Mike Carroll has held a deep fascination for nature since childhood, which he subsequently sought to communicate to a wide audience through his work as a writer, director and producer within the film and television industry.
In 1990, Mike managed to convince Sean Caddy to join him and a handful of similarly inspired colleagues in starting a company that would pioneer new ways of filming the natural events that are normally hidden to the human eye.
As their technology matured, and its application spread to areas other than natural history filming, the company's reputation grew, and more exciting and ambitious projects beckoned. Despite commanding generous production budgets and winning numerous prestigious awards, after two decades within the Film and Television industry, time spent away from home eventually took its toll, and Mike decided curtail his film activities in favour of spending time with his teenage family.
Returning to Adelaide, he began Master of Arts Degree in Communications Management at the University of South Australia as the first stage of a plan to build a narrative-based consultancy. Mike's plan was to help businesses better understand their culture through collecting the stories told by staff and customers. However he soon became captivated by academic Ralph Stacey's work on similarities between complex adaptive systems and the operations of our social organisations, and the role narrative plays in understanding social complexity.
Searching in earnest for a practical method to implement Stacey's ideas, he discovered the innovative work of Dave Snowden, the brilliant founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cognitive Edge. Mike completed his accreditation in the Cognitive Edge methods in 2008, and now consults to business and government, using SenseMakerTM and associated methods to help organisations to better understand their ecology, and to build resilience in times of change.
In 1990, Mike managed to convince Sean Caddy to join him and a handful of similarly inspired colleagues in starting a company that would pioneer new ways of filming the natural events that are normally hidden to the human eye.
As their technology matured, and its application spread to areas other than natural history filming, the company's reputation grew, and more exciting and ambitious projects beckoned. Despite commanding generous production budgets and winning numerous prestigious awards, after two decades within the Film and Television industry, time spent away from home eventually took its toll, and Mike decided curtail his film activities in favour of spending time with his teenage family.
Returning to Adelaide, he began Master of Arts Degree in Communications Management at the University of South Australia as the first stage of a plan to build a narrative-based consultancy. Mike's plan was to help businesses better understand their culture through collecting the stories told by staff and customers. However he soon became captivated by academic Ralph Stacey's work on similarities between complex adaptive systems and the operations of our social organisations, and the role narrative plays in understanding social complexity.
Searching in earnest for a practical method to implement Stacey's ideas, he discovered the innovative work of Dave Snowden, the brilliant founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Cognitive Edge. Mike completed his accreditation in the Cognitive Edge methods in 2008, and now consults to business and government, using SenseMakerTM and associated methods to help organisations to better understand their ecology, and to build resilience in times of change.
Born in Cornwall (UK), Sean spent his early years living in the Canadian wilderness, before moving with his artist parents to Australia in the 1950s. Settling first in Tasmania then finally putting down roots in South Australia, Sean grew up surrounded by art, literature, and a retinue of colourful characters.
Sean’s management style has evolved through his involvement in a range of industries and cultures and has been honed by extensive travel and exposure to ideas. He sees as a major strength the ability to promote and foster creativity within the structured parameters required for the successful outcome of any enterprise, whether it be the making of a film, or the successful outcome of an R&D cycle.
Before joining Cognia in 2009, Sean and Cognia partner Mike Carroll previously worked in the 1990’s as the management and creative team in the entrepreneurial production company Digital Arts Film and Television, producing drama, documentaries, and television commercials using the company’s proprietary 3D animation and camera control systems. During this period, Sean initiated a separate research and development group which was responsible for creating and patenting the innovative film-making technologies which underpinned the company's reputation with broadcasters and producers around the world.
Sean brings to Cognia clients the benefits of wide-ranging commercial and cross-cultural management experience, familiarity with product and service innovation, and an appreciation of the delicate balance faced by those managers and decision makers charged with the daunting task of organisational renewal of entities with entrenched cultural resistance to change.
Sean’s management style has evolved through his involvement in a range of industries and cultures and has been honed by extensive travel and exposure to ideas. He sees as a major strength the ability to promote and foster creativity within the structured parameters required for the successful outcome of any enterprise, whether it be the making of a film, or the successful outcome of an R&D cycle.
Before joining Cognia in 2009, Sean and Cognia partner Mike Carroll previously worked in the 1990’s as the management and creative team in the entrepreneurial production company Digital Arts Film and Television, producing drama, documentaries, and television commercials using the company’s proprietary 3D animation and camera control systems. During this period, Sean initiated a separate research and development group which was responsible for creating and patenting the innovative film-making technologies which underpinned the company's reputation with broadcasters and producers around the world.
Sean brings to Cognia clients the benefits of wide-ranging commercial and cross-cultural management experience, familiarity with product and service innovation, and an appreciation of the delicate balance faced by those managers and decision makers charged with the daunting task of organisational renewal of entities with entrenched cultural resistance to change.
Cognia's Story:
Cognia brings together the skills and experiences of its two principles, Mike Carroll and Sean Caddy. But it goes further than that too: As a member of the Cognitive Edge Network, Cognia taps into the distributed intelligence of a global network of Cognitive Edge associates, with wide-ranging expertise in industry, government and academe.
Sean Caddy's executive management experience spans four decades, and ranges across the mining, horticulture, media, finance and retail sectors. He has built several enterprises from the ground up, both in Australia and in the Middle East, and has managed product, service and R&D orientated operations, with workforces ranging from just a handful to thousands of employees
Cognia was founded in 2008 by Mike Carroll, after two decades in the film and television industry working with clients such as The Discovery Channel, National Geographic and the ABC. It was through his work in science and natural history film that Mike began to appreciate the significance of complexity, and the enormous potential of narrative for organisations trying to understand or communicate values with their customers or staff.
Mike Carroll
Sean Caddy