Life Beyond The Numbers

"...you ask potential candidates who are joining your organisation, what are their intrinsic motivations and 80-90% of the time, they will say, I want to be part of an organisation that is making a positive difference in the world." John Collins John Collins a 'walking stereotype' (Irish, red-hair and worked for Guinness) takes us on a journey from Dublin to Asia Pacific to Africa and around the UK. He believes that great people, serving a great purpose make great organisations. He shares his steepest learning curve, his self-doubt and how he learnt about what he wanted from his career and tuned into that voice inside of him that for a long time wasn't saying anything. He also shares his thoughts on how business and consumption are at the heart of the situation that we're in and you can either bemoan that from the outside or you can be part of the solution on the inside. In Pukka Herbs John says one of the most satisfying and motivating thing about an organisation like Pukka is the genuine feeling that they are making decisions for the right reasons John Collins is Finance Director of Pukka Herbs, whose mission is to create a world where plants play a central role in human health and wellbeing. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and has extensive experience working in the private sector across a number of disciplines and geographies in organisations such as Deloitte and Diageo. He is a board member of Friends of the Earth. ***Please note that episode 26 was originally released in January 2021 and is from the archives Connect with John: On LinkedIn

"Freedom for me .... is the ability to build a portfolio .... a portfolio of experiences, a portfolio of projects rather than just one single life path, life career." Trevor O'Hara During the pandemic Trevor O'Hara looked at his own life and asked himself if he wanted to spend the rest of it on a plane and decided he was ready for a change. So he took his side gigs and turned them into revenue streams and built a portfolio. As a society we've been taught to aim high and he says the problem with this is the higher we aim the further we have to fall if it doesn't work out. We talk about dealing with uncertainty and discomfort. We discuss resilience and bouncing back and Trevor says there is no such thing as a 'new you' as we are constantly changing and evolving. Trevor believes part of his calling is to dispel the myths about reinvention and uncertainty. He introduces us to agilism - an agile approach. And we also cover the role of randomness and luck in our lives. Trevor O'Hara is an entrepreneur who helps people work through change, transition, and reinvention by building a portfolio lifestyle. Trevor has lived with change all his life. For the last two decades, he has lived in 12 countries as a technology and transport exec delivering retail, hospitality, and technology innovations for the world’s largest airports, and has raised several million dollars from a range of international investors. During the pandemic, Trevor redesigned his life in favour or a portfolio lifestyle. He runs several businesses, one of which is Wayless – a personal development platform for people dealing with change, transition, and reinvention. Connect with Trevor: On Twitter or LinkedIn His website Resources Mentioned: Alison Jones Book Proposal Challenge 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari Jack Butcher Annie Duke

"Innovation …. it's going to be meaningfully unique .... new and different. And new and different means people are going to be getting ‘that sounds crazy’, ‘that sounds mad’, ‘we can't do that’.… How we attend to this question of fear … how we encourage learning, how we fuel collaboration these are jobs of the leader and a leader that has humility. And …. this is in the deep tissue of leading. It's the fabric of leadership. It's what makes a leader really a leader in my view, at least in the context of innovation." Philip Oliver Philip Oliver describes his work-life as having two themes - adventure and innovation. And we go on an adventure from Singapore to South Africa, including diving for diamonds on the Coast of West Africa, to working in business improvement and innovation in the oil and gas industry in Scotland. We talk about what innovation means, really. Philip says there is no lack of literature on the subject, most of it is worthy of contemplation but actually not particularly helpful. Innovation has to be meaningfully unique (new and different) to you/your team, the organisation and the customer. We talk about the three conditions necessary for innovation (i) a creative spark (ii) diversity of thought and (iii) absence of fear. And we talk about how do might attend to this question of fear, how to encourage experimentation and learning and how to fuel collaboration. It is a question of leadership ... and leading with humility. Philip has many stories and examples from his own work-life, including his childhood. Connect with Philip Eureka Europe website On LinkedIn Or email: [email protected] Resources Mentioned: Purposeful People: Business Leaders Making A Difference by Chris Paton Future, Engage, Deliver: The Essential Guide to Your Leadership by Steve Radcliffe Doug Hall Eureka! Ranch Helen Potter Eureka Europe

"I kept reading about languishing and it occurred to me that we were missing the element of surprise..... surprise adds that sort of element of surprise, but it does more than that. It takes your brain on a little journey .... it fires you up." Ella Clark Ella Clark and I talk about the element of surprise and how life can present us with many surprises, some are a delight and some might be unwanted. We speak about ways of reframing some of those unwanted surprises - being made redundant as an example. We chat about how our identities can be intertwined with the jobs that we do or our careers and how to pivot. Ella herself talks about how she "ended up doing financial communications" and had an epiphany in a cardiac ward - she pivoted. Ella is an identical twin which brings an interesting twist to the identity conversation. Diamonds, canaries and battles are some of the metaphors we explore during this conversation - Ella's love of storytelling and the use of metaphors helps her help people reveal their inner desires. If you are at a crossroads in your career or even starting to think about what might be next for you in your work-life this episode is full of recommendations on how to start exploring. Ella Clark specialises in career coaching & life coaching for people who are highly successful and capable and at a crossroads in their work or personal life. Ella has a science background, and uses evidence-based scientific coaching approaches from social sciences and psychologically-informed practices that are successful in health and wellbeing, and the disability sector. She works as a person-centred integrative coach, with a mix of neurologically-based behavioural tools from social sciences, CBT, NLP, existential philosophy and positive psychology theories. She is a a licensed Firework Career Coach and a certified Life Coach & Master NLP Practioner. Ella loves working with people at the intersection of work, life and the many identities that people can have, to create a life that makes them happy, fulfilled and balanced. Connect with Ella: Through Life Coaching with Ella website On Instagram and LinkedIn Resources Mentioned: The Body Keeps The Score by Besser van der Kolk Emilie Wapnick: Why some of us don't have one true calling TED Talk The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell The Johari Window Model Ikigai (reason for being) Spectrum of Possibilities Double Diamond (Diverge & Converge) 16 Personalities test Values in Action (VIA) Personality test

"This is a tool to amplify your sensitivity to some of those lower-level energies that might be keeping you away from your true self." Jonathan de Potter Jonathan de Potter is the founder of Behold Retreats and in this episode we talk about the benefits of unpacking and exploring our inner world in a way that begins to give us a very different perspective in the relationship between self and the outer world. Jonathan and I chat about psychedelics or plant medicine. Psychedelics he says is an interesting term because different people with different interests define it differently. What he is focused on is the psychedelics that have a neurogenerative effect meaning they can actually facilitate the growth of new neurons and facilitate an increase in neuroplasticity. The medicine is fundamentally trying connect, reconnect, and harmonise body, mind, heart and spirit into a single vibration - to bring us back to our true self. We talk about energy and vibrations and Jonathan encourages us all to find the people who reflect the energy that we aspire to ultimately and to figure out what would truly make us happy. Jonathan de Potter is the Founder of Behold Retreats, passionate about plant medicine, and believes that absolutely everyone can improve their mental health and consciousness. Behold Retreats facilitate life-changing plant medicine journeys to explore your inner world, discover your truth, and live to your full potential. A primary focus for Jonathan is to raise awareness and education on the subject of plant medicine, and to begin conversations on if and how to bring this important science to the many cultures in Asia- Pacific. Prior to working in plant medicine, Jonathan worked in management consulting, supporting clients in APAC with innovation, digital strategy, scaling, and transformation programs. Connect with Jonathan: Through Behold Retreats website On Instagram Resources Mentioned: Articles, videos and books on the science on Behold Retreats Website Netflix Documentary - Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics Rick Doblin TED Talk

Happy New Year. Welcome to 2022 and episode 70 of Life Beyond the Numbers - a compilation episode from some of the least downloaded episodes of 2021 ... or the hidden gems from 2021 Lisa LLoyd introduces us to the difference between Imagination and Thinking (minute 4) Alison Jones talks about thinking, deep thinking and reflective thinking (minute 6) Lisa LLoyd covers our brain and pattern recognition (minute 13) Glin Bayley illustrates pattern recognition and writing from the heart (minute 17) Gavin Andrews introduces HeartMath and we chat about emotions (minute 23) Lisa Milnor goes deeper into feelings and the mind body connection (minute 33) And finally Lisa LLoyd on the importance of knowing how our brain works (minute 40) Podcast Episodes - Hidden Gems of 2021 #38 Wisdom & Technology with Gavin Andrews (HeartMath) #39 H.E.A.R.T with Glin Bayley (Heart of Human) #58 Making Connections with Alison Jones (WriteBrained) #59 Weird & Wonderful with Lisa Milnor (Shaping Clarity) #61 Imagination with Lisa LLoyd (It's Time for Change) You are welcome to write to me on [email protected] or connect with me on social media with guest or topic suggestions.

"Figure out what works for you. Whether it be, your physical health, your nutritional health, your financial health, figure out what works for you." Alyn Mitlyng Alyn Mitlyng has two rules in life 'Modification and Moderation'. And we talk about her approach to figuring out how to define and achieve personal goals by modifying conventional rules and approaches to fit your personal preferences and motivation style. Alyn wrote a book, Dirty Goals, to fully explore personal goals. She explains her formula that allows you to TAP (Thought, Action, Process) into your own thoughts so you can mine them, perhaps for gold. We talk about the difference between personal goals and a life purpose and she shares her own life purpose, being kind. Alyn explains she chose kindness when she had enough of being an abrasive person, or a jerk as she calls it. We also talk about the difference between goals and resolutions (it is that time of year!), signs from the universe and feeling fulfilled. Alyn Mitlyng is an author, girlfriend, dog mom, industry professional and goal enthusiast. Dirty Goals is her first book and was inspired by an obvious lack of guidance when she was developing her own personal goals. Originally from Montevideo, MN, Alyn now enjoys the milder climate of Colorado with her boyfriend and two dogs, Rozi and Zoe. Dirty Goals Breaking Conventional Rules to Achieve Your Dreams Connect On Instagram Resources Mentioned: The Miracle Morning Hal Elrod DIY Angela Rose on Instagram

"I think part of his personality and a lot of our riders' personalities is they need to test themselves like this. They need to push their boundaries. And try these extreme experiences and the rewards that they get very important to them, life affirming to them." Anna Haslock Content Warning: Topics discussed in this episode include a fatal road collision and rape (c. min 22-29). Some listeners might find the content disturbing. If anything does impact you while listening to this episode please reach out to or speak to someone you trust. Anna Haslock has a powerful story to tell; a story about adventure, resilience, personal growth as well as dealing with and learning from extreme life experiences. We talk about the Transcontintenal Race - an unsupported ultra endurance single stage cycling race where the clock never stops. One of the aims of the organisation she runs, Lost Dot, is to promote adventure cycling for self-development and personal growth. And this is something quite close to her heart because both herself and race founder Mike Hall experienced, for different reasons, the real benefits that you can get from having been tested to your extreme. For Mike his was mostly self-imposed doing these events. Anna, although not a racer, experienced this test of herself through two very difficult life experiences. Lost Dot was set up to honour Mike's legacy and promotes road justice, cycling as a sustainable form of transport and celebrates integrity in sport over winning at any cost. We talk about the race, the racers, the community, the Dot Watchers and the 2019 race winner, Fiona Kolbinger. Anna Haslock co-founded Lost Dot Ltd to ensure Mike Halls's legacy is nurtured and preserved. She is the Race Director of the Transcontinental Race and Trans Pyrenees Race and previously the Race Coordinator of the Transcontinental Race from 2014 to 2017. Trans Continental Race On Instagram and Twitter 2019 Race Winner Fiona Kolbinger

"If you can measure it, you can manage it. I used to say that for years. And now I say if you can measure it, you can better understand it. If you can better understand it, you can make better decisions." Matt Phelan. Matt Phelan, co-founder of the Happiness Index, and I talk about how The Happiness Index provides organisations with an index of people's emotions. Emotions are data points that give you a better understanding of how your people feel so you can make better decisions. Matt says they are providing people with data to achieve emotional intelligence (EQ) at scale. We talk about how emotional data is four dimensional (4-D) and Matt takes me through an example of this using the interview process. Matt shares some of the evidence to support the business case for happiness at work. We chat about employee engagement, how happiness is associated with energy, that relationships are the number one driver of happiness at work and the impact of discrimination in the workplace. We also cover biases, belief systems, ignorance and incompetence as well as Matt's book 'Freedom to be Human'. Matthew Phelan is a co-founder and the Head of Global Happiness at The Happiness Index. He is on a mission to improve the way organisations treat people. He co-founded a global data and digital marketing agency before leaving the business after a trade sale and focussing entirely on The Happiness Index. His passion is to understand how people experience happiness and his vision is to use data to visualise culture in a similar way to how Google Maps visualises the world. He is the author of "Freedom to be Happy: The Business Case for Happiness." Connect with Matt: On LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram or write him a letter! If you want to collect data - go to The Happiness Index and book a demo Read his book Freedom to be Happy Tune into the Happiness & Humans podcast Resources Mentioned: Jana Dowling Arkeo app Advancing Racial Equity Conference and Sheeren Daniels Happiness & Engagement Model Happiness & Humans Podcast Episodes: Employee Engagement with William Kahn (Mar 2021) Employee Happiness with Professor Jeremy Dawson (Sept 2020) Data & Research into Workplace Happiness with Professor Alex Edmans (Aug 2020)

"So that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to lift the lid on it. It's not just me, it's my friends. I want it for our daughters. That's what I want it for more than anything." Amantha King. Amantha King and I talk about menopause. Every woman deserves the right to a fulfilling life and she says hands down we know the number one thing that improves menopause is actually women's awareness going into it. Amantha talks us through the phases of menopause from peri to post. We talk about some of the symptoms and some of the different ways to get help. We both speak openly about our own symptoms and our menopause stories. We talk about the workplace and what employers can do and how important it is to take the whole person into consideration. We talk about lifting the stigma, speaking openly, honestly and transparently, with kindness, compassion and humour and not suffering silently. Amantha King spent over 20 years spent soaking up people skills in pharmaceutical sales, training and management roles. In 2010 she set up her own coaching and development business around her passion that coaching using NLP and neuroscience creates behaviour changes that have far reaching positive outcomes. She is also passionate about educating and providing support for women transitioning through menopause and is an advocate for sharing best practice within organisations who are looking to support their teams. Amantha is also a Judge at The UK Business Awards and advises businesses on how to get the most from their important asset, their people. Connect with Amantha: On LinkedIn On Twitter On Instagram as My Meno Coach and Amantha King Coaching Resources Mentioned: My Menopause and Me - Amantha King Dr. Louise Newson website Balance App NICE Guidelines Oestrogen Matters: Why Taking Hormones in Menopause Can Improve Women's Well-Being and Lengthen Their Lives - Without Raising the Risk of Breast Cancer by Avrum Bluming and Carol Tavris Headspace App Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause on Channel 4

The theme of International Leadership Week (#ILW21) is Leadership Reinvented. What does reinvented leadership look like? Many guests on this podcast share their views on leadership and their experiences of leadership. This week I've compiled some excerpts from different episodes, including an intro about what reinvented leadership might mean. The estimated start times for each of the segments is: 8:30 Helen Joy on workplace engagement from Episode 6, Learning How to Manage 9:40 Gib Bulloch on leadership problems from Episode 28, Breakthrough 13:10 Jenny Ashmore on the day you find out what type of leader you are from Episode 49, A Sense of Belonging 15:00 Caroline Mabon on aligning intentions and action when it comes to leadership from Episode 60, Leadership 16:40 Luke Kyte on a cultural evolution from Episode 43, Putting People First 21:00 Sheila Walsh on working in a people first environment from Episode 27, Healthy High Performance 24:00 Kevin Ashley on leading individuals and being a leader from Episode 32, Serial Entrepreneur 27:00 Sue Rosen on inclusive leadership and workplaces from Episode 1, Stepping into the Unknown 32:30 Eamon FitzGerald on being authentically you, flaws and all from Episode 64, Being Yourself 36:30 Helen Joy on why changes are finally happening from Episode 6, Learning to Manage and 37:30 Caroline Mabon on leadership as an honour and a huge responsibility from Episode 60, Leadership Resources Mentioned: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy video Nine Lies About Work by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall

