Interviews With Human Debt Fighters

As promised last week when we paid homage to the people who fight the good fight, this week we’re launching our Interviews with Superheroes (aka Human Debt Fighters) series. We all learn so much easier from storytelling that these voices of people who are living the talk are essential now more than ever.

In this first instalment, James Simon - a Renaissance man, a consummate professional who remains so passionate he is not only a driven and immensely sharp strategist, but a true humanist at heart. Some people jumped on the humans-have-feelings-at-work-too bandwagon because it was trendy or everyone else was doing it. Not James, he already had a strong suspicion it has never been about anything other than people and when he discovered the practical side of it - the way to affect and measure true change for the better- he had become unflinchingly militant about its importance. As ever we can only reiterate we feel a world of gratitude to the Superheroes who are in a position of doing the same, it’s the lifeline of any enterprise - having enough people who care with their hearts in the right place.

The interview is full of genuine pearls such as when James candidly says "I read more and more about Psychological Safety and when I understood it, I started to see how fundamentally different work could be if this were in place".

For the avoidance of all doubt, while James works for Amazon who were lucky enough to get him in the midst of the GreatResignation, he is also not in any capacity speaking for the company he is with when he gives us this interview and we have known James from well before his current position and most of what we learned together about the people-work needed to diminish the HumanDebt has transpired in his last job. That said, the principles of Amazon have always absolutely fascinated me. If you’ve never read them do so now and maybe post them internally or pass them around, most are sheer gold.

But the best of them, the one that most speaks to me is “Disagree and commit”.