In a business world driven by growth targets, dashboards, and scale, leaders are often told that expansion is the ultimate measure of success. But what if the real challenge isn’t scaling bigger, it’s protecting what matters?

In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with Richard Mah, former Global Head of Digital Marketing at ASICS and now steward of Northern Cafe and Grill, a family-run Vancouver diner that has served its community since 1949. With more than 20 years of experience leading digital teams across Asia, aligning global markets, and building performance-driven platforms, Richard has lived the world of multi-million-dollar budgets, executive reporting, and international KPIs. Today, he applies that same strategic thinking to a deeply local, human-centered business.

Richard shares what it was like to build digital infrastructure from scratch at ASICS, break down data silos across regions, and align diverse markets around a single performance dashboard. He reflects on the realities of leading inside hierarchical organizations, earning executive buy-in, and balancing global strategy with local cultural nuance.

The conversation then shifts from corporate boardrooms to brunch service. Richard explains why he chose to return to Vancouver and join his family at Northern Cafe and Grill, a 1949 diner that has since been named Yelp’s Top Place to Eat in Canada. Rather than chasing rapid expansion, Richard and his family focus on consistency, community, and care. They listen closely to guests, protect the legacy of the brand, and modernize thoughtfully without losing the soul of the business.

Anthony and Richard explore the tension between efficiency and hospitality, innovation and stewardship, and scaling versus sustaining. Richard argues that while many businesses pursue hype and growth, long-term success often comes from doing one thing exceptionally well and honoring the vision that built trust in the first place.

The episode closes with a powerful reminder that leadership looks different at every scale. Whether managing global teams or greeting guests by name, protecting what matters may be the most strategic decision a leader can make.

Enroll in our strategic thinking training today for $0!

https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Strategic-Leadership-Toolkit

If you want your team’s execution to be smoother, faster, and easier, your team needs the right tools and coaching. Enroll in the Strategy Leadership Accelerator and level up your leadership team.

https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Leading-Strategy-Execution

In this episode, you will learn:

Why alignment is more challenging than strategy in global organizations

How to build digital teams and unified dashboards across multiple markets

Why localization and cultural nuance matter in international brand growth

The difference between scaling a brand and stewarding a legacy

Why consistency often beats hype in long-term brand building

How care and hospitality can become strategic advantages

Connect with Richard Mah

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahrichard/

Northern Cafe and Grill: https://northerncafeandgrill.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northerncafeandgrill/

About the Host

Anthony Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SME Strategy and a trusted expert in organizational alignment and strategy execution. With over 15 years of experience facilitating strategic planning and leadership development, he helps organizations align their people, accelerate execution, and achieve their biggest goals.

Connect with Anthony: linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604

About SME Strategy

SME Strategy is a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and implementation. We help organizations align their teams around a shared vision so they can focus on what truly drives results.

Learn more: www.smestrategy.net

Podcast produced by: www.rednyne.com

Why good decisions often fail after they’re made — and how leaders can align intuition, planning, and execution so choices actually turn into results.

Even strong strategies can fall apart if organizations aren’t designed to execute them. Decisions that look right on paper often fail downstream, not because they were wrong, but because the systems, structures, and judgment required to carry them through were never put in place.

In this solo episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor examines why execution breaks down after decisions are made and what leaders can do to prevent it. Drawing on years of experience working with leadership teams, Anthony explains how strategy is less about the plan itself and more about the upstream conditions that allow people to make good decisions consistently.

Anthony explores how judgment is shaped by organizational design, why treating all decisions equally undermines execution, and how prioritization, trade-offs, and sequencing determine whether work actually gets done. He challenges leaders to rethink how resources are allocated, how focus is created, and how teams are supported to act with clarity rather than noise.

The episode also unpacks the role of meetings, decision rights, and leadership responsibility in surfacing uncertainty before it becomes costly. Anthony makes the case that execution improves when leaders intentionally design environments that reduce friction, eliminate unnecessary choices, and create space for reflection and alignment.