"As it turns out being authentically me means more sales when it comes to marketing and everything. So that was the big lesson I learned early on. It took a very tough learning experience. But that sense of being yourself for all its flaws and all its good things as well that was a huge learning for me." Eamon FitzGerald. Eamon FitzGerald and I talk about wine. Eamon has a passion for connecting great wine makers with people who appreciate their wine and loves to share the winemaker's stories. With his new venture, WineSpark, he has created a business model that makes amazing wines accessible and affordable to regular people. Eamon spent 10 years with Naked Wines in the UK and became Managing Director within a year of joining the fast growing company. He talks openly about taking on this role at a young age, and how he learned to lead and grow a business. As he says businesses are a complex beast but the key is to focus on some simple things - not rocket science. We talk about the Customer Happiness Team and culture at Naked Wines, being yourself and the importance of quality and service for customers. Eamon also talks about wine production costs and shares some stories from his extensive travels. Eamon FitzGerald loves discovering talented winemakers and sharing their wines and stories with his friends. He did this for 10 years when he was MD and Global Wine Director for Naked Wines in the UK and US. He spent most of his time hunting down the best independent winemakers and setting them up in business. Now back in Ireland he has set up WineSpark. WineSpark is a community of passionate wine drinkers and winemakers aiming to make the world’s best wines accessible and affordable to everyone. Eamon has worked for Decanter magazine, and on the side of a mountain in France picking grapes. He also worked in financial services in London and Dublin for Accenture. Connect with Eamon: Through his website WineSpark On Instagram On LinkedIn Resources Mentioned If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 1/2 Things You Would Do Differently by Fred Lee Legacy by James Kerr Frederico Cerelli winemaker Johan Kruger winemaker Naked Wines

"We are both in a quest. We are partners in this quest, both the coach and the coachee, and when we have this quest it is something that unites us." Spyros Gousetis. Spyros Gousetis and I talk about becoming the best version of ourselves. Becoming the best human being that we can be - personally and professionally. Spyros compares this journey to a virtual computer game - as we learn we go up a level. We learn skills and competencies but we also have to learn about ourselves, our inner world. One way to do this is to understand how we think. Evaluating our own thinking style Spyros says is like tickling yourself: you know what to do but you just can't do it and so you stop. This is where a coach can help. A coach becomes your thinking partner, a thinking partner who helps you to think purposefully and helps you determine your choices. Spyros also explains that all beliefs, or limiting beliefs, fall under three categories: possibility (it is not possible to do that) ability (I cannot do that) and self worth (I don't deserve that). We talk about motivation, discipline, habits, action and how Aikido is like coaching. Spyros Gousetis is an international executive and business life coach and NLP practitioner, former corporate board member and strategic consultant. He has 20+ years of Europe and Middle East corporate business experience, in Strategic Marketing and Business Development, spanning Foods, Personal Wash and Skin with Unilever, Consumer Electronics with Sony. Driven, motivated with sense of humour, curiosity and a bias for learning. Ability to influence within C-suite, critical thinker and Board facilitator. Comprehensive knowledge of the human and operational strategies required to succeed in sectors with rapidly changing competition and technologies leading to Business Model Innovation and Digital Transformation. Connect with Spyros: Through his website On LinkedIn Resources Mentioned: Elie Wiesel

"And I think acceptance, real acceptance, for me is like: today, where am I? In a week or a month it may be better or worse, but today, how am I am?" Sarah Wells. Sarah Wells became a master at putting her head down, getting on with things and assuming everything would be ok. This worked until it didn't. After her first child was born Sarah received a diagnosis of a rare and chronic condition. On her return to work her coping mechanisms no longer served her. She left work, had another child and applied her old coping mechanisms to this new situation. After the birth of her third child Sarah was diagnosed with another rare and chronic condition. A medical appointment for her daughter was a turning point for Sarah as she realised she needed to step up and advocate for her children and show them how to live their lives well. This began with acceptance. Sarah talks openly about the impact of chronic conditions on people's lives - at home, at work, with family and friends - and that to be able to live life well it is really important to manage conditions really, really well. Sarah Wells has always had helping people at the core of her work, from long summers working with disabled kids while studying at university, to her early career as a teacher. With a lifetime’s experience living with chronic illness and a first degree in biology, her newest role supporting women with chronic illness feels like coming home for her. Trained in coaching and NLP she gives women the tools they need to feel supported and in control, to be seen, to be heard… sometimes for the first time. She specialises in supporting them through and after their diagnosis, to hang up their superwoman cloak, to rediscover who they are and to become chronically empowered. Connect with Sarah: On instagram Through her website Conditions Mentioned: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) Charcot Marie Tooth Disease (CMT) Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, consider leaving a review and sharing it with someone who is curious like you.

"So when we use our imagination well the possibilities are endless." Lisa LLoyd Lisa LLoyd believes our imagination is our most misused resource, an innate resource that is so important for us. We delve into all things imagination and Lisa explains how our imagination can help to inform thinking or can be a barrier to that thinking depending on the state of our emotional arousal. Lisa talks us through what goes on in our brains when we enter a state of high emotional arousal and introduces us to some practical approaches to managing our emotional state, including recognising early warning signs and giving our amygdala a name, like Bob! We take our discussion into the workplace and Lisa explains how we operate based on patterns. She talks us through the power of visualisation as the key to imagining different outcomes and changing patterns. And we talk about how to harness our imagination at work in order to be creative and innovative. Lisa LLoyd is a Chartered Psychologist & Psychotherapist. Alongside her private psychotherapy practice she founded It’s Time for Change based on the belief that if we all started to do things a little bit differently, we’d achieve huge results. She is an advocate for putting the human factor back into business and her mantra is: when we get people right, we get business right. She works collaboratively with organisations, using psychological principles and evidence-based practices to improve leadership, employee engagement and resilience and to create workplace cultures where employees excel, where teams are dynamic and where people are happy. Connect with Lisa: On LinkedIn Through her Website: https://itstimeforchange.co.uk/ Resources Mentioned: Check out episode #30, Leading Change with Lisa LLoyd

"...it's that balance of being really clear with your purpose and having this people centric style that actually brings out the best in the people around you." Caroline Mabon Caroline Mabon and I talk about leadership. Caroline has been inspired by Bob Chapman who describes leadership "as the stewardship of lives entrusted to you." And we probe this a little covering how we need to have the skills and self-understanding to know that leadership isn't just something that you fall into because you're functionally amazing at what you do. It is a huge responsibility and we need to become more conscious about the way that we're leading. And of course there is huge financial reward for a business when we tap into what truly engages people. We also talk about fear-based workplaces and we explore what having a compassionate culture means. Connect with Caroline Compassionate Cultures website and on instagram On LinkedIn Resources Mentioned: Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman Time to Think by Nancy Kline Dare to Lead by Brene Brown First Follower: Dancing Lessons from Leadership Guy

"I love uncertainty. But most people don't. There's this kind of innate thing about humans that we want to be in control. We like to think we're in control. We like certainty. And if nothing else the pandemic has shown us that life is totally unpredictable and uncertain. And it is moment by moment." Lisa Milnor Lisa Milnor began her career immersed in numbers. She talks about how at age 40 she began to wonder what else was out there. She left her FD role and ran a ski chalet for three years at the same time as setting up her business, Shaping Clarity. Lisa shares her stories about yoga, mindfulness, TRE, herbal medicine and more. We take a deep dive into awareness, what it is and how do you know if you have it. We apply it to the workplace. And we talk about emotions and the intelligence of our bodies including why we have tear ducts! Lisa shares plenty of stories and insights from her work-life, including one about donuts and nettles. Lisa Milnor has a business background in Finance and Accountancy. She undertook three years of yoga teacher training and qualified as a British Wheel of Yoga teacher in 2012. Through her own practice and teaching she came to realise and experience the transformational healing power of yoga and in 2012 had a total career change and undertook training as an integrated Yoga Therapist and then as a Mindfulness Teacher. She has also completed training in TRE (Tension and Trauma releasing exercise). Connect with Lisa: Her website is Shaping Clarity Resources Mentioned: Heather Church website Cathy Mae Karelse Clear Mind International Sarah Beck website Set Free: A Life-Changing Journey from Banking to Buddhism in Bhutan by Emma Slade The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Eckhart Tolle https://eckharttolle.com Steve Haines, episode #10 and #47 of Life Beyond the Numbers and TRE The Body College Andi Lonnen, episode #29 Life Beyond the Numbers

