How do you use AI in business without losing the personal touch? In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint, Bessi Graham chats with Ana Raynes, CEO of Simplified Impact, about balancing automation with authentic customer relationships. You’ll discover how top businesses are leveraging AI to streamline operations, drive growth, and stay human in an increasingly digital world.

In this episode:

• Keep your business simple and personal — it’s the secret to lasting success.

• Treat tech like a helpful team member, not a replacement.

• Regularly check if your tools still work for your goals.

• Stay updated on tech trends through quick reads and social media.

• Only invest in tools that actually move the needle financially.

• Make curiosity part of your culture — experiment, explore, improve.

If you’ve been asking questions about how to keep pace with rapid technological advancements in Al, automation, and data analytics this is your chance to get some insights from someone who lives and breathes these things every day.

About Ana Raynes

Ana is the founder of Simplified Impact, a marketing agency focused on helping brands cut through the noise and get noticed. With a background in fashion and digital marketing, she’s known for turning complex strategies into real results.

Before this, Ana co-founded the fashion startup Smart is Cool, featured in Glamour and on Fox’s Strategy Room. Since then, she’s helped brands generate over $160M through SEO, Google Ads, and YouTube. She also supports top 10% podcasts in growing loyal, engaged audiences.

Connect with Ana

Website: https://simplifiedimpact.com/

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About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact

In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint podcast, Bessi is joined by Kiva Slade to discuss the pivotal role of leadership and strategy in modern business success. Kiva provides insights into transforming business intelligence into confident action, a critical skill for leaders feeling constrained by the influx of data and change.

Bessi and Kiva explore how leaders can navigate and embrace strategic growth while ensuring their leadership consistently aligns with their strategic aims. They highlight the significance of refining organisational visions and values, emphasising their role in sustainable business growth. They discuss the necessity of having explicit systems and a leadership model that is adaptable to change. By providing guidance on assessing current operations and setting up essential systems, Kiva helps listeners understand the importance of strategic reflection and proactive leadership.

Also in this episode:

• Leadership requires a balance between strategic planning and the ability to adapt to ongoing changes in the business environment.

• Establishing and revisiting clear organisational vision and values are crucial for sustainable growth and should guide decision-making processes.

• Leaders should not only reflect on past performance but should also anticipate future business needs and adjust their strategies accordingly.

• Engaging external advisors or facilitators can provide fresh perspectives and ensure leaders and their teams stay aligned with their strategic initiatives.

Resources mentioned:

Elizabeth Gilbert - Brutal Honesty Learn the four questions that Gilbert suggests you use to figure out who to trust when it comes to taking on board advice or criticism: http://www.oprah.com/inspiration/Elizabeth-Gilbert-How-to-Figure-Out-Who-to-Trust

Harvard Business School Case - Tim Ferris: What Might This Look Like If It Were Easy? If you’re interested in reading the case study Bessi mentioned at the end of the episode you’ll find it here https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=66608 (NOTE: The case study is $11.95)

About Kiva Slade

Kiva Slade is the founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative, a business consultancy dedicated to helping women small business owners thrive. As a certified coach and business strategist, Kiva combines data-driven strategic consulting with transformative leadership development.

Her approach helps clients elevate strategic thinking, implement systems that support their vision, turn business intelligence into confident action, and strengthen leadership effectiveness. After recently applying her expertise in a corporate setting, Kiva returns with enhanced insights to serve women entrepreneurs and business leaders.

As a thought leader in mindset transformation and operational excellence, Kiva partners with purpose-driven women ready to build sustainable businesses and create meaningful impact in their industries.

Connect with Kiva

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

Website: https://www.the516collaborative.com/

Subscribe to the Jasper Blueprint podcast:

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Website | | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Group

About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact

In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint podcast, Bessi is joined by Jo Stanley, a trailblazer in Australian radio who discusses her latest venture in breaking the sound barrier, Broad Radio—the first-ever radio network for women in Australia. Jo talks about her journey from being a successful radio host to a startup founder, emphasising her mission to amplify women's voices in an industry that has predominantly overlooked them.

Jo highlights the significant gender disparities in radio, citing only 27% of voices are women, and how Broad Radio seeks to address this imbalance by embracing a diverse range of perspectives. She discusses challenges and surprises encountered in launching a new media platform, along with the strategic blend of live radio and podcasts to reach and engage audiences effectively. Jo also delves into the core values driving Broad Radio and the innovative structures she has implemented to ensure the platform's authenticity and relevance.

• Broad Radio was created to address the lack of women's voices and representation in the radio industry.

