Introducing The RBL Group Podcast

In this episode of the RBL Podcast, Norm Smallwood speaks with Adam Hatcher, founder of 21 Clear and author of The Chaos-Proof Family Business, about the unique leadership and organizational challenges facing family-owned companies. Drawing on 13 years working within his own multigenerational family business, Adam explores the tension created when the unconditional nature of family meets the highly conditional demands of business. The conversation examines why family businesses must manage two interconnected organizations: the operating company and the “inner family business” that governs how relatives work together, make decisions, build trust, manage ownership, and plan for succession. Through practical examples, Adam explains the risks of allowing family employment, compensation, leadership transitions, and expectations to develop without intention. The episode highlights the importance of structured family meetings, clear governance, open communication, and thoughtful succession planning. Adam also introduces his Chaos-Proof Framework and shares why family businesses that actively strengthen alignment and trust can create lasting value, preserve relationships, and achieve performance that non-family competitors may struggle to replicate.

In this episode of the RBL Podcast, Norm Smallwood speaks with Roger Gray, CEO and Phil Doak, General Manager of People and Legal of the Port of Auckland about how the organization transformed from a deeply divided, underperforming workplace into a high-performance, high-engagement business.

In this episode of the RBL Podcast, Michael Phillips and Jessica Johnson, Senior Principals with The RBL Group, explore the critical intersection of organizational transformation, trust, and leadership. Drawing on over 15 years of global consulting experience, they discusses how leadership ultimately determines culture from the outside in. Through real-world case studies—ranging from regulatory turnarounds to PE-backed defense firms and shifting C-suite responsibilities—they break down RBL’s six-step Leadership Brand Architecture. The conversation highlights the tangible value of leadership as an intangible asset, its direct impact on investor decisions, and the necessity of defining market differentiators. This episode offers executive-level insights into how organizations can align employee and customer experiences to drive long-term business results.

In this episode of the RBL Group Podcast, Norm Smallwood, a partner at RBL Group, discusses the importance of human capability, focusing on aligning talent, leadership, and organization with stakeholder HR to improve business outcomes. Joined by industry experts John Gardner (Partner at IL2), Mike Panowyk (Managing Director of RBL for North America), and Jeff Gray (CTO of Ingenium), they explore real-life examples of customer experiences and their impact on brand loyalty.

In this episode of the RBL Impact Podcast, Darryl Wee, Managing Director of RBL for Asia Pacific, engages in a compelling conversation with David Udell, Group President of Hyatt Asia Pacific. The discussion explores Hyatt's five-year journey towards embracing agility, highlighting the importance of being outcome-focused and the value of cross-functional collaboration. In a sector defined by precision, David shares how Hyatt has thoughtfully integrated agility into its culture, creating psychological safety for experimentation, encouraging creativity, and fostering continuous learning. He emphasizes the central role of care, Hyatt’s core value and purpose, as the foundation in enhancing agility and delivering exceptional guest experiences. Tune in to discover valuable lessons from Hyatt's evolution towards a more agile organization. Coming Next: Episode 3: "Brand as Operating System" featuring special guests John Gardner and Jeff Gray—discover how aligning brand with operations and AI creates multi-dimensional competitive advantage.