"So yeah, that sense of making connections, which your brain does all the time. And writing enables you to capture that." Alison Jones Alison Jones and I talk about writing as a way to think. Thinking might seem like a luxury that many of us don't have time to do but Alison makes a case for lightweight, affordable and accessible writing as a thinking tool - all you need is six minutes and a big scruffy A4 pad. Alison shares some techniques such as free-writing and mind-mapping and we chat about the hand-brain connection, the power of visual, storytelling, reading and using writing for communication. We also cover reflective practice, self-coaching metaphors and creativity. Alison Jones is founder of Practical Inspiration Publishing, a pioneering publishing partner for businesses, and host of The Extraordinary Business Book Club, a podcast and community for writers and readers of extraordinary business books. A veteran of the publishing industry, she worked for 25 years with leading companies such as Oxford University Press and Macmillan. She regularly speaks and blogs on the publishing industry, is on the board of the Independent Publishers Guild and Head Judge of the Business Book Awards. She has written and edited several books, most recently This Book Means Business (2018). Connect with Alison Through her website and her WriteBrained (28-day exploratory writing adventure) wait list and Practical Inspiration Publishing or tune into her Extraordinary Business Book Club Podcast Resources Mentioned Reflective Practice Writing and Professional Development by Gillie Bolton Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist is by Kate Raworth The Art of Enough: 7 ways to build a balanced life and a flourishing world by Becky Hall

"And my vision is that that 80 percent number can reduce and more people are engaged in the workplace and enjoy what they do." Susan Ni Chriodain Life Beyond the Numbers was launched in Sept 2020. And for my 1st anniversary someone special, my Dad, interviewed me! I spent a week in Dingle, my home town in Ireland, in late August 2021 and we talked lots about my work, past and present as well as my future vision - so we thought, why not record an episode! Here it is. I hope you enjoy it. Curious to know more Please visit my website Connect with me on LinkedIn and on Instagram or Twitter or send me an email on [email protected] Susan Ni Chriodain founded Beyond the Numbers to work with organisations who recognise that putting people first generates the greatest return. Her experience and business acumen stem from a wide variety of commercial and non-profit operational, project and financial roles. For over 20 years she led and managed a wide variety of teams in Europe, Africa, Asia, in-person and remotely. A Finance Director at 33 she learnt that to have an impact required you to be brave, bold and to build strong working relationships. It wasn’t enough to be technically excellent; putting people first was key. She has a practical, no-nonsense approach to understanding and resolving other people’s problems no matterhow intractable they might seem.

"Many of us are beginning to learn today just how important it is to know what is going on in our gut. And that gut health is important to our overall health." Caroline Peyton Caroline Peyton has an holistic approach to health and wellbeing. In this episode we start out chatting about how our gut is invisible and we tend to ignore it unless there is a problem. However, making sure that what goes into our gut, how it survives and thrives in there or doesn't and the impact of that on our lives - from moods to stress to ill health is fascinating. Caroline's enthusiasm helps us visualise what is going on and she broadens it out to cover so many areas, including: If you are a tea and/or coffee drinker are you aware of the impact on your body? How much hydrating fluid do you consume daily? If you have a desk based job how much do you move around and exercise? How many pieces of fruit and vegetables do you consume daily? How do you know if you have an intolerance or an allergy? And we keep returning to the fact that our bodies are amazing - how it does its best to cope, but sometimes if we push it a little bit too far, it will start to try and tell us that it's not so happy. We have to tune in and listen to our bodies. Caroline Peyton spent 20 years in corporate management roles and then took the decision to retrain; firstly in Nutritional Therapy in 2009 and then in Naturopathy in 2014. She also holds diplomas in Iridology and Wellbeing Coaching. Caroline helped establish the Naturopathic Nutrition Association and was Chair for seven years. She also became Principal of the Natural Healthcare College in 2013 and supervised final year students’ Clinical Practice training until 2018. Caroline runs her own private practice and specialises in digestive gut health. Connect with Caroline Through her website Peyton Principles Her email address is [email protected] YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn Resources Mentioned: More Salt Less Herbs blog post Gut: the inside story of our body's most under-rated organ, Giulia Enders

"as adults we've put play and work in opposition and that's another myth." Pauline McNulty Pauline McNulty prioritised career progression above everything else in her life until about 18 months into a role as Chief Risk Officer. The role was meaningful and important but something wasn't working for her. She got really curious about what was motivating for her and came across an article about three primary intrinsic motivators - potential, purpose and play. And she says the way they talked about play is enjoying the act of the work itself. Pauline and I talk about how play shows up our workplaces and in the act of the work itself. We talk about the benefits of play - using play can unlock hidden potential and get more creativity from people. People make better decisions. And generally, you'll be more resilient for whatever challenges are coming down the track. Pauline is not saying this play is a silver bullet. It's an activity, it's also an experience, and it can also be a mindset. How do we design work in a way that feels like play because we're going to get better results? Pauline McNulty has executive-level leadership experience that spans transformational change, risk and assurance. After graduating with a 1st class degree in Computer Science, Pauline trained as an accountant with KPMG. Her ambition led to Head of Internal Audit by her early 30s and Chief Risk Officer of a $3bn organisation by 35. Since the beginning of 2020, in conjunction with co-founding Playfilled, Pauline has built a portfolio focused on enabling sustainable success for people and organisations as a coach, advisor/NED, and advocate. Passionate about inclusion and mental well-being, Pauline was recognised for her work as LSM Executive Sponsor for D&I when she was featured on inaugural 2019 InsideOut Leaderboard. Connect with Pauline On LinkedIn Playfilled website and on LinkedIn Resources Mentioned HBR Article How company culture shapes employee motivation Dr. Stuart Brown TED Talk Design Your Life Primed to Perform Vega Factor Nine Lies About Work (Lie #8) makes reference to Mayo Clinic Study Playful Work Design Design Good Work, CIPD

"If someone can take one thing away from what I've said that's going to help them then I'm happy whether that's the mental health side or cancer side." Louise McMilan. Louise McMilan took a career break to beat cancer. Her story is raw and she shares it openly and honestly. But there is more. As she says her cancer is the thing that really changed her own viewpoint on herself. For many years she thought she was wired wrong. She didn't want anybody else to feel what she felt about herself - the anxiety, the depression. She didn't want anybody else to experience that but she found it so reassuring to learn that she was not alone. Louise worked in HR and used to hear the comments. She says HR professionals don't always talk about mental health themselves because they've got to be so robust, they've got to be there for everybody else in an organisation. We've got to remember that they're humans too. Louise McMilan is an inspirational Speaker on Mental Health and Breast Cancer and Life Coach reigniting self belief. She loves to make a difference to people something that has always been a feature of her professional life during her HR career. Now she specialises in: building self-confidence, overcoming limiting beliefs; anxiety/depression; managing stress; managing work-life balance; supporting those living with cancer; life after cancer, midlife reboot. Connect with Louise Visit her website Connect with her on LinkedIn And on Instagram Resources Mentioned Finish the damn book club Michael Neil, The Inside-Out Revolution: The Only Thing You Need to Know to Change Your Life Forever Nick Elston Yoga with Adriene

"There's only one person who's truly, truly in control of our lives and it's ourselves and it's okay to spend some time focusing on what's important to us." Nikki Hill. This episode is full of ways to enhance self-awareness. We talk about discovering our boundaries, the things that matter to us, as a way to give ourselves a sense of calm, peace, enabling us to enjoy our life and have the energy we need. When we communicate our boundaries they don't have to be explained or justified. We also explore how we might react when our boundaries are pushed too far and of course we take that to the workplace. Nikki talks about setting up a recruitment business with a partner and the valuable lesson they learnt of bringing their vulnerability and inexperience to the table, not to the point that employees didn't feel safe or secure, but that they actually felt communicated with and understood. We also cover making mistakes, being playful, understanding our strengths and capabilities and being creative in our thinking. Nikki Hill is passionate about people and creating positive change. She is a certified Mindset & Business Coach and works with individuals who want to create sustainable change in their lives and is creating massive (and profitable) change for creative entrepreneurs one subtle shift at a time. Nikki Hill started her career in recruitment and set up Alexander Hill because of a belief that the individual matters. Connect with Nikki Visit her website Follow her on Instagram On LinkedIn

"Everything's okay. And if everything's okay, what's the problem? And actually, it's a very fulfilling place to be; everything's okay." Alan Creedon. If you ever feel tortured by your own thoughts this episode is for you as Alan Creedon and I delve into talking about our minds in a world of 'shoulds' and 'doing'. Alan explains how to find stillness, connections, how to be and how to use your mind and not be used by it. Alan explains what mindfulness is and the benefits of mindfulness from his own experience: worrying less, far less bothered about what other people thought about him, being less judgemental, fewer barriers to doing what he wanted to do, and gaining clarity. Alan talks about nature, nature connection and discovering nature even if we live in an urban setting. We discuss the value of relationships, interactions, nature and creating. And we talk about everything being okay - not amazing, not terrible, but okay. Alan Creedon is a qualified mindfulness teacher with a passion for the outdoors and nature. He is all about the people and a big believer in cooperation and personal development within the workplace and works with individuals and businesses. He has considerable experience in buying and selling, creating and building markets and helping local, organic food businesses work. He loves being creative and nature plays a big part in that. He writes. He also plays music and composed the music that features on Life Beyond the Numbers Podcast. Connect with Alan: On LinkedIn His Endless River website And on Instagram