This episode is a practical guide for leaders who want their decisions to survive execution and turn strategic intent into measurable progress.

Enroll in our strategic thinking training today for $0!https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Strategic-Leadership-Toolkit

If you want your team’s execution to be smoother, faster, and easier, your team needs the right tools and coaching. Enroll in the Strategy Leadership Accelerator and level up your leadership team.https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Leading-Strategy-Execution

In this episode, you will learn:

- Why good decisions fail during execution- How upstream structures shape downstream results- Why focus and trade-offs matter more than more initiatives- How leaders can design organizations for better judgment- What it means to align planning, intuition, and execution- How to create conditions that allow teams to execute with clarity

About the Host

Anthony Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SME Strategy and a trusted expert in organizational alignment and strategy execution. With over 15 years of experience facilitating strategic planning and leadership development, he helps organizations align their people, accelerate execution, and achieve their biggest goals.

Connect with Anthony: linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604

About SME Strategy

SME Strategy is a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and implementation. We help organizations align their teams around a shared vision so they can focus on what truly drives results.

Learn more: www.smestrategy.netPodcast produced by: www.rednyne.com

In a time defined by rapid technological change, economic uncertainty, and shifting assumptions about work, innovation alone is no longer enough. Leaders are being challenged to rethink not just what they build, but how and why they build it.

In this episode of the Strategy and Leadership Podcast, host Anthony Taylor sits down with JoAnn Garbin, former Microsoft innovation leader and founder of Regeneris Labs, to explore what comes after traditional innovation models. Drawing on decades of experience inside Microsoft, startups, and now a venture studio, JoAnn shares how her thinking has evolved from driving innovation within large systems to designing entirely new regenerative models for work and value creation.

JoAnn reflects on a major personal and professional inflection point that led her to step away from Big Tech and intentionally rebuild from first principles. She explains why her team spent eighteen months in what she calls an “amorphous blob” phase, experimenting, testing, and resisting the pressure to prematurely define a business model. That process ultimately led to the creation of Regeneris Labs, a venture studio designed to remove constraints and allow experienced builders to create at scale.

The conversation explores why the venture studio model offers a powerful alternative to consulting, accelerators, and traditional startups, especially in a world shaped by AI. JoAnn makes the case that AI is a disruptive force on par with steam or electrification, but argues that technology alone never creates transformation. Instead, it must be paired with new organizational and economic models, much like the factory system enabled the industrial revolution.

Anthony and JoAnn also discuss team design, trust, and why “Swiss Army knife” leaders are essential in periods of uncertainty. Rather than relying too early on deep, narrow expertise, JoAnn explains why adaptive, cross-boundary leaders are better suited to navigate constant change. The episode closes with a forward-looking exploration of capitalism, regeneration, and the opportunity to design new systems that better align technology, work, and human outcomes.

Enroll in our strategic thinking training today for $0!

https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Strategic-Leadership-Toolkit

If you want your team's execution to be smoother, faster, and easier, your team needs the right tools and coaching. Enroll in the Strategy Leadership Accelerator and level up your leadership team.

https://courses.smestrategy.net/courses/Leading-Strategy-Execution

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why innovation alone is no longer sufficient for long-term success

• How regenerative ventures differ from startups, consultancies, and accelerators

• Why AI must be paired with new organizational and economic models

• How to design teams for adaptability and trust in uncertain environments

• Why experienced builders are often constrained out of meaningful work

• What leaders can learn from historical technology-driven transformations

Connect with JoAnn Garbin

Website: https://www.joanngarbin.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanngarbin/

About the Host

Anthony Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SME Strategy and a trusted expert in organizational alignment and strategy execution. With over 15 years of experience facilitating strategic planning and leadership development, he helps organizations align their people, accelerate execution, and achieve their biggest goals.

Connect with Anthony: linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604

About SME Strategy

SME Strategy is a management consulting firm specializing in strategic planning and implementation. We help organizations align their teams around a shared vision so they can focus on what truly drives results.

Learn more: www.smestrategy.net

Podcast produced by: www.rednyne.com