Leadership is the last human job.
AI now does the knowing. What's left is trust, talent and teams that give a damn. I help CEOs and their leadership teams strip leadership back to first principles, and lead for the age of the heart.
30 minutes. Straight talk. Let's see if we fit. If I'm not the right person, I'll tell you, and point you to someone who is.
For a century, leaders earned their place by knowing things. That job is gone.
- 01Without an outcome, there's no need for leadership.
- 02Leaders only get outcomes through people.
- 03AI now handles the knowing, the deciding and the passing on of information.
- 04So what's left is the human work: trust, talent and teams that give a damn. Welcome to the age of the heart.
Three ways in. All delivered by me.
The room thinks differently about leadership.
I won't give your people takeaways. I'll change how they think. Three talks, 45 to 60 minutes, for conferences and all-leader events.
Your leadership team finds its 20%.
A full or half day, with a discovery chat with each leader first. The team leaves thinking and acting as one, on what matters.
A thinking partner for the hard stretch.
Six months of one-to-one work with CEOs and C-suite leaders. Sessions, plus access between them. Limited places.
If you only had 20% of your leadership budget, where would it go?
Every organisation's 20% is different. In my research with 90 leaders it was feedback for one, delegation for another, accountability for outcomes for a third. None of them knew theirs before they spent the 100%.
So I strip leadership back to first principles. Find the few things that move results in your business. Do those properly. Drop the rest.
I've built it, lived it, run it, studied it and coached it.
- Built itNaval architect and Chartered Engineer. First Class Honours, trained to design from first principles.
- Lived it18 years leading under pressure in the New Zealand Defence Force, including deployments.
- Ran itHead of the Royal New Zealand Navy Leadership Training School. Rebuilt how it developed leaders, with a team of 20.
- Studied itTwo years researching leadership as a business capability. 90 leaders and practitioners on what CEOs actually pay for.
- Coached it4,000+ hours of coaching, from CEOs to new leaders.
CEOs and leadership teams across Aotearoa.
I have been working with Kenny for over a year now and can’t recommend him highly enough.SteveCEO
Kenny has an uncanny ability to hold a mirror up so that you come to your own conclusions in a way that seems like he has planted those seeds somehow.HelenManaging Director
I have always left every exchange with Kenny feeling both supported and a little wiser on how to tackle a situation.HopeCFO
The way Kenny asked questions and challenged my thinking was amazing. I’ve now managed to implement and lead with much more clarity and positivity!HaydenDirector
The thinking, every week. Read or listen.
- 5 Nov 2026Art of KPI FarmingRead →
- 29 Oct 2026Nobody Claps for PreventionRead →
- 22 Oct 2026Are You Enough?Read →
A short read, or a six-minute listen.
One idea each week on leading people when AI does the knowing. No takeaways. Just better thinking.
Let's talk about your leadership team.
30 minutes. Straight talk. Let's see if we fit. If I'm not the right person, I'll tell you, and point you to someone who is.