#21 How to Navigate Change with Purpose & Clarity

In this episode of FutureReady, we sit down with Janna Schneidewindt, Head of Internal Communications at RWE, to explore how strategic internal comms can drive business transformation and employee engagement. Janna shares valuable insights on activating employees, empowering leaders to navigate ambiguity, and simplifying communication for impact.  Key discussion points include: How to turn corporate milestones into pride moments that foster a sense of belonging. The evolving role of internal communications—moving from content creation to strategic advisory. Why “less is more” in today’s information-saturated workplace. How AI is transforming internal communications and why it’s a mindset shift, not just a tool.  Whether you’re an internal comms professional or a business leader, this episode is packed with actionable insights to help you inspire, engage, and lead with purpose. The link to the Positive Intelligence tool that Janna mentioned: https://www.positiveintelligence.com/

Understanding engagement as a continuous process is key to successful employee communication. When it comes to employee engagement, the 'engaged' vs. 'not engaged' binary is rather simplistic. True engagement requires a holistic, on-going investment into creating open modes of communication and dynamic work cultures. So, how do we foster these cultures of engagement? This is the question that Dr. Eleni Georganta helps us unpack in this episode. Eleni is an Assistant Professor in Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Amsterdam, and a leading researcher in team dynamics and collaboration optimisation. Ready to get your employees engaged? Let's jump right in! This episode is presented by Arne Kötting, and was produced by Nina Cerasuolo and Ana Luiza Loio Becil. FutureReady music theme "Botanics" by Elizabells, and sound editing by Carsten Steffens.

Introducing AI as a colleague may sound crazy, but it can help organizations foster a culture of trust and collaboration in human-AI teams. Such an approach requires leaders and employees to think of AI as a valued team member, and to consider how to strategically employ its abilities. It prompts us to think of AI integration as not just mere tech implementation, but as a true cultural transformation. To delve into this strategic shift, our host Arne chats to Dr. Eleni Georganta – an Assistant Professor in Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Amsterdam, and a leading researcher in human-AI collaboration. This episode is presented by Arne Kötting, and was produced by Nina Cerasuolo and Ana Luiza Loio Becil. FutureReady music theme "Botanics" by Elizabells, and sound editing by Carsten Steffens.

The key to a successful AI implementation is not just jumping straight into AI implementation – but ensuring that employees understand and support these new tools. After all, every successful tech transformation is strategic. And that includes intentionally crafting messages that educate your employees and help them embrace change. In this episode, our host Arne speaks to Scott Likens, head of PwC's Innovation Hub, about their pioneering efforts in implementing their very own gen-AI tool – ChatPwC, currently being rolled out globally. Click the 'play' button to hear Scott's insights on how to ensure company-wide AI literacy, and how to make your people excited for the AI transformation! This episode is presented by Arne Kötting, and was produced by Nina Cerasuolo and Ana Luiza Loio Becil. FutureReady music theme "Botanics" by Elizabells, and sound editing by Carsten Steffens. You can find Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottlikens/ or X: https://twitter.com/scottlikens?lang=en

The AI revolution has swept through our world just over a year ago – yet, for future-ready organizations, so much is already changing. New tools, such as the recently launched Microsoft Copilot, promise to combine powerful data processing and human expertise to bring business intelligence to new levels. So, how will AI complement human talent in the new landscape of work? In this episode, we have a chat with Pascal Brunner, the Head of Modern Work at Campana & Schott Switzerland. He takes along a journey through the latest AI tools launched by Microsoft – to include Copilot and the employee engagement tool Viva. This episode is presented by Arne Kötting, and was produced by Nina Cerasuolo and Ana Luiza Loio Becil. FutureReady music theme "Botanics" by Elizabells, and sound editing by Carsten Steffens. --- You can find Pascal's newsletters, mentioned in this Podcast, on his LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pascal-brunner1/ Book "The Employee Experience Advantage", by Jacob Morgan: https://www.amazon.com/Employee-Experience-Advantage-Employees-Workspaces/dp/111932162X

