The Being Human Podcast with Richard Atherton

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with Gabriel Jurj, who is a complexity practitioner and seasoned executive working in Romania. He didn't take the standard path, dropping out of University to join a monastic order, running hostels in Budapest. Still practising some of his monkish disciplines, Gabriel leans on these to help him lead. He also sees the strong links between a spiritual appreciation and the ability to embrace and work in an uncertain world. In this episode, we talk: What he learnt being a monk Retrospective cohesion The links between self-work and complexity thinking Spiritual practice in business life Letting go of goals Links: Cynefin at 21 - The Book Ananda Marga

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with David Woods, a professor at Ohio State University who discovered and pioneered the concept of Graceful Extensibility. As the opposite of brittleness, graceful extensibility is the ability of a system to extend its capacity to adapt when surprise events challenge its boundaries. In this episode, we talk: Dealing with shock The need to stretch at the boundaries How all systems are fragile Staying alive to 'weak signals' How viability requires extensibility Links: The Theory of Graceful Extensibility: basic rules Graceful Extensibility - short presentation The Strategic Agility Gap

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week on Being Human, I speak with Nigel Thurlow, ex-Chief of Agile at Toyota and co-author of The Flow System. Tired of the framework merchants and the over-commercialisation of the Agile movement, Nigel could see that a new approach was needed. A philosophy that went beyond Lean and Agile to embrace complexity thinking, team science and the critical question of leadership. He believes, first and foremost, in education as the driver of change. Present people with the science and trust them to apply it in their context. In this episode, we talk: The holy triad of complexity, team science and distributed leadership Why leadership training must change Going beyond Systems Thinking New physics How information is upstream of energy Links: The Flow System - Read the Book The Flow System - Buy the Book Flow Guides

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with author, speaker and CEO Sunny Bonnell. Together with her co-author, Ashleigh Hansberger, she wrote Rare Breed: A Guide to Success for the Defiant, Dangerous, and Different, a book that empowers people to take what society deems as "vices" and turn them into unrivalled assets. Sunny, herself a rare breed, dropped out of pre-veterinary school to start a branding agency with Ashleigh when branding agencies weren't a thing. Together, they built the hugely successful firm Motto around a 'rare breed' mindset. In this episode, we talk: Owning your weirdness Her Dad's pivotal advice that kept her going What it means to be a rare breed Embracing your misfits for business agility The dark side of the rare breed Links: Are you a rare breed? Find out Sunny's Company - Motto Rare Breed - The Book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with complexity practitioner and well-being advocate Marion Kiely. Marion has dedicated her career to figuring out how the latest complexity thinking can bring sustained change to organisations. From her home in Cork in Ireland, she talks passionately about how we can truly be well at work. In this episode, we talk: Why yoga and yoghurt is not the answer Could your work culture be a Health & Safety issue? The alternative to Powerpoints and plans The power of story Humble leadership Links: Marion's Practice - Upstream The Cynefin Wiki

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with author and complexity consultant Sonja Blignaut. Meteorologist then IBM consultant, Sonya took a varied path to her latest role as CEO of leading complexity practitioners, Cognitive Edge. Sonja is a born-and-bred South African. As she points out, things don’t get much more complex than in the Rainbow Nation. In this episode, we talk: Complexity and mindfulness The individual versus the system Letting go of the certainty merchants The diversity within Facing your triggers Links: Sonja's Medium Page Sonja's Practice - More Beyond

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week on Being Human, I speak with former bomb disposal team leader and pioneer in adaptive strategy Steve McCrone. Adaptive strategy applies complexity thinking to the art of high-level planning to enable firms to build resilience in the face of uncertainties. Steve is a very passionate speaker and presenter and brings this approach to life brilliantly using a strategically placed whiteboard. A good one to watch on video. In this episode, we talk: - Rules of thumb for bomb disposal - The three aspects of adaptive strategy - "Dark constraints" in organisations - The stupidity of current/future state thinking - Riding the new paradigm Links: Steve's Practice AGLX

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with psychological researcher, consultant and author, Malcolm Parlett. From an orthodox academic background, at Cambridge then MIT, Malcolm discovered Gestalt psychology, which changed his life and work. It opened up a new sense of connectedness and took him away from more traditional, reductive approaches. Malcolm went on to co-found the UK's Gestalt Psychotherapy and Training Institute and to create the British Gestalt Journal. His book, 'Future Sense: Five explorations of whole intelligence for a world that’s waking up' has been an inspiration for coaches, educators and therapists worldwide. Malcolm is a powerful, tender soul, and he was a joy to interview. In this episode, we talk: - Getting out of your head - Practical Gestalt - Embodying - Self-Recognising - The power of gardening Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Malcolm's Books

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with embodiment coaching specialist Mark Walsh. Embodiment is about working through gentle non-athletic movement, posture, awareness, and breathing to pursue deeper, faster and more permanent change. In this conversation, Mark shows us how to make friends with our bodies and feel at home again in our skin. In this episode, we talk: - From drug dealer to aikidoka - The three levels of embodiment - How to be become trauma-aware - Saving lives in the Middle East - Training circus acts in Ethiopia Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: The Embodiment Conference Embodiment Coaching

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with psychologist and former U.S. Army mental health specialist Dr. Timothy Yen. Dr. Yen has used his experience to create a framework that helps you build up your inner decision-making capability and use it successfully to address your most important choices. In this episode, we talk: - How trauma impacts how we make decisions - 5 pillars to help you make great choices - Growing up in an Asian-American family - Dealing with Iraqi vets - Blind spots for Eastern and Western cultures Links: Dr. Yen's Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, our favorite tangoing, mountain-climbing business philosopher Dr. Thomas Juli returns to share the wisdom in his new book 'Human Business: Life and Work in the Digital Age.' As well as being an Agile Transformation Coach for the insurance giant Allianz, Thomas is a regular speaker at international conferences worldwide. These have included the NASA Project Management Challenge, the World Economic Forum and the Corporate Social Responsibility Forum Germany. In this episode, we talk: - Going beyond customer-led business - Infusing your workplace with joy - How to tap your intuition while you sleep - Bringing gratitude to the office - The Golden Rule 2.0 Links: Dr. Thomas' Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with author, former cop and serial entrepreneur Jeff Wald. After selling WorkMarket, the multi-million dollar labour platform Jeff helped build from scratch, he found some time to pen The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations. Jeff claims that we're now entering a fourth great leap forward in technology, after mechanisation, electrification, and computerisation. With robots and AI, we face the first services revolution, meaning we will need to renegotiate the social contract, set clear rules for companies, and provide stability for society. In this episode, we talk: - Jeff's surprising prediction for post-COVID remote working - Staying resilient through start-up highs and lows - How to manage mixed robot and human teams - What it takes to succeed in the NYPD - Is blockchain going to change the world? Links: Jeff's Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week on Being Human, I speak with Trent Hone, an authority on the U.S. Navy of the early twentieth century and a leader in applying complexity science to organisational design. Trent hooked me with his powerful story of U.S. Navy's rapid learning techniques in the 'Cyenfin at 21' book, the subject of my recent podcast with Dave Snowden. In our conversation, we talk about how the U.S. Navy was forced to learn some tough lessons combating a stealthy Japanese navy in the Battle of Guadalcanal in WWII and how they adapted and improved their fighting capