VuJNboGDGZVyqXkUY.eN-MYmYXGsdBtRP2ip7KXmB4FszGg9wXqm1VxqJevhw&dib_tag=se&keywords=alchemy+rory+sutherland&qid=1742225683&sprefix=alchemy+%2Caps%2C93&sr=8-1]. If you liked this BA Brew, you may also enjoy the following articles and blogs: AI Alchemy: Turning Change into Gold [https://www.assistkd.com/articles/ai-alchemy-turning-change-gold] - based on the presentation by Mick Brian and Will Izzard at the Business Change and Transformation Conference Europe 2024. BOOK REVIEW: Hello World by Hannah Fry [https://www.assistkd.com/articles/book-review-hello-world-hannah-fry] AI and the Business Analysis Role [https://www.assistkd.com/articles/ai-and-business-analysis-role] The following BA Brews may be of interest: BA Brew 63: The AI BA Brew (Hosted by Chat GPT) [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/ba-brew/ba-brew-63-ai-brew-hosted-chatgpt] BA Brew 75: Business Analysis and AI (Feat. John Wisner) [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/ba-brew/ba-brew-75-business-analysis-and-ai-feat-john-wisner] BA Brew 81: The Benefits, Risks and Opportunities of AI in Business Analysis (Feat. Donald Farmer) [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/ba-brew/ba-brew-81-benefits-risks-and-opportunities-ai-business-analysis-feat-donald]

Have you ever wrestled with a box of tangled cables and leads… or tried to get the knot out of the chain of a necklace? Some business change problems can be as challenging. Change expert and BA leader Karen Newnham joins the crew to discuss engaging with stakeholders to tackle complex, persistent problems (otherwise known as ‘Mischief Management’.) Karen Newnham was also the special guest on BA Brew 25: The Solution Standoff. If you liked this BA Brew, you may also enjoy the following articles and blogs: The Problem Solving Duck [https://www.assistkd.com/articles/problem-solving-duck] Stakeholder Engagement: Beware of ‘Nodding Along’ Syndrome [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/business-alchemists-blog/stakeholder-engagement-beware-nodding-along-syndrome] You’re Speaking, But Are You Being Understood? [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/business-alchemists-blog/youre-speaking-are-you-being-understood] Process Woes [https://www.assistkd.com/learning-zone/business-alchemists-blog/process-woes] The following BA Brews may be of interest: BA Brew 26 on Stakeholder [https://youtu.be/Wv_Xv15PNrQ]s and BA Brew 76 on The Human Element [https://youtu.be/rXaPSmxIg2Q]. #businessanalyst #stakeholdermanagement #businessanalysis #solutions #changemanagement #stakeholders #businessproblems