"We always say: to design for many, you have to design for some and to design for some, you have to design for one." Kaveh Sadeghian. Kaveh Sadeghian would love to hand over a series of beliefs and systems to the next generation that might undo some of the industrial era and set them up with a little bit more success in terms of integrating their purpose and themselves and their work. We talk about how a systems and scale approach is not the only one and that he says solutions will move at the pace of trust. And we talk about design thinking and inclusive design. Kaveh shares how he first discovered being in a state of flow and how although it is not an inherently efficient state that if we don't have it at work we run the risk of being unfulfilled. We talk about compassion fatigue and how to distinguish between compassion fatigue and burnout. Kaveh speaks passionately about community and the power of storytelling. Kaveh Sadeghian develops and facilitates transformative educational experiences for mission-driven leaders using trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, and equity-centered pedagogies. Kaveh is currently a Lead Strategist at 2U, where he directs the company’s learning strategy for undergraduate programs. Prior to 2U, Kaveh helped create Penn’s Center for Social Impact Strategy and served as its Creative Director. Today, Kaveh continues his work at Penn as an instructor, where he teaches courses on design-thinking, social innovation, and social impact strategy. As an independent consultant, Kaveh develops and facilitates leadership programming for high-impact organizations, including the Obama Foundation, the Aspen Institute, and the World Bank. He is also a regular speaker and facilitator at mission-driven conferences. Connect with Kaveh: By email at [email protected] Resources Mentioned: Centre for Social Impact Strategy U Penn Inclusive Design @ Microsoft Kirstin Neff - Self Compassion Dr. Sandra Bloom - Trauma

"We've got to take ownership of our leadership with our people because we're leading people." Kiki Kirby People are at the heart of what Kiki does. As this episode was recorded at the beginning of summer (UK) Kiki and I kick off chatting about the importance of taking rest - not just during the summer but on a daily basis. Kiki has overcome many things in life - her mother died when she was 13, she suffered from burnout at work and is a cancer survivor. In this episode she shares some reflections on these life events and also how she incorporates them into the work she does now. Reflection, she says, is one of the most under-utilised and underused success tools. Kiki is so open and generous with what she shares about how she has evolved and continues to evolve. She admits "I've probably made work the idol of my life at many times." Have you? Kiki Kirby has developed a methodology that frames and structures the work we do, to help bring clarity to the chaos of any people-related situation. With a successful corporate career in HR and recruitment, Kiki has seen her fair share of people challenges. Having worked for over a decade in consultancy, coaching and recruitment, her whole career has been about people at various stages of their professional lives. Kiki is a heart-centred business and life coach. Connect with Kiki Her consultancy business website Her coaching business website On LinkedIn Resources Mentioned: Helen Joy @ PeopleSpark Susan David TED Talk and her book Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life

"Teams are built on how tense moments are handled." Jenny Ashmore Jenny Ashmore and I chat about the similarities between business and sports especially when it comes to high-performance. Jenny feels that there are some profound techniques we can learn from sport that can easily translate into the workplace - how goals are set, fostering a sense of belonging, dealing with tensions and stress and setting team standards. Safety and feeling safe as humans, individually and as part of a team, comes up a number of times during our conversation. As do the stories we tell ourselves (and we all do it). Jenny asks how we might unpack our realities and check our stories with facts. She also talks about how much we embody, including our values. Jenny has some great insights into how you might assess whether you are better suited to an Exec or Non-Exec role and she talks about how powerful relationships are reciprocal relationships. Jenny Ashmore is a persuasive and inspirational senior Board adviser, and consultant with 15+ years of Board-level experience across Financial Services, Private Equity, international sports, charities, and member organisations. She is also a former GB age-group triathlete (qualifying for World & European Championships) and as a coach is passionately interested in the components of what drives peak performance and winning podium positions in business as much as sport. This comes after an Executive career working for some of the world’s largest businesses and brands with the best-known household names - Pampers, SSE, Mars, P&G. And Jenny was President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) for 3 years. Connect with Jenny: On LinkedIn Resources Mentioned: Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness, Owen Eastwood

"It's going to be hard to form a habit, but once you do it becomes non-negotiable and that shifts things for you. But like you said, baby steps, baby steps, add in small little things everyday." Rebecca Cheetham. Can you live a life where you feel good about it? Can you wake up in the morning and feel positive about what you're going to do that day? Can you build strong relationships? Can you enjoy yourself? Rebecca and I chat about what we might believe we should do and the choices we have in our lives. Rebecca talks about how moonlighting as a mental health worker while working in banking brought her to 'how can we get people proactive about looking after their mental health?' Rebecca shares four easily accessible and often freely available personal wellbeing strategies - meditation, yoga, sleep and gratitude. Rebecca Cheetham set up Siendo in Feb 2020. She trained as a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructor, Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Personal Development Coach and Public Speaker while working in corporate banking giving her a unique perspective. She saw, first hand, the importance of proactive wellbeing support within high-performance environments. She knew this was an area where she could make a real difference; removing the stigma, encouraging conversations, and making wellbeing a priority in people's lives. Connect with Rebecca Through her website Siendo On LinkedIn and Instagram Resources: Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl Yoga Nidra

"So, I want you to be a sommelier to your body! But to do that we have to practice. You start with really fundamentals. How do I know what joy is?" Steve Haines. Steve's fourth book, Touch is Really Strange, was released in April 2021. Steve explains the science of touch. We talk about how in social groups where there's an equality touch is supportive and helps the process of working as a team and clearly in work situations that can be useful. Steve says we can rediscover our sense of safety and agency through safe touch or skilful touch and reminds us of the need to negotiate consent around touch and be aware of how your touch might be received. Steve describes hugs as transformational gestures of acceptance. He says that when we touch someone we touch their whole person and not just a part of them and that we are far more complex than our parts. We also talk about how touch helps us feel real, the armness of an arm and why we can't tickle ourselves! Steve Haines has been a bodyworker for over 20 years. Understanding the science of pain and trauma has transformed his approach to healing. He runs regular clinics in London and Geneva and teaches all over the world. He is the author of the award winning ‘Anxiety Is Really Strange’, part of a series of graphic books that include ‘Pain Is Really Strange’, ‘Trauma Is Really Strange’ and 'Touch is Really Strange'. He has studied Yoga, Shiatsu, Craniosacral Therapy, and Trauma Releasing Exercises TRE®. Connect with Steve: Through his website On Instagram And on Facebook Resources Mentioned: Touch is Really Strange, Steve Haines - https://bodycollege.net/touch/ Antonio Damasio - https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/06/17/172310/the-importance-of-feelings/ Lisa Feldman Barrett - https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com Episode 10, Life Beyond the Numbers, This Feeling Business

"It's not about where you start. It's about the potential you show others that will determined where you finish." Lọ́lá Béjidé Lọ́lá is an early career strategist and we talk about how, as you navigate your career, do you figure out the best way to step up and stand out with your skills, talents, potential, and you demonstrate it all. We cover the difference between culture fit and culture add, promoting diversity, moving from 'fantasy land' to 'reality land' and how to know as a manager, leader or employer that you are actually equipping and empowering your talent to grow, develop and flourish. Lọ́lá encourages us not to sell ourselves short, to be architects of our career and she says if you start strong, you're only going to get stronger. Lọ́lá Béjidé is a certified ICF career coach specialising in helping young professionals navigate their corporate careers and being “architects of their career”. A passionate believer in empowering the learners today to become the leaders of tomorrow. Before founding Soluman Consultancy, she spent 20+ years as a senior Business Manager & Global training lead in the corporate world working within organisations such as Merrill Lynch, Zenith Bank (Nigeria), HSBC, JP Morgan, ABN AMRO and Barclays. Connect with Lọ́lá: On LinkedIn Visit her website Or by email: [email protected]

"...understanding your strengths and also understanding other people's strengths is the key to effective communication, effective relationships and avoiding some of the conflict that can happen, especially in the workplace..." Nicholas Jemetta. Nicholas Jemetta is merging his two worlds of digital technology geekery and mental health and wellbeing. In 2018 he shared his mental health story and it awakened something in him. He took that energy into the workplace and started to lobby for change by being proactive and taking responsibility. During lockdown he started #fancydress4mentalhealth and on June 11th (2021) he will wear his 100th fancy dress costume to work. Nick says we are all overflowing pots of awesomeness and just because we might struggle with our mental health at some points in our life it shouldn't put us a box, apply labels to us, limit our happiness or our potential. Nick also speaks about his wellbeing toolbox, growing and nurturing a network, loving his squiggly life and being able to see the lighter side of life. He also shares his strategy of (1) tuning in to yourself and your feelings, (2) having a wonder wall and worry wall, and (3) asking for help and support. Nicholas Jemetta, an Award Winning Mental Health Campaigner, uncovered a deeper purpose as a motivational speaker and mental health campaigner. He is on a journey to fuse his product management craft with a passion for mental health, whilst meeting as many inspiring people as he can on the way. He has accepted anxiety as one of his superpowers. If you think you can help, reach out! Alternatively, get in touch if he can help you create memorable software products, or memorable and mentally healthy cultures where people love to work. Connect with Nicholas: On LinkedIn, on Twitter and on Instagram And donate at Just Giving Resources Mentioned: Hub of Hope App Hub of Hope App is developed by Chasing the Stigma The Squiggly Careers Podcast Just Giving

"I think that's a key component of public speaking, a key component of communication and a key component of confidence because the more you listen in the better your answers and your statements become the more powerful and influential and respected you become." Carlos Gimeno. Carlos Gimeno thinks there are two things that everyone should know about before they join the workplace, yet no school or university teaches them, one is financial literacy and the other is public speaking skills. Public speaking is something we all do all the time - every time we speak with another human. It is not a one-way exercise. Carlos shares some great practical strategies to improve our public speaking. We talk about crafting your message, simplicity, silence, listening, pausing and clarity. We also talk about how much our eyes and hands are involved when we speak. Carlos shares why feedback can be so frustrating and the power of posing questions. He also introduces us to his technique of 'Storyology' and the four steps involved in effective storytelling. Carlos Gimeno founded Cg to fill a gap in the education and professional training system: Public Speaking Coaching. Carlos believes in the power of the spoken word to drive positive change. Expressing your ideas clearly, meaningfully and persuasively is a fundamental skill in the world we inhabit. Cg helps you and your organisation craft and deliver memorable Public Speaking, whether you are communicating with an audience of one or hundreds. Carlos has 16 years of international commercial experience in Publishing, a degree in Journalism, fluency in English and Spanish and 10 years of training as a Public Speaker. Connect with Carlos: On his website Cg Public Speaking Coaching On LinkedIn Resources Mentioned: Public Speaking: A Very Practical Introduction by Carlos Gimeno Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen Toastmasters International

"And I know those results have really just materialised from that dynamic of putting people first." Luke Kyte. Those results include: Team retention: 97% team retention over the last two years. Revenue & profit: increased 40% and 60% respectively Annual leave: Since the introduction of unlimited holiday, annual leave has increased an average of 37% in the team Sickness: per person has dropped to 0.46 days a year – the UK ave is 4.1. This demonstrates the effectiveness of policies that put people first. Luke Kyte speaks openly about a cultural revolution at Reddico. In the early years the focus was on creating a fun place to work but they had missed some important ingredients that create a culture - like putting people first and giving people more responsibility, trust and freedom to work in a way that is right for them. Luke talks us through their journey from traditional management and traditional mindsets to where they are today with self-management. As a company they are constantly evolving and changing, there is no standing still. But now they have a way of working and level of transparency that reassures people and creates psychological business owners out of the team. Luke Kyte is Head of Culture & Business Improvement at Reddico. His background is in Journalism and he originally joined Reddico as a content writer. He rolled out Reddico's culture manifesto in 2018, and has since helped Reddico to become the 4th best place to work in the UK, transitioning the business from a traditional framework, to one focused on self-management. He writes for the Corporate Rebels and speaks at events on Reddico's journey as well as workplace culture. Connect with Luke On LinkedIn On Twitter @LukeKyte101 On Email [email protected] Reddico recent awards Best Large SEO Agency Finalist European Search Awards 2021 Best Agency to Work For Winner Company Culture Awards 2021 5th in UK’s Best Workplaces™ Great Place To Work® 2021 Best Small SEO Agency Winner European Search Awards 2020 Resources Mentioned Maverick - Ricardo Semler The Happy Manifesto - Henry Stewart Reinventing Organizations - Frederic Laloux

"And I'm interested, fascinated by, both how businesses work and how people work in them. And it's great to see things move and to see some things go back two steps before they go forward". John Shinnick. John Shinnick dropped out of university to get away from accounting. He wanted to work with people - but he found his way back to accountancy after a cousin of his told him: "Numbers don't make decisions. People do." His cousin also said he would spend most of his time dealing with people's fears and aspirations. John kept getting drawn back to how people think and got onto a trail of trying to understand more about how people do things and while working as a partner in a global accountancy practice John studied NLP and Hypnotherapy. He talks about the work he does now in coaching, mentoring and advising. We discuss the fears leaders have, groupthink, language, learning styles and change. John also shares some stories to illustrate how people cannot not communicate and how he speaks 93% of all languages. John Shinnick works with entrepreneurial people and businesses who recognise that there is a tension between reward and risk and who want to get the best out of their ideas and people. He has an accounting and advisory backgrounds but his focus has largely been on commercial negotiation and strategy and getting the very best out of people and teams. He is an NLP Practitioner, holds European Mentoring and Coaching Council certification and advised entrepreneurial minds as a partner in a global accounting firm for 25 years. He is also a NED and Board Advisor. Connect with John: On LinkedIn Through his website Resources Mentioned: Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka Dunbar Number (BBC Article: why-we-can-only-maintain-150-relationships)

This week I've collated some stories related to the workplace from episodes that went out between January and April 2021. First up is Kevin Ashley, #32 Serial Entrepreneur, who shares his secret to building a successful business Next Gib Bulloch, #28 Breakthrough, talks about dignity at work and shares a cautionary tale Next Megan Haupt, #25 Your Career Story, shares her unique perspective on how to overcome workplace horror stories Next Glin Bayley, #39 H.E.A.R.T., speaks about the work environment and also how to figure out what you want to do Then John Collins, #26 Guinness & Tea, tells us that it is possible to work somewhere that has a people, planet, profit and purpose alignment Finally Sheila Walsh, #27 Health High Performance, shares her story about on working as part of a healthy, high performing leadership team.

Do you ever think about your breath or breathing? Do you notice when it quickens or slows? This week's episode is a little different as we share three breathing techniques kindly prepared for us by Gavin Andrews, MD of HeartMath UK. Gavin was a guest a couple of weeks ago, episode #38. There is a short bit for me first on my own awareness of breath and then I briefly introduce the three techniques. But Gavin provides an intro to each during the recording also. The three techniques in this episode are: Heart Focused Breathing - create coherence or balance. It can help shift from strongly negative or unpleasant, stressful emotions into more of a neutral emotional space. Quick Coherence - useful technique to use before, during and after challenging or stressful events. Freeze Frame - a technique that proactively use the state of coherence to engage with a problem or a situation to solve it by opening up rather than narrowing our perspective. "The breath is a door. It’s where you and I and everyone else began. It’s where all life begins. Without the breath, what is there?" Wim Hof Connect with Gavin: HeartMath [email protected]

"I think if we did ask each other: Does what you do make you happy? It does stop someone in their tracks to go well, why am I pursuing a certain path? Is this the right reason for me to pursue it? Because I think we're much better in delivering our gifts and talents when we're in a space of happiness and joy." Glin Bayley. Glin Bayley went into accounting and finance because it was something she was really good at it. Over time she began to recognise that finance didn't feed her soul. A series of incidents, personal and professional, led her to examine her life and follow her heart. She shares what that was like and the realisation that in 17 years of striving to be a CFO nobody had ever asked her would it make her happy. She aligned her head and her heart, took risks, and now helps others to do the same. She talks us through her H.E.A.R.T. framework: Hope, Energy, Action, Resilience and Trust. We also talk about comparison being a guide to joy, vulnerability as a superpower, The Wizard of Oz, and I learn a new word: sonder (and a new swear word). Glin Bayley is a heart centred leader who has a passion for performance while being a strong advocate for wellbeing. She recognises that when leaders are doing work aligned to their desires, capabilities and vision they are happier, healthier and business performance accelerates as a result. She had a 17 year career as a senior commercial finance executive for some of the world’s leading blue-chip companies. Now as the founder of Heart of Human, she helps female leaders to consciously create a life they love and be unstoppable by being themselves at their best. Connect with Glin: On LinkedIn Heart of Human is her website And Unstoppable Woman her podcast Resources Mentioned: Unstoppable Woman, Glin Bayley Healing After Heartbreak, Glin Bayley

"Coherence is not relaxation. It's a state between activation and relaxation, which is optimal for your performance. So you feel calm and focused. You can do stuff. You can think, you can engage in things." Gavin Andrews. Gavin Andrews introduces us to the HeartMath system - a system that combines technology with ancient wisdom. We talk about the techniques of connecting with our own hearts to tap into the powerful information source; how to breathe in a slow, deep and balanced way and about emotional self-regulation - as Gavin says being human is about emotion and we are feeling creatures. He also introduces us to the science that validates these techniques and explains the biofeedback technology HeartMath designed. We touch on anxiety and stress, mindfulness and meditation, appreciation and compassion, flow and optimal performance and happiness. Gavin Andrews is MD of HeartMath UK and Ireland, a Resilience, Wellbeing and Stress Management business. He is also a co-founder of The Syntropy Partnership, a digital art business creating audio visual relaxation aids and breath pacers. And he is the founder of WeAddHeart, a global heart-focused meditation movement. He is passionate about helping people and businesses connect with the heart of who they REALLY are. Connect with Gavin: HeartMath [email protected]

"I think we are on the precipice of releasing and freeing ourselves from the shackles of conventional capitalism. I call it Life Capitalism." Paul Stephenson. Paul Stephenson is a hearts and minds individual, a visionary and work-life architect. He shares his vision for the work-life transition that is unfolding from the world of being a slave to the spreadsheet where the corporate environment took you hostage to the world where we are open-hearted and open-minded and the new rich is not about money but about appreciation. Instead of following our egos we will follow our hearts and go with how we feel about things rather than how we think we need to conform. We talk about work and life coming together and being integrated by purpose. We also cover learned helplessness, destination sickness, capitalitis, choice, money and time. Paul Stephenson is the founder of two businesses, EGOstream.com and Zengility.life. Both born out of passion, with a shared purpose to help individuals maximize their true value to deliver life changing, sustainable results – but not at any price! Within EGOstream Paul helps Technology Founders and CEO’s find ways to sustainably improve performance and transform results for themselves and their team. Zengility is a WorkLife transformation business that supports Senior Execs who are looking to find their true purpose away from conventional employment and create a future on their own terms. Connect with Paul: Zengility EgoStream

"...understand how powerful the people dimension is and how investing more time in it, more growth and development, more attention to it earlier you can up your game and you can do much more successful projects and bigger projects." Talita Ferreira. Talita's passion is to change the business world one analytical professional at a time and starts us off with a story about how she learned to adapt her style for individuals and learnt to be vulnerable and trust her team and specialists. Talita has recently undertaken a global leadership hypothesis project and interviewed a diverse cohort of individuals to look for patterns or red threads. From this she has come up with three pillars we can focus on in order to thrive as a leader or as a professional - your specialism, your growth and development and growing and developing together as a team. We talk through the five archetypes of a leader she created following these interviews. We also cover psychological safety, trust, innovation and going beyond a pure profit dimension. For more than 25 years, Talita Ferreira has led and inspired either finance, back office, or “people”/HR teams, helping to transform team culture, drive and inspire change, develop new leadership paradigms for global brands and has led and implemented award-winning cultural transformation programmes in multiple industries. She is the former CFO and CHRO of BMW UK Ltd. and BMW Financial Services Ltd. and is an experienced C-Suite executive, Non-Executive Director, Chair of Audit, Chartered Director, consultant, author, leadership trainer and International speaker. She specialises in helping leaders reinvent or adapt their leadership style and team approach to be more impactful, transformational leaders and change the business world one analytical professional at a time. Connect with Talita On LinkedIn Global Leadership Hypothesis: www.GLHYPO.com Finance Inspired 4 Success: www.Fini4S.com Resources Mentioned: Dr. Timothy Clark Leader Factor Brene Brown, 'Taken for Granted' Podcast on Armour (at work)

"We're into that instant gratification. Like we see what we want and we want it now. But the reality is for things to last, it takes a bit of time to get there." Tony Pound. Tony Pound takes an holistic approach to his work. As well as planning for a financially resilient future he can help people become healthier so that enjoy their health with some wealth or their wealth with their health! We talk about planning and how to create a vision for your future. Working out what you want to do is the important thing. We also cover how to form and maintain habits to support that vision. We discuss a Gallup Survey of 'a life well lived' done in 150 countries. They report on 5 areas that people need to achieve a life well lived: Community, financial health, physical health, relationships and career. Only 7% of people are happy in all those areas. Although there is so much information available these days on how to improve Tony says that doesn't mean people do it. So there's a barrier. Isn't about knowledge. It's about applying yourself to do it. Tony Pound is an Independent Financial Adviser, Health and Lifestyle Coach, Running Coach, Triathlete, Marathon Runner and father to two gorgeous girls. He worked in financial services for over 25 years and experienced all aspects of wealth management. He now combines his two passions to help people live longer, healthier and financially resilient lives. Tony also hosts a podcast The Journey Happy Podcast. Connect with Tony: Website: https://www.journeyhappyfp.com/about On LinkedIn On Instagram @journeyhappyfit Resources Mentioned: Atomic Habits, James Clear

"If you think about staff engagement, staff satisfaction. Well, if those people aren't happy, they're going to leave. Same with your customers. People are not going to hang around, so they're not financial indicators, but they do have financial impact eventually." Rebecca McCaffry. Rebecca and I talk about people and money being the lifeblood of business with a focus on the people side. The language of accounting can be austere and finance people might be seen as unhelpful if they are unbiased, unemotional and unflappable. But that is changing and many are seen as navigators, co-pilots and business partners - they've combined technical skills with people skills and built strong working relationships, are creating value and seeing the long-term impact of what they do. CIMA have a focus on producing the accountant of the future - a well-rounded individual. We talk about the difficulty with teaching people skills, Key Performance Questions, Pre-Financial Data, Maths Anxiety, Automation, Data and more. Rebecca McCaffry, FCMA, CGMA, CPFA is Associate Technical Director – Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA&CIMA). As part of the Research and Development team, her work explores public sector management accounting, talent management and finance transformation. Rebecca is a member of Accountancy Europe’s public sector expert group and a Teaching Fellow at the University of Greenwich. Connect with Rebecca On LinkedIn

"All your problems come with a head and two arms and two legs. Then you have two people coming together and you have four people coming together and you can square the number of problems and challenges because you've different personalities, you have different attitudes and you have different backgrounds." Billy O'Connor. Billy explains to me why he sees himself as a 'why merchant' and as someone who makes it easy for people to effect a change in their business. We cover Herzberg's motivating factors and how Hewlett Packard's discovered five common traits of their high performing teams. Billy paints colourful pictures of work-life for us with his stories but also explains how he loves to use visuals and colour in his facilitation. We discuss the benefits of psychometric testing and Billy shares his own 2143 methodology. Billy's introduces me to BingBong and how his mission in life is to raise financial acumen in schools and colleges. Billy O'Connor is MD of The Discovery Partnership Ltd. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and, in a career spanning over 30 years, has been working within a wide range of business sectors including senior executive roles in financial services and banking to the mid-90s. Billy is an experienced facilitator and trainer specialising in partnering with SME owner-managers. He is the author of 2143 coaching methodology that since 2001 helped transform hundreds of organizations and professionals across Ireland and America. Connect with Billy: On LinkedIn https://www.thediscoverypartnership.ie https://www.bingbong.ie Resources Mentioned: Herzberg's Two Factor Theory of Motivation

"From a business point of view, you need to have the willingness to continuously learn and remain open and then be willing to pivot. And this is where I see a lot of people fail so often as they fixate on a framework of what success looks like to them. And when they come up to a blocking point they don't know how to just pivot and change". Kevin Ashley. Kevin Ashley is one of the founders of Java House, an East African coffee house and diner. We talk about the early days of Java House and the first ten branches in the first 10 years. We also cover the further growth and diversification to eventual buy-outs by private equity firms. Kevin says that building Java House was really a HR story - one about purpose and dignity at work - while a lot of people think work is about showing up at Java they instilled in staff that while they were at work they were actually there to serve a bigger thing than themselves. Kevin believes that dignity of work and a sense of purpose is the key for the future of humanity to have a functioning society. Kevin Ashley is a serial entrepreneur. His early career was as a humanitarian worker with World Food Program and Christian Aid. In the 90s he co-founded an aviation business, 748, and then a coffee house Java House. Java House, commonly referred to as ‘Nairobi Java’, opened its first store in 1999 at Adam’s Arcade in Nairobi with the aim of introducing gourmet coffee drinking culture in Kenya. The brand evolved to an American diner style restaurant. There are also two sister brands Planet Yoghurt and 360 Degrees Pizza. https://www.javahouseafrica.com