• The importance of active listening and understanding the audience to create engaging and meaningful content.

• Exploring bold ideas and inviting diverse perspectives are central to Broad Radio's mission to enrich the media landscape.

• Community engagement and support are crucial for the platform's growth and long-term impact.

About Jo Stanley

Jo is a performer, writer, podcaster, broadcaster. Her 20 year career in radio included 2 record breaking, number 1 breakfast shows which makes her one of Australia’s most successful radio hosts.

Jo launched Broad Radio – Australia’s first radio network for women, and a platform that amplifies the full diversity of women’s voices.

Jo is a fierce advocate for gender equality. In support of these issues, she is a patron for Lighthouse Foundation and Wellsprings for Women, and an ambassador for Left Write Hook and Fitted for Work.

Connect with Jo Stanley

Linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/realjostanley

Website: https://broadradio.com.au/

Subscribe to the Jasper Blueprint podcast:

Apple Podcast | YouTube | Spotify

Connect With Bessi Graham:

Website | | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Group

About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact

In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint podcast, Bessi and Melissa Dinwiddie, a prolific creativity instigator, explore the dynamic interplay between business creativity and innovation. The discussion challenges traditional notions of productivity, emphasising the value of play and experimentation in achieving groundbreaking results.

Melissa reveals how her "Create the Impossible" framework — highlighting "Play Hard," "Make Crap," and "Learn Fast" — fosters a culture of innovation essential for driving forward-thinking business solutions. By engaging in playful, exploratory activities and embracing the learning derived from failures, leaders can cultivate an innovative environment conducive to breakthrough solutions.

• Play isn't an adjunct; it's integral to the innovation process and encourages new ways of thinking, essential for breakthrough results.

• The key to unlocking research insights and engaging cross-functional teams is effective communication tailored to different audiences.

• Leaders can foster innovative workplaces by encouraging exploration, experimentation, and empathy within their teams.

About Melissa Dinwiddie

Melissa Dinwiddie is on a mission to help leaders and teams turn the "impossible" into reality by uncovering their creative potential. A Juilliard-trained dancer, professional artist for 15 years, jazz singer-songwriter, and performing improviser, Melissa brings a wealth of creative experiences to her work with companies like Google, Meta, and Salesforce. As the author of The Creative Sandbox Way™, she’s passionate about showing people how to embrace play, imperfection, and experimentation as tools for innovation.

Connect with Melissa

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/melissadinwiddie

Instagram: https://instagram.com/a_creative_life

Website: https://melissadinwiddie.com

Link to download the first chapter of Melissa’s book:

https://bit.ly/tjbthankyou

Subscribe to the Jasper Blueprint podcast:

Apple Podcast | YouTube | Spotify

Connect With Bessi Graham:

Website | | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Group

About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact

In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint podcast, Bessi and Lucinda Hartley explore adaptive leadership and thriving in the future of work. Lucinda, a seasoned entrepreneur and urban futurist, brings her wealth of experience to discuss how leaders can build adaptive mindsets to navigate the uncertainties of the modern work landscape. They cover various aspects of entrepreneurial thinking, strategic planning, and the importance of flexibility and discernment in leadership. Lucinda shares her thoughts on how leaders can drive their organisations forward amidst rapid change and technological advancements.

Together, they emphasise the need for strategic adaptability in business leadership, particularly within small to medium-sized enterprises. Lucinda discusses the evolving landscape of work, the role of technology, and the importance of breaking free from rigid business norms to embrace a more dynamic and resilient approach. Lucinda also explores the intersection of societal challenges, like housing affordability, and their impact on businesses, highlighting the importance of a holistic view in decision-making.

• Thriving in the future of work requires leaders to cultivate adaptive mindsets, embracing entrepreneurial thinking and flexibility.

• Successful leadership involves balancing high-level strategic vision with practical operational execution.

• Clear and explicit communication is essential in aligning organisational goals with team execution, ensuring everyone is on the same page.

• Understanding the intersection of societal challenges and business operations is crucial for sustainable growth and stability.

About Lucinda

Lucinda Hartley is an entrepreneur, award winning technology leader and urban futurist. Named as one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential Women by the Australian Financial Review, her work over the past decade has focused on pioneering innovative companies whose products have been used around the world.

Lucinda is a serial founder, currently focused on solving Australia’s housing affordability crisis, as co-founder and Chief Growth Officer of Mondus Capital, an innovative shared-equity home loan product for first home buyers. Prior to this she co-founded urban big data analytics company Neighbourlytics, where she spearheaded world leading technology for measuring urban life, now implemented in 10 countries. She also co-founded CoDesign Studio, which delivered more than 100 neighbourhood improvement projects across Australia.

