Human on the Inside with XPON Technologies’ Matt Forman
Human on the Inside. We’re big believers in the power of human skills. But don’t just take our word for it - the evidence for excellence powered by human (‘soft’) skills is everywhere! In this engaging, ever-enlightening series, we speak with industry leaders, innovators and game-changers to learn a little about their personal career journeys, and how human-led strategies, philosophies and cultures are proving a force for good in their working worlds …
Maxme: Welcome Matt, and thanks for stepping into the #SuccessIsHuman Spotlight!
You’re the Founder and Group CEO of XPON Technologies Group (ASX:XPN) ("XPON") - a founder-led Marketing Technology and Cloud Business providing mission-critical services and software solutions to organisations in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Europe.
In 1 sentence (ok, we’ll give you 3), what does your role entail?
Matt Forman: I see my role has 3 equally important parts. 1. My role starts with setting the vision for XPON, it’s an exciting part of my role as its future facing and involves anticipating where technology, consumer trends and business are heading and finding an intersection where XPON can have the most impact. 2. Vision sets the tone for strategy which is a large part of my role as is communicating our strategy to our team, customers, investors and the broader market. 3. Thirdly it’s building and protecting our culture which is strongly rooted in our core values.
M: You first established XPON almost 3 years ago now in late 2019, but your career in innovation & accelerating businesses is of course much deeper. Over the last 20 years you’ve owned and managed high growth businesses online; witnessing the internet evolve from the dot com boom and bust, to the current transformation being driven by customer experience, big data, machine learning and analytics. You’ve Founded and led 5 digital start-ups (3Style Media, HEARIS Pty Ltd, Traffika, Maverick Data Group, Datisan) including capital raising & private equity, and have worked for many more. You’re also a mentor with River City Labs and Innovation Centre Sunshine Coast, technology incubators in QLD, Australia.
How does all this work speak to your personal purpose and what drives you as an individual?
MF: My personal purpose is to unlock growth. I love helping to grow things… whether that's myself, businesses, people or nature. This fits perfectly with the purpose of XPON which is to unlock exponential growth for all our stakeholders.
M: Tell us a little about your personal education pathway/s - what led you to where you are now? How closely do your formal qualifications match your current career?
MF: I haven’t completed a formal education. I left school after grade 10 and took a year off to start a trade, I found this wasn’t for me and went back a year later to complete senior high school. From there its just been self education and as they say the school of hard knocks. I value education immensely and am constantly learning but traditional structured education was never for me.
M: If you could share one piece of career advice to your 21 year old self it would be ...
MF: Ask better questions. Curiosity is one of the most valuable skills in business today and looking back I would have learned more, much faster if I had asked better questions more often of all the smart people that I have worked with over the years.
M: Maximising the potential of individuals, communities and businesses through the power of human skills is the reason Maxme exists. Can you tell us a little about the role and / or value of human skills in your workplace or industry right now?
MF: It’s everything. When we think about human skills at XPON it's more the traditional soft skills (or as we call them power skills). Skills (or traits) like curiosity, adaptability, resilience and empathy are what sets apart the star performers. There are plenty of well educated smart people with good ideas in the world… but when you combine these things with curoristy, adaptability, resilience and empathy, that is where you unlock true power and exceptional performance.
M: Self Awareness sets the critical foundation for all Maxme learning experiences. With that said … what’s your strongest trait / personal super power?
MF: Vision and the ability to see the big picture.
M: And on the flip side, what’s one human / ‘soft’ skill you’ve had to really work on improving over the course of your career?
Empathy. Its something that is easy to say but in reality being truly empathetic takes a lot of focus and genuine effort. It’s something I am continuing to strive to be better at.
M: If you could share one piece of career advice with recent Uni graduates or candidates keen to work with an organisation like XPON, what would it be?
MF: Be ok with learning and unlearning quickly. With the pace of change in business today it’s not possible for Uni’s to teach people everything they need to know. What we think we know today may be obsolete tomorrow.
M: You’ve been granted approval to add one Uni graduate to your business, but have 100 applicants, all with outstanding academic results. How do you find your perfect candidate - what are you looking for?
MF: Someone that is curious, humble, keen to grow outside their comfort zone and a self learner.
In the words of John Dewey, “education is not preparation for life, education is life itself.”
What’s next on your #learning agenda?
MF: Utilising AI tools to drive transformational change in the marketing industry, it’s an ongoing learning process keeping up-to-date with AI developments.
Ready to develop the human skills within your organisation, team or self? Explore our menu of Maxme Products & Programs or simply download the Hodie app to get started today.
Prefer to talk through your options? Simply contact us at any time.
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