Jiří Koleňák: My name is Jiří Koleňák and welcome to the Úspěšní (Successful) podcast, where my guests and I explore the principles and habits that drive their success. My guest today is Jiří Vávra, an expert in strategy, marketing, and innovation. Jiří led key strategic teams at Deloitte Next, focusing on business and marketing strategy. Today, he is the co-founder of the strategic consultancy Comojo, which helps companies and executives achieve exceptional results. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with global brands like Škoda Auto, Nivea, Pepsi, and many others. As part of Newton University's MBA program, he will be teaching strategic management and thinking—something I am personally really looking forward to. Hi Jirko, welcome to the podcast.
Jiří Vávra: Hi, thanks for having me.
Jiří Koleňák: Jirko, I ask everyone the same opening question: what brought you the greatest joy in recent days?
Jiří Vávra: The recent snowfall! I was thrilled that it snowed enough for me to go cross-country skiing. That was fantastic.
Jiří Koleňák: Excellent. It brought me slightly less joy because I had to drive on the highway, so cross-country skis sound like a much better option. Let's go back to the start of your career. What inspired you to enter your field? What did you originally think you would become, and how did reality unfold?
Jiří Vávra: I never looked that far ahead. Where I am today—even though I don't consider it anything extraordinary—was way beyond my childhood imagination. Originally, I played ice hockey and assumed I'd become a professional athlete. That was my first goal, and for a long time, it was enough. Later, I thought I'd do something creative—like becoming a film director, writer, or editor. I actually achieved those creative goals quite early in life, and then I found myself asking, "What now? I've already fulfilled my dream."
Jiří Koleňák: Did you direct films?
Jiří Vávra: Yes. I studied audiovisual production. I started university relatively late, around age 24. While others were graduating, I was just starting, so I wanted to maximize my time. I produced as much as possible—including plenty of bad projects just to learn—and by age 28, I had directed numerous documentary films and projects.
Jiří Koleňák: When you reached that crossroads of "what next," what helped you decide? How did you transition from creative filmmaking to working at Deloitte?
Jiří Vávra: Pure coincidence. I had no interest in the corporate business world. My dream was to live like Hemingway in French cafés, which I largely experienced during university. I never worried about making money because I saw myself as an artist. But I eventually realized that vision was naive. I faced obstacles trying to work in public television and struggled with environments I disliked. Whenever I felt at a dead end, life offered a new direction. It presented advertising—a field I previously looked down upon. I gave advertising a shot to make a living and discovered I excelled at it. I could be creative every day, analyze complex problems, orient myself strategically, and drive results. I quickly became head of a creative department. The move to Deloitte happened similarly—when advertising felt effortless and lacked challenge, a new opportunity presented itself. Taking those leaps always felt terrifying, but the growth potential was huge.
Jiří Koleňák: The takeaway is: stay perceptive to the opportunities life presents and be ready to seize them.
Jiří Vávra: Exactly. Be perceptive, and when an opportunity arrives, strive to truly excel at it. I always pushed beyond the immediate requirements of a role by mastering the underlying craft.
Jiří Koleňák: Creativity is one side of the coin, but you also led teams. How do you balance creative artistry with leadership? How do you work with people, and how do people work with you?
Jiří Vávra: I've always been deeply interested in psychology. I completed therapeutic training and actively practice it, which is foundational to my work. Understanding people, practicing empathy, and reading dynamics are crucial. Playing team sports like hockey taught me key leadership principles early on. I always aimed to build genuine communities around me—teams of people who don't just "go to work," but support one another and succeed together whether I'm in the room or not.
Jiří Koleňák: You worked with massive global brands. What are the key differences between serving established global corporations versus agile startups?
Jiří Vávra: It depends on the startup's stage. Early-stage startups are hungry for help, making it straightforward to offer experience and resources. Large corporations don't hunger for generic advice; they approach you with specific problems, often surrounded by 50 competing agencies. In lower-tier corporate services, you risk being treated like commodity labor—"hired hands" hired to dig a hole and fill it back up. In senior management consulting, you act as strategic partners to decision-makers. A true partner helps executives succeed in their roles, advance their careers, and navigate complex organizational challenges. I always insist on authenticity and partnership over servitude.
Jiří Koleňák: Do you have a flagship project from your career that stands out as a major milestone?
Jiří Vávra: At Deloitte, we created an employer branding and recruitment campaign called Deloitte Dream Job. Deloitte needed to attract top graduate talent in a market where tech firms were pulling candidates away from traditional Big Four firms. We pitched a radical campaign idea directly to the board and received a mandate. I put my neck on the line guaranteeing its success. We managed a complex, multi-agency effort that shook up internal perceptions. The campaign crushed our hiring metrics, boosted senior recruitment across departments by tens of percent, and won major industry awards. Having an internal strategic team that innovates from within provides enormous corporate leverage.
Jiří Koleňák: After Deloitte came Comojo. What is Comojo, and how did it start?
Jiří Vávra: Comojo offers high-level strategic consulting and management guidance directly to business leaders. I co-founded it with Dan Miller, who originally built Deloitte Next. When he transitioned to independent consulting, we eventually joined forces. The name comes from the word Mojo—meaning personal magic or charismatic influence that drives success and attracts high performers. Co-mojo stands for sharing that strategic magic with our clients.