Corporate communications are notably behind marketing or sales when it comes to being data driven. Can AI finally give us the leap we need? In this episode, our host Arne has a chat with Thomas Mickeleit. From IBM to Volkswagen to Microsoft, Thomas has been driving tech transformations in the comms industry for three decades. Today, he leads his own CommTech working group in Germany, gathering around 450 network members. We discuss the hottest topic in the CommTech world right now. That is, how AI can help us better understand our stakeholder journeys and craft on-point, inspiring narratives. This episode is presented by Arne Kötting, and was produced by Nina Cerasuolo and Ana Luiza Loio Becil. FutureReady music theme "Botanics" by Elizabells, and sound editing by Carsten Steffens. — Möchten Sie mehr über Thomas' Arbeit erfahren? Dann lesen Sie sein brandneues Buch 'Erfolgsfaktor CommTech: Die digitale Transformation der Unternehmenskommunikation' hier: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Thomas-Mickeleit-ebook/dp/B0C7MHCX2W

Welches Potenzial hat KI in der Unternehmenskommunikation jenseits von ChatGPT? Und wie reiten wir auf den tosenden Wellen des Wandels, die auf uns zukommen werden? In der ersten Folge unserer Staffel über künstliche Intelligenz sprechen wir mit Pajam Hassan, dem CEO und Gründer von Intuitive.AI - einem Unternehmen, das sich auf die Entwicklung und Implementierung von KI-Lösungen für komplexe Geschäftsprobleme spezialisiert hat. Auf der Grundlage von Pajams Erfahrung als Datenwissenschaftler und Unternehmer demystifizieren wir aktuelle KI-Entwicklungen, von denen du dachtest, sie seien zu technisch, um sie zu verstehen. Außerdem entdecken wir aufregende neue Möglichkeiten für unsere Branche und reflektieren über die Rolle von Kommunikationsverantwortlichen in der KI-Revolution. Bist du bereit, mitzumachen? Diese Folge wird von Arne Kötting präsentiert und wurde von Ana Luiza Loio Becil und Nina Cerasuolo produziert. FutureReady-Musik "Botanics" von Elizabells, und Tonbearbeitung von Carsten Steffens.

So... what is AI's potential in corporate comms beyond ChatGPT? And how do we ride the roaring waves of AI change that are about to hit us? In the first episode of our Artificial Intelligence season, we are joined by Pajam Hassan, who is the CEO and founder of Intuitive.AI - a company that is specialized in building and implementing AI solutions to complex business issues. Drawing from Pajam's expertise both as a data scientist and as an entrepreneur, we demystify current AI developments that you thought were too tech-y for you to understand. We also discover exciting new possibilities for our industry and reflect on the role of comms leaders in the AI revolution. Ready to jump in? This episode is presented by Arne Kötting, and was produced by Ana Luiza Loio Becil and Nina Cerasuolo. FutureReady music theme "Botanics" by Elizabells, and sound editing by Carsten Steffens.

How can we make sustainable behaviours more appealing? Dr. Brandi Shaw Morris suggests that neuroscience can help us catalyse sustainable change by understanding how our brains work and what drives our behaviour. Brandi has worked in both academia and the private sector for more than 15 years. Currently, she is an assistant professor at Aarhus University in Denmark. Conducting research at the intersection between sustainability and neuroscience, Brandi believes that by understanding our brain's natural tendencies, we can design interventions that nudge people towards more sustainable behaviour. In this episode, we learn from Brandi about the importance of changing people's minds before we can change entire systems – and about the role of communications and storytelling in doing so.

“Long-term well-being for all is the ultimate goal of an economy.” Putting this insight into practice requires a radical rethinking of business-as-usual. Companies must recognize sustainability as their raison d'être. After all, what is sustainability if not the pursuit of long-term well-being for all? **In this episode, we learn from Dr. Victoria Hurth about how purpose can help companies position sustainability at the core of their operations - for widespread change.**