95%

Jonathan is the Head Culture Catalyst for ‘95%’, a consultancy that specialises in improving company performance through cultural transformation. Jonathan and his team have impacted 5,800 business leaders across Malaysia since 2015. The name comes from a study that claims that even the smartest person only uses 5% of her brain capacity, thus Jonathan and his organisation work to tap into the underutilised 95%. ‘95%’ strives to turn workplaces into ‘joyplaces’. For an organisation to become a joyplace, two conditions must hold: business must be thriving, and people must be winning. This means that employees should be feeling high levels of fulfilment, satisfaction and growth.

As a corporate culture consultancy, ‘95%’ works to understand how a business is operating and then uses this information to diagnose the problem at hand. Four main criteria are considered in the diagnostic stage: leadership, environment, buy-in, and tools and skills. Leadership is essential to set the direction of the business and to serve as role models to the rest of the organisation. The Environment stage looks at how appraisals are conducted, the priorities of the organisation and relationships, as well as the physical office space. Buy-in is the necessary intelligent understanding of where the company is headed and why change is needed, as well as the necessary emotional commitment and motivation for the changes to be implemented and maintained. The last criterium, tools and skills, identifies possible employee skill areas that can be improved to help workers become more effective and successful. ‘95%’ then develops a strategy for how to resolve any identified issues, and sets about implementing the plan to create a lasting cultural shift within the organisation. Jonathan’s organisation currently operates in Malaysia with some projects in Singapore, Indonesia and the UK, and it is set to expand to the Philippines and further afield in Southeast Asia.

Jonathan expanded his knowledge on the needs of young people in Malaysia through compiling the first One Young World Impact Report with fellow Ambassador Michael Teoh, which was then presented at the One Young World 2011 Zurich Summit.