Jiří Koleňák: What core values define your firm?
Jiří Vávra: Absolute truthfulness, authenticity, and courage. We comfortably turn down client engagements if they don't align with our values. We speak uncomfortable truths when necessary and push bold, innovative solutions that less forward-thinking firms might fear.
Jiří Koleňák: What makes a truly effective leader today?
Jiří Vávra: A leader must be an authentic visionary who clearly communicates why the company exists. People want to connect to a meaningful purpose. Employees spend over 36 years of their lives at work—they don't want to dedicate decades to a company that views itself as merely churning out generic products. A great leader gives that journey shared meaning and surrounds themselves with people who are smarter than they are in specific domains.
Jiří Koleňák: What typical strategic problems do you solve for clients at Comojo?
Jiří Vávra: Two main areas: HR retention culture and B2B marketing-sales alignment. In HR, companies often struggle with young talent leaving shortly after training; we diagnose the root causes and reshape internal engagement. In B2B tech firms, sales teams frequently complain that marketing produces low-quality leads, while marketing feels undervalued. Traditional consumer agencies often advise B2B firms to pour millions into social media campaigns that yield zero corporate deals. We bridge that gap by aligning marketing investments strictly with high-value B2B buyer journeys.
Jiří Koleňák: Do you plan to scale Comojo into a massive firm?
Jiří Vávra: We want to grow in terms of revenue and impact, not headcount. We prefer remaining a highly specialized, boutique team of elite senior experts who deliver exceptional, high-value outcomes. When we leave an engagement, clients should feel the ROI far exceeded their investment.
Jiří Koleňák: You are widely recognized for your creativity. Is creativity innate, or can it be trained?
Jiří Vávra: It can certainly be cultivated. My creativity stems from curiosity and a broad cultural appetite—reading extensively, observing arts and human nature, and connecting disparate concepts into new frameworks. To help non-creative people generate ideas under pressure, you must expand their awareness. Have them look at nature or entirely different industries, capture interesting observations, and force them to write down 10 raw ideas in two minutes. Time pressure bypasses internal self-censorship. Even a bad idea serves as great raw material for creative breakthroughs.
Jiří Koleňák: What kills creativity in organizations?
Jiří Vávra: Fear and stress. The fear of making mistakes or looking foolish is the ultimate creative killer. When perfectionism dominates, people stay quiet rather than putting their neck on the line with a bold idea. Leaders must create environments where mistakes are recognized as necessary stepping stones toward innovation.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you foster collective creativity within a team?
Jiří Vávra: Brainstorming fails when one loud, dominant personality steamrolls the room, leaving introverts unheard. I lead by asking open questions—"What is your take on this?"—and building concepts collaboratively brick-by-brick. When everyone contributes a brick to the wall, the team takes collective ownership of the final result.
Jiří Koleňák: How do technology and AI intersect with human creativity?
Jiří Vávra: AI is a powerful tool for efficiency and one-on-one strategic brainstorming. However, AI operates on averages—it produces ideas that are "good enough" for mass consumption, resulting in generic content. True creative excellence still requires human nuance, emotional depth, and unique personal expression to stand out above the baseline forest.
Jiří Koleňák: What personal philosophy or literature guides your self-development?
Jiří Vávra: Deep self-awareness is fundamental. Therapy has been one of the best personal investments I've ever made. I also draw deep wisdom from classical mythology and Joseph Campbell's analysis of the Hero's Journey. A profound realization for me recently has been relinquishing rigid attachment to specific life outcomes ("lpění na životě"). When you stop forcing life to match a rigid script of what success should look like, life becomes significantly richer and more enjoyable.
Jiří Koleňák: Do you have personal rituals that keep you grounded?
Jiří Vávra: Every year, I build a color-coded personal strategic plan. Red items are top priorities, orange are secondary. It balances athletic goals—like running the 10km Běchovice race in under 55 minutes or completing 20,000 pull-ups a year—with family adventures and business milestones. Reviewing it regularly keeps me focused without procrastinating.
Jiří Koleňák: How do you define personal success?
Jiří Vávra: Being content with where you are without feeling a constant, anxious drive to chase more. The animated series BoJack Horseman captured this brilliantly—exploring the illusion that at the end of life there's a grand award ceremony validating how well you lived. There isn't one. Success is about living in alignment with yourself right now.
Jiří Koleňák: Who or what inspires you most today?
Jiří Vávra: My wife—she possesses a lightness and perspective on life that enriches my daily outlook. Historically, I admire figures like Christopher McCandless (Into the Wild) for his radical pursuit of freedom, Winston Churchill for his courage under immense pressure, and Rudyard Kipling’s poem If—, which offers timeless wisdom on character.
Jiří Koleňák: What advice would you give your younger self?
Jiří Vávra: Trust that things will turn out well. Keep working hard, but stop forcing the result. Success comes naturally when your daily actions align authentically with who you are.
Jiří Koleňák: Jiří Vávra, thank you very much for joining us and sharing your wisdom.
Jiří Vávra: Thank you so much for having me, Jirko!
Jiří Koleňák: To our viewers, please like, subscribe, and support the channel. See you next time with more inspiring guests!
