I've never been a spectator

They say there are three kinds of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who ask, "What happened?" I prefer to understand what's coming, shape what happens next, and ask the questions that make better outcomes possible.

I never set out to make a career from curiosity. I set out to build things: teams, brands and businesses. Early on I realised that what separates average results from extraordinary ones isn't strategy. It's the quality of the questions being asked.

Building things

After travelling, I completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing at Charles Sturt while working full-time, then an MBA in Strategy at Deakin. I built my career across iconic brands, including Kraft Foods, Arnott's and Kellogg, and went on to lead accelerated commercial growth in startups, ASX Top 50 and multinational companies. Again and again, the work came down to finding a way: applying curiosity in the face of adversity and significant competition.

At Roy Morgan Research I met Dr Colin Benjamin OAM. What began as a project became a collaboration of nearly 30 years. Together we co-created Your Mind at Work, The Energy Pulse and Forensic C60, the intellectual foundation of my work.

Everything we built across those years was grounded in Sun Tzu. Not just Sun Tzu the strategist, but Sun Tzu the man, whose highest ideal was winning while minimising harm. That was Colin's way of moving through the world, and it's at the heart of what he taught me. I wrote about him in What is Love?

That work led me to launch Clutch, using psychographic data to target customers, and then Next Reality Group, advising brands including Mars, Coca-Cola, Coles, ANZ, Bendigo Bank, Dole, Fonterra and IGA.

Setbacks, and what came next

A series of setbacks later took me away from business. Difficult then, formative now. I came back through executive roles at iSelect and AGL Energy. In 2020, an introduction to Foodbank Australia led me to build the world's first predictive Hunger Map, now adopted nationally and recognised internationally.

Today

I lead The Art of More, helping leaders turn curiosity into a capability their organisation can build. My clients have the answers; my work is helping them ask the questions that reveal them. I'm also completing a Doctorate of Business Administration at Warwick Business School, researching why curiosity gets suppressed as organisations scale, and writing my first book.

Outside of work you'll find me playing baseball, canoeing, or chasing the next better question.

Short speaker bio

Scott McLaughlin is a keynote speaker on curiosity and human performance. After building brands at Kraft, Arnott's and Kellogg, he co-created the Your Mind at Work and Energy Pulse frameworks with Dr Colin Benjamin OAM and built the world's first predictive Hunger Map for Foodbank Australia. He leads The Art of More and is a doctoral candidate at Warwick Business School, researching why curiosity gets suppressed as organisations scale.

Book Scotty