Lucinda helps leaders and organisations think like an entrepreneur, and build the adaptive mindsets and tools needed to thrive in the future of work.

Connect with Lucinda

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

Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/lucindahartley

Website: www.mymondus.com

Subscribe to the Jasper Blueprint podcast:

Apple Podcast | YouTube | Spotify

Connect With Bessi Graham:

Website | | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Group

About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact

In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint podcast, Bessi shares "10 Rules I Live By", which they prefer to call "10 Mantras or Reminders" for achieving business excellence, as they don’t like the idea of rigid rules! These mantras have shaped their personal growth, relationships, and approach to life. Bessi shares their insights into navigating complex business landscapes while maintaining personal and professional integrity. From encouraging leaders to adopt a mindset of "Both/And" to challenging conventional business norms with the belief that "business is not a zero-sum game," Bessi inspires listeners to rethink how they operate both personally and professionally. They introduce listeners to influential quotes like Maya Angelou's "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Sharing stories and lessons from their journey in business and life, Bessi emphasises that leaders can achieve both financial success and societal impact by embracing these philosophies.

• The power of adopting personal mantras to guide both business and personal life.

• Embracing a "Both/And" mindset to handle contradictions and complexities with grace.

• The importance of giving from a place of overflow, ensuring personal well-being before helping others.

• Business is not a zero-sum game; integrating purpose with profit can provide a competitive advantage.

Subscribe to the Jasper Blueprint podcast:

Apple Podcast | YouTube | Spotify

Connect With Bessi Graham:

Website | | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Group

About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact

In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint podcast, Bessi dives into navigating innovation in leadership styles. They unpack leadership styles, past and present, with a focus on wisdom, service, and the good of the many. Bessi dismantles traditional leadership perceptions like the "Great Man Theory," and introduces the “thrive cycle,” a framework designed to refine how businesses understand and actualize their value propositions and emphasizes the power of innovation in leadership, detailing the necessity of empathy and significant technological integration as beneficial competitive advantages.

Learn how foundational leadership theories, combined with contemporary needs for agile and empathic abilities, can be transformative for aspiring leaders. With Graham's distinctive approaches, discover how innovation in leadership may empower businesses to flourish in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Also in this episode:

• Ensure you are effectively differentiating your business to stand out in the market.

• Obsess over delivering results for customers rather than just promoting your own products/services.

• Use the “Thrive Cycle" framework to build a strong foundation for your business and leadership.

• Focus on tailoring your messaging and offerings to specific stakeholders by leveraging the insights from the "Thrive Cycle".

Resources mentioned in the episode:

• What I learnt about leadership from sitting in a bombed out building https://youtube.com/shorts/pUp6JG3WzrU?feature=share

• Listen to our previous podcast episode to help you unlock creativity in your team: Unlocking Team Creativity: Teach Innovation with Dr Amy Climer (Ep #85) https://bessigraham.com/2025/01/unlocking-team-creativity-teach-innovation-with-dr-amy-climer/

Subscribe to the Jasper Blueprint podcast:

Apple Podcast | YouTube | Spotify

Connect With Bessi Graham:

Website | | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Group

About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact

In this episode of The Jasper Blueprint podcast, Bessi dives into the growing importance of authentic leadership and how staying true to your values is essential for building trust in today’s competitive business landscape. Authentic leadership, Bessi explains, is about developing deep self-awareness, understanding your strengths, and fully embracing your core values. By doing so, leaders can express their truest selves while fostering transparency and alignment within their organisations. This level of self-discovery not only enhances leadership effectiveness but also strengthens communication and trust at every level of the business.

Also in this episode:

• • Consistency between your words and actions is fundamental to establishing trust and credibility.

  • Customers, employees, and stakeholders can easily detect inconsistencies between stated values and actual behaviour.

  • Authentic leadership may not appeal to everyone, but it attracts the right customers and team members who align with your vision and values.

  • Differentiating between core values and aspirational values is a valuable exercise when shaping your leadership approach.

Subscribe to the Jasper Blueprint podcast:

Apple Podcast | YouTube | Spotify

Connect With Bessi Graham:

Website | | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook Group

About Bessi Graham:

With nearly 25 years’ of experience working with business owners, governments, and large funding bodies to merge money and meaning, my experience spans from the grassroots of sitting in the dirt working with business owners across the Pacific Islands through to the United Nations in Geneva. This has given me an unparalleled perspective.

This Podcast Is Produced, Engineered & Edited By: Simplified Impact