Being Human

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week on Being Human, I take a deep dive into the cultural revolution led by Luke Kyte, Head of Operations at UK marketing firm Reddico. Luke is building a manager-less culture with stunning results. We talk:- Dramatically elevating Reddico's employee Net Promoter Score to a world-class 94- Why you shouldn't make your best performers managers- How boss-free staff pick their own coach- Their evolving manifesto that drives their transformation- How to fire someone in a flat structureEnjoy!Links:https://reddico.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Reddico-Culture-Management-Manifesto-Part-2.pdfhttps://reddico.co.uk/category/culture/ 

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week on Being Human I interview the extraordinary matriarch of our FirstHuman team, Phillida Fleming. Phillida coaches some of the most talented CEOs in the UK as well as providing counsel to a number of UK public figures. Around the fire of her cottage in the Isle of Wight, we explore:- Her definition of what it means to be a leader- Her seminal childhood encounter with her teacher Sister Mary Joseph- The importance of the foundational question "Am I being who I say I am?"- How the results we're producing show us who we are- How senior leaders underestimate how who they are being impacts their organisationsEnjoy!Links:http://www.firsthuman.com/meet-the-team/#phillida-fleming

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week on Being Human, I interview the fantastic Mark Lines, co-creator of Disciplined Agile Delivery (DAD). Using DAD helps companies to evolve the whole enterprise around agile software delivery. We talk:- The origins of DAD- How to avoid 'Method Prison'- Why there are no 'best practices'- Why joy is at the heart of the approach- The sham of many Agile certificationsLinks:http://www.disciplined-agile.com/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week on Being Human, I interview Jamie Catto, a founding member UK electronica band Faithless. He left to form the double-Grammy nominated, music and film collective 1 Giant Leap. Alongside his artistic pursuits, Jamie now works as a creativity catalyst. We talk:- How we must reclaim the parts of us that we closed off as children- The importance of allowing ourselves to flush out our 'edgy feelings'- How trauma release work can be as beautiful as it is painful- The idea of a 'curriculum for the soul' that we all must work through- The importance of being embodied and noticing where we place our energyLinks:https://www.jamiecatto.com/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode of Being Human, I interview Glenda Eoyang, the co-founder of the Human Systems Dynamics Institute, an organisation dedicated to applying learnings from complexity science to human issues. We talk:- How she used her understanding of complexity to turn around her IT training business- The three simple questions to ask when addressing situations from a complexity viewpoint- Why the move to complexity thinking is a fundamental paradigm shift- The 'tension and release' metaphor for understanding complex systems- The positivist and constructivist perspectives on complexityThis is an in-depth exploration and well worth the investment.Enjoy!Links:https://www.hsdinstitute.org/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week on Being Human, I interview Professor Ruth Ann Atchley from the University of South Florida. Ruth Ann is the author of the much-cited paper "Creativity in the Wild":- the first scientific study to find a link between creativity and exposure to nature,- discovering a 50% increase in creative reasoning after four days of hiking and no tech.We also explore:- The importance of "softly fascinating" stimuli to replenish our attentional resources- The imperative to get away from the 'hijacking' effect of modern tech- Why it's not just about being in natureEnjoy!Links:Creativity in the Wild - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0051474Cowboys and Cawe Dwellers - https://www.amazon.com/Cowboys-Cave-Dwellers-Basketmaker-Archaeology/dp/0933452470The Restorative Benefits of Nature - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0272494495900012Directed Attention as a Common Resource for Execut

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week on Being Human, in an at times highly emotive interview, I sit down with Liz Keogh. The conversation has two major themes.First, we talk complexity and how Liz interprets and finds use for the Cynefin complexity framework, including:- How to understand Cyenfin to make better decisions around difficult problems- The difference between 'probes' and 'experiments' and why we should learn to let go of outcomes- Her simple method for gauging the level the complexity facing youIn the second half, Liz courageously shares her experiences of sexual harassment and her take on the MeToo movement. I make my own confession of past poor behaviour and we discuss what we should all be doing to confront these issues.This has been my most exposing interview to date and I was seriously moved by the power of Liz's testimony. I hope you will get as much from this conversation as I did.

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I interview Chief Happiness Officer (CHO) of Happy Ltd and the author of The Happy Manifesto, Henry Stewart.We discuss:- The evidence that a happy workforce does drive financial performance and not vice versa- What Henry has had to give up to lead a happiness-first organisation- How the joy metric is one of Happy's top KPIs- How making fewer decisions and asking more questions is a more effective way to lead- Why transparency is key to a happy workplaceEnjoy!Links:https://happymanifesto.com/https://www.happy.co.uk/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I interview IMD Professor Michael Wade co-author of the highly praised Digital Vortex and the just-released Orchestrating Transformation.We talk:- How change approaches must embrace the increasing complexity of modern companies- How effective digital transformation is more like conducting an orchestrator than executing a plan- Why Humility, Adaptability, Vision and Engagement (HAVE) are the most important attributes of a transformation leader- What we mean by 'network transformation'- The personal transformation many leaders must go through to become effective orchestrators of changeEnjoy!Links:https://orchestratingtransformation.com/http://digitalvortex.imd.org/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week on Being Human, we interview Nikki Gatenby author of Superengaged - nominee for Business Book of the Year. At her offices in Brighton, UK, we talk:- Using your people's side hustles as fuel for business innovation- Creating a culture that takes people from engaged to superengaged- How putting people before profit led to a partnership with a Namibian safari outfit- The waste associated with a disengaged workforce- Their famed "dreamball machine" for making the lives of their people betterEnjoy!Links:https://superengaged.co.uk/https://www.propellernet.co.uk/ 

