Reimagining Value - with IDGs, Societal Learning & More

Jan 9 (edited) • Introduction

Hi All,

Thank you for welcoming me to this community!

I'm based in Prague, Czech Republic - but my journey was a little more complex. I was conceived in St. Petersburg, born in Vienna in 1980 as my mom was emigrating to the US seeking political asylum, raised in Boston, and in 2004 I came to Prague for 6 months, but then life happened and I never left.

At the heart of my work is a purpose to unlock human potential by fostering deep connections between people, ideas and systems. I believe that true value comes from breaking free of linear thinking, cultivating collaboration and embracing the complexity of the world around us.

Most recently I was the Head of Societal Learning at Novartis. I spearheaded the innovative strategy to create this role/team and gained sponsorship across the organization. The purpose of this 'Learning Beyond Novartis' work was to deliver sustainable learning outside the company – helping key partners & networks build skills to strengthen healthcare systems & improve health outcomes. This came off the back of a lot of culture transformation work where I led the Curiosity pillar of Novartis' culture transformation journey, and had the opportunity to collaborate with some of the folks now closely involved with the IDGs.

I came upon the IDGs in early 2022 when I first took on the Societal Learning role, as I was looking for how to bring adaptive and transformative skills into my Learning Beyond Novartis portfolio. We launched our 1st IDG program for 45 policy makers across Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024. That being said, many of the tools and methods were already heavily in use in the organization. We even hosted an IDG event on our Basel Campus in 2023 with Erik Fernholm, Amy Edmondson and more. Here is a recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVOJmm5ZJDA

The end of 2024 however brought a lot of change to my life. Due to restructuring in the People & Org function, my role was impacted and my portfolio transitioned back to the respective sponsors in the business. I'm really happy that the programs we developed and the partnership with IDGs will live on in Novartis.

With that, I had an important decision to make: Did I want to orient myself around another role or orient myself around "the work"? I decided to move through my fears and limiting beliefs, to trust that "the work" was the only path that wasn't some form of self-betrayal, and now I find myself starting a new year as an entrepreneur.

I'm incredibly thankful for the 8 1/2 year Novartis journey; I learned so much and made so many wonderful friends & thought partners both inside and outside Novartis, but I am also really optimistic about this next chapter.

I am thrilled that I will continue to collaborate with some of my favorite people, communities and organizations, including the wonderful IDGers out there, with my new ventures:

Reimagined Value www.reimaginedvalue.com

Inner Landscape innerlandscape.me

I look forward to being involved here! Thank you for creating this community and space for connection!

It would be great to also connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ninabressler/

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