Being Human

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This episode is with Phil Driver, author of 'From Woe to Flow: Validating and Implementing Strategies'. In it, he sets a way that anyone can think about strategy based on decades of work with a wide range of organisations.Let Phil take you through a fresh way to think about strategy from his cabin in rural New Zealand.We talk:- Living the permaculture life- The art of strategising 'right to left'- How to get three hundred people to agree on a way forward- The common issue with 'Open Space' meetings and how to fix them- How emerging from Covid-19 is not about returning to normal Enjoy!To your humanity,Richard

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This episode's guest, Michael J. Gelb, has published 17 books, including 'How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci' and 'The Healing Organization', which he co-authored with recent guest Raj Sisodia. He takes the view that our intellects are highly malleable, even into later life, and by using specific exercises, we can better integrate our left and right brains to enhance our reasoning and creative powers.  In this conversation, we take a tour through three of his books, from 'How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci', the 'The Art of Connection', landing at 'The Healing Organization'. The underlying theme is one of embracing all of our humanity, as individuals and in our organisations. We talk:- How to think like Leonardo da Vinci- The power of curiosity for unlocking creative potential- The Indra's Net metaphor for consciousness- The need for 'whole-brain thinking' in economics and in life- Why "Healing Organizations" are part of the m

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/As well as researching psychological safety with his colleague Amy Edmondson , my guest this week, Mike Lee, Professor in Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD, takes a deep interest in how company structure affects how people act.In this episode, we cover:- Psychological safety defined- How changing the default choices managers make can improve psychological safety for others- The radically flat business operating system Holacracy: its benefits and limitations- How getting to know your colleagues improves productivity- Mike's spirit animal: a live demoEnjoy!Have a great weekend, Richard Links:Mike's websiteINSEAD profile link

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/A conversation with Dr. David A. Bishop, author of "Metagility: Managing Agile Development for Competitive Advantage".We talk:- How we must now reconsider the Agile Manifesto- The concept of "Agile Vorticity"- How to change as fast as your market- How the rise of smart devices is changing the rules for agility- A happy marriage of Agile and Waterfall techniques- Agility as your Product Engine Enjoy and have a great weekend, RichardLinks:Metagility bookAgile Worx

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/Author and business philosopher Raj Sisodia is back with a new book, The Healing Organization, which takes a deep look at the role of a business within its community.In this episode, we talk:- The four energies we must balance when building Healing Organisations- What The Founders missed when learning from the Iroquois to write the American Constitution- Saving lives by baking cookies- A call centre boss' epiphany- Raj's take on Amazon's business practicesEnjoy!Best wishes and be well,RichardLinks:The Healing Organization book The Conscious Capitalism Institute

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/A conversation with Howard Lewis: art collector, investor and YouTube street stunt artist. Although now obviously suspended, he runs OFFLINE, a monthly gathering with a simple aim: to share a meal. The prospect of sharing a refection with anyone beyond our immediate household is a distant prospect for many of us right now. However, Howard provides us with some inspiration for the lives we might want to create when we can all let go of the current strictures.In this episode, we talk:- The inspiration for his 'chocolate challenge' street initiative- The primal power of dining together- Why we must bring more spontaneity to our gatherings- The gift of developing conversational skills- The need for us all to be more human in our public livesEnjoy!

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week, I speak with Matt Homann, CEO of Filament, a firm dedicated to faciliating great meetings in-person or online.We talk:- the fundamental principles that make for an excellent meeting- how to make meetings work online - the common mistakes that people make in offline meetings that you should not transfer online- a future of Chief Collaboration Officers- humanising virtual working Enjoy! Best wishesRichardLinks: Filament website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode Tom van der Lubbe shares how his company Viisi took their entire workforce 100% remote in two days and so far have seen no loss in revenue.Viisi is a pioneer in self-organisation. They have implemented the radical business operating system Holacracy to create an extraordinary high-trust culture. They are now reaping the rewards of their stellar human capital during the current crisis.In this episode, we talk:- why people-first businesses will win during this crisis- how Viisi's self-organised structure allowed them to go remote so quickly- how removing fear from the environment has seen their revenues unaffected- how the teams themselves are accommodating those with essential-worker spouses - how purpose is replacing the CEO in self-managed organisationsLinks:Tom's profile on ViisiBrian's Robertson's Holacracy bookTom's recent article in Corporate Rebels

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I interview author, speaker and strategist Dawna Jones.Dawna has been podcasting more than a decade. She's a "lover of the power of the human spirit" and has a deep interest in how businesses and consumers together can restore our social and ecological health.In this full-blooded conversation, we talk:- her emergence from homelessness after the '08 crash- making sense of life's interruptions- the key factors of decision making in complexity- the organisation as part of life itself- why we need to think more broadly than just collective intelligenceEnjoy and stay safe.

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/My guest for this episode is Associate Professor Jonathan Trevor from Saïd Business School and author of the Financial Times' Book of the Month, 'Align'.Jonathan talks a broad view of alignment across all aspects of the enterprise.We talk:- What is alignment and Jonathan's Strategic Alignment Framework- The universalists (best practice is best) vs the contingency theorists (context matters)- Why we must look at alignment as more than a 'people issue.'- Why you must pick between stability and agility- The Enterprise Leader as Organisational ArchitectEnjoy!Align book link Jonathan's Saïd profile

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/My guest for this episode is Tom Szaky. Tom is an extraordinary multi-award-winning entrepreneur who embodies the notion of the purpose-driven enterprise. His company Terracycle is a world leader in offering commercial solutions to fully recycling our products.From his plant in the middle of one of the most deprived districts in New Jersey, we talk:- Why for-profit companies beat non-profits in saving the world- How being purpose-driven leads to negative marketing budgets- How they have no crime incidents despite their location- How growing up in communism has made him a better capitalist- The issue with framing big corporations as evil and how to make them careEnjoy!Links:Tom's company - TerraCycle

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/As I upload this video, many people are facing working from home fulltime for the first time in their careers.In this episode, I speak with Dr. Sara Perry from Baylor University, a leading researcher in the field.We talk:- How to be a successful remote worker- When remote working works and when it doesn't- What remote working could mean for our society- The personality types that struggle with it- What to do to make the most of the opportunity if you've been given itEnjoy!RichardLinks:Join Dr. Perry's studyHer book 'Organized Innovation' 

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I speak with leadership coach Helena Demuynck, a world expert in the field of Conversational Intelligence.We talk:- How to engage any group (and avoid the situation above)- The six brains involved in a conversation- How moving people into 'Level 3' conversations amplifies outcomes- Drilling down, and the power of curiosity- The importance of breathing in co-creationEnjoy!Links:Conversational Intelligence bookOxygen 4 Leadership 

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/Helping to create a 'trauma-aware' society is a significant aim of this podcast, so I'm delighted that for our 100th episode we talk with Darius Cikanavicius. He a prodigious blogger and author of 'Human Development and Trauma'.We talk:- Darius' childhood growing up in a single-parent home- Why trauma is not just about significant events- The power of having an 'enlightened witness'- Why therapy rocks- Where to start with Self-WorkEnjoy!Links:Self Archeology site Self Archeology Facebook Darius Instagram 

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/I'm thrilled to say that after a year of stalking (!), Pim de Morree agreed to be my guest this week.Pim is one-half of the founder team of the trailblazing Corporate Rebels.His adventures to the cutting edge of progressive business cultures have been inspiring me for years.In this episode, we talk:- How the seeds of his corporate rebellion formed in his childhood- The Belgian civil servant changing the world- Where Google are getting it wrong- His Number #1 f*ck-up building Corporate Rebels- How to achieve psychological safetyEnjoy!Links:Corporate rebels websiteCorporate rebels book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I present to you Part II of my conversation with ex-Bomb Disposal Officer, Change Manager and leadership author, Ben Sawyer.Ben has an incredible story. He fulfilled his boyhood dream to be the guy in the big suit walking down the street to defuse the explosive threat. He now works as a Change Manager with one of the largest publishers in the world, The Oxford University Press.In this concluding segment, we talk:- His favoured strategy for change management- Staying one step ahead of the terrorists in Afghanistan- Improving bomb disposal technology with no budget- Agility in the military- Ben's biggest failure as a leader and lessons for workplace stressEnjoy!Best,RichardLinks:Part I of this conversationBen's forthcoming book: Paradox and Power in Caring LeadershipL.David Marquet - Turn The Ship Around!   

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I talk with ex-Bomb Disposal Officer and leadership author Ben Sawyer.Ben has an incredible story. He fulfilled his boyhood dream to be the guy in the big suit walking down the street to defuse the explosive threat. He now works as a Change Manager with one of the largest publishers in the world, The Oxford University Press.The conversation was so fruitful that we've split this into two parts.In this first part, we talk:- Checking for bombs under his Dad's car at seven years old- The motto at Sandhurst that stayed with him- The moment he had to break the rules for the greater good- The critical leadership trait that kept his team safe- His biggest mistake as a military leaderEnjoy!Best,RichardLinks:Ben's forthcoming book: Paradox and Power in Caring LeadershipL.David Marquet - Turn The Ship Around!

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I go solo to take a brief dip into the life of that extraordinary human Alexander The Great to pick out some lessons for leadership today.In this episode, I share:- How he won 23 battles without an org chart- What Alexander learned from his tutor Aristotle on strategy- What Lean Manufacturing and Alexander's leadership style have in commonEnjoy!Best,RichardLinks:Arrian's "The Campaigns of Alexander"History Bro channel on Alexander the Great

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/Ilya Bodner, was an immigrant to the US from Uzbekistan. Growing up around his farther's sewing company and his Uncle's cab firm, entrepreneurship was in Ilya's blood.Ilya now runs Bold Penguin, a breakthrough start-up in the insurance industry, transforming the value chain with their digital platform.In this episode, we talk:- Lessons from start-up failures before his breakthrough- The importance of wise counsel- Why team trust is so importantEnjoy and have an awesome weekend.Best,RichardLinks:boldpenguin.com 

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/What's going on? Who's in charge? Annual objectives? What? Hey?For many of us in the daily grind, this can be the norm. "The Fog" is what our guest this week, Lindsay Uittenbogaard, calls it. The ambiguity, the differing assumptions, the miscommunication.Lindsay has a path out of the pea soup, it's called MirrorMirror: a platform and process for achieving alignment in teams.In this episode, we talk:- Making the leap from a small company to the Big League- The symptoms that your team is not aligned- The factors that matter in achieving alignment- Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs- How she nearly founded Uber!Enjoy and have an awesome weekend.Best,RichardLinks:MirrorMirror