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/This week's guest on Being Human is David Anderson - a pioneer in applying kanban-style visual working to IT teams and ultimately across the enterprise. He's been a major influence on me in helping clients transition to flow-based working. In this in-depth conversation, we cover:- The importance of understanding customer purpose- How to apply evolutionary thinking to product development- The battle between grey squirrels & red squirrels and what is means for change- How Bruce Lee inspires him in leading transformation- Why it's ultimately our identity that matters mostLinks:https://edu.leankanban.com/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I talk with Luke Hohmann, the founder and CEO of Coneneo and co-founder of Every Voice Engaged Foundation. We discuss:- Managing our inner two-year-old- The foundational aspects of business agility- How we don't have crappy code in our systems, we have crappy collaboration- How collaborative budgeting can actually speed up decision making- The future world of The Chief Gaming Officer - The CGOEnjoy!Links:https://conteneo.co/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this very open conversation, I sit down with the founder of the radical business operating system Holacracy, Brian Robertson. We cover:- How many of the critics misunderstand the nature of Holacracy- Why a transformation to this style of working is a multi-year journey- The story of why Medium’s Holacracy implementation- How depersonalising our work frees us for more love in the workplace- Brian's take on Zappos' Holacracy experienceLinks:http://www.holacracyone.org

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, I talk with author, founder and productivity guru Jim Benson. We get into: - Why to-do lists suck and why to use a ‘Personal Kanban’ instead- The story of Jim’s very first personal kanban - ‘The Crapban’- Why making your own kanban public can be a radical act- The importance of depersonalising our work- Why plans fail and what to do about itLinks:http://personalkanban.com/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode I speak with a major thinker and pioneer in the field of trauma and recovery and author of the seminal "Waking The Tiger", Dr. Peter Levine.We talk:- The concept of re-enactment and why it's so important to understand for personal and business relationships- How memory formation works and what we mean by implicit and explicit memory- Why trauma is still so taboo- How Dr.Levine first discovered the natural mechanisms we can use to recover from trauma- What we can do within businesses to acknowlege and benefit from understanding traumaEnjoy!Links:www.traumahealing.com - home of The Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode, we talk with Kanban pioneer and Lean-Agile thought leader Mike Burrows. We cover:- the critical ingredients in Mike’s early successes with Kanban in Budapest- the importance of always starting with the end in mind- techniques for uncovering outcomes and obstacles with teams- why he’s so driven to develop humane systems within organisations- how being human is recognising our frailtyEnjoy!Links:https://www.agendashift.com/ - Mike's Agendashift homehttps://cleanlearning.co.uk - resources on Clean Languagehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viable_system_model - Viable System Model

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/We talk with Sally McCutchion, UK pioneer of the revolutionary 'business operating system' Holacracy. We go deep on:- what adopting 'a business without bosses' takes for you as an individual- what it means to have a living job role- how to run meetings that get through 33 agenda items in 55 minutes!- how it can so hard to give up 'permission seeking'- what we mean by 'Red', 'Orange' and 'Teal' organisationsEnjoy!Links:http://www.sallymccutchion.com/https://www.holacracy.org/http://www.reinventingorganizations.com/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In Alan's stunning riverside cottage, we talk:- How he climbed out of a corporate-induced nervous breakdown- Why we should look at business decision-making "through the lens of beauty"- Why work without meaning is so destructive- Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson's lunchtime ritual for beautiful business- The need for companies to help us reconnect to our human nature- The real story of the inventor of the mouse Doug Engelbart- Why being successful doesn't necessarily mean being an assholeEnjoy a beautiful conversation!Links:http://beautiful.business/

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/After the popularity our episode #30 with Fin Goulding, we invite Flow co-author Haydn Shaughnessy into the conversation. We talk:- Why flow in organisations is all about the quality of interactions- How the Asian business culture differs and how it helps them compete- The power of (don't' say it!) nationalism in building a business- The importance of visualisation to bring light to our shadows- How to avoid periodic 'slash-and-burn' headcount culls- The folly of 'core competency' thinking and why 'ecosystems' matter- How being human is all about the conversationLinks- The Flow Academy - https://www.flow-academy.org/- The Flow book: https://amzn.to/2RM1cqZ- The 12 Steps to Flow book: https://amzn.to/2qaBZK8

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this week's episode, we interview Nick Corston, Dad and co-founder of STEAM Co. On a canal boat moored in North London, we talk:- How losing his job and watching the world's most popular TED Talk changed his life- The festival experience that sparked his mission to transform creativity in schools- Why so many teachers see his message as toxic- Why all of this matters for the business world- Oh yeah, and the rockets!Enjoy!