"We've got a lot to offer beyond just giving a set of accounts to somebody. And it comes down to the fundamental fact that we're all people at the end of the day and it's all about relationships and building those relationships..." Robin Kiziak. Robin and I discuss storytelling - with words and numbers. Robin illustrates the power of bringing numbers to life with a story about why a particular set of numbers (6, 2015, 15 & 107,398) is important to him. We talk about breaking down barriers at work, bringing your personality to the table and he shares where the idea for "nothing funny about finance" comes from. There is plenty of laughter in this episode as well as us discussing laughter, curiosity and the importance of finding the right balance. Robin also talks about the importance of networking and shares how he grew his audience and engages with people from Canada to China. Robin Kiziak is an experienced finance manager with 15+ years of experience in the distribution/logistics and retail industries. On LinkedIn, he describes himself as a Hardcore Finance Manager and his 'About' summary is well worth checking out - far more engaging than a CV. He believes that to stand out in finance and accounting you need to make the seemingly dark art of finance and accounting understandable to everyone in your business by focusing on how you behave and it will shine through in your people skills. Robin is known for his #nothingfunnyaboutfinance posts. Connect with Robin: On LinkedIn Twitter Website: Nothing Funny About Finance

"When people are able to pause and are given permission to pause by their leaders and they know the necessity of pausing, in terms of their brain being so much more productive and you'll be so much more engaged and so much more successful after a pause. And then that's where the magic happens." Lisa LLoyd. Lisa and I talk about putting the human factor back into workplaces and treating people like people. We talk about the return on investment (ROI) of investing in staff and how a one-size approach does not fit all. We discuss how time is one of the biggest barriers to organisations implementing changes in the best way and Lisa points out they might well be going full steam ahead on the wrong path. We also cover the people side of change, the power of pausing, psychological safety, inner critics and how to become even more effective as a manager. And we chat about thinking in terms of blips instead of failure and the importance of self-compassion. Lisa LLoyd is a Chartered Psychologist & Psychotherapist. Alongside her private psychotherapy practice she founded It’s Time for Change based on the belief that if we all started to do things a little bit differently, we’d achieve huge results. She is an advocate for putting the human factor back into business and her mantra is: when we get people right, we get business right. She works collaboratively with organisations, using psychological principles and evidence-based practices to improve leadership, employee engagement and resilience and to create workplace cultures where employees excel, where teams are dynamic and where people are happy. Connect with Lisa: On LinkedIn Website: https://itstimeforchange.co.uk/ Resources: Dr. Kristin Neff on Self-Compassion - https://self-compassion.org/

"The very first training course I delivered I thought this is it. I have actually found my thing. This is what I was put on this planet to do. I just cannot explain the explosion of happiness inside when I'm delivering training and just working so hard with different individuals". Andi Lonnen Andi Lonnen chats to me about how she discovered her love for training and how she infuses that training with energy and enthusiasm. She talks about training non-finance people to help them understand the story behind the numbers and training finance people to communicate that story in a way that generates insights, inspires and influences. She talks about the benefits to individuals like overcoming fears, understanding how to work with colleagues in a way that reduces frustration and the benefit to the organisation when everyone can connect the dots and works together better. She also shares her work-life balance approach and tells me about an epic cycling adventure that changed her life. Andi Lonnen is a fully qualified FCCA accountant with many years’ financial experience to Commercial Finance Director level in addition to being a qualified ILM trainer. She is an International Trainer with a trademark upbeat & enthusiastic approach to delivering her training in an easily understood and engaging manner with skills that can be implemented in the workplace immediately and have everyone buzzing to do so! She is also an elected member of the Professional Speaking Association (PSA) and a published author. Connect with Andi On LinkedIn Websites: https://www.fbpacademy.com/ https://financetrainingacademy.com/ Read Andi's Book: My Summer Sabbatical: Cycling Across Switzerland & France

"Businesses are fairly unhappy places to be at the moment. People, young people, bright people who've done everything right, who've got a good education they've paid through the noses for, who've worked hard and they've got into these elite organisations and are saying "Is this it? Is this what I want to do?" They look 30 years ahead 40 years ahead to the bosses and say, "Is that what I want to be?"" Gib Bulloch. Gib talks about how he began to question his 'lovely yuppie lifestyle' in London, in the late 90s, having done very "well" for himself. Is this all there is to life? A committed non-conformist and a catalyst for change he founded Accenture Development Partners, described by some as a guerilla movement within Accenture, where today 50,000 staff are on a waiting list to work for a 50% pay-cut. We talk about leadership, corporate immune systems, seizing opportunities and entrepreneurship. Being a corporate insurgent isn't all plain sailing and Gib openly discusses his stay in a psychiatric unit and he explains that one of the main drivers for writing his book was to stand up and be counted about mental health and to shift the debate from the mental health of individuals to the mental health of the organisation and of the system causing these problems. Gib Bulloch is a speaker, writer and facilitator with a unique perspective on the relationship between business, society and the self. He spent 25 years at three of the world’s largest companies – BP, Mars and Accenture. During his time at Accenture, he set up the award-winning Accenture Development Partners, a corporate social enterprise that provides development sector organisations access to Accenture’s top people, knowledge and assets on a not-for-profit basis. With an insider’s view of the corporate engine and an awareness of the impact that business can have on the individual, he is passionate about creating a more mindful, empowered and balanced approach to the world of work. Connect with Gib: On LinkedIn Website: https://gibbulloch.com/bullog/ Craigberoch: https://craigberoch.org/ Resources: The Intrapreneur: Confessions of a Corporate Insurgent, Gib Bulloch Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership, Joseph Jaworski The Hero's Journey, Joseph Cambell

"We're really focused on the core fundamentals of organisational clarity, communicating that clarity, over-communicating that clarity, minimising confusion and politics. And when that's present, then you have the good stuff. And for me, the good stuff is that you're creating that environment for people to flourish and thrive." Sheila Walsh. Sheila Walsh takes me through the tumultuous year in a tech company in the travel sector. We talk about keeping teams engaged when everyone is remote working and about the lack of spontaneity in a remote environment. Sheila talks about what it is like to work in a people-centric organisation that is driven by the Leadership Team and cascaded down - the LT have a team coach and no chance to get comfortable or complacent. She shares that CarTrawler has upgraded its high-performance focus to 'healthy high-performance'. We talk about finding meaning and purpose, rabbit-holes, pixie-dust, growth mindset, learning and more. Sheila Walsh is Chief People Officer at CarTrawler. A hands-on and motivated HR professional, Sheila has a broad range of experience across many sectors including; software, telco, publishing, healthcare and not-for-profit. She strongly believes that the provision of meaning and purpose within the workplace results in engaged employees who live and breathe the behaviours that support sustained business success. She holds an MBS in Business Practice from University College Cork, is an accredited Life Coach & Lifeskills Consultant and is an associate member of CIPD. She is a Board Director of Self-Help Africa UK. Connect with Sheila: On LinkedIn Resources: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Patrick Lencioni

"We have a very progressive organisation that values its people, but the most satisfying and motivating thing about an organisation like Pukka is the genuine feeling that we are making decisions for the right reasons." John Collins John Collins saw his accounting qualification as a passport and had opportunities to travel with Diageo - he says he was a 'walking stereotype' (Irish, red-hair and works for Guinness). We discuss working out what you really want to do and exploring extrinsic and intrinsic motivators. John tells me about his awakening on joining Pukka Herbs in terms of having a responsibility to have a positive impact on the world. He also shares his thoughts on how business and consumption are at the heart of the situation that we're in and you can either bemoan that from the outside or you can be part of the solution on the inside. John Collins is Finance Director of Pukka Herbs, whose mission is to create a world where plants play a central role in human health and wellbeing. He is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and has extensive experience working in the private sector across a number of disciplines and geographies. He is a board member of Friends of the Earth. Connect with John: On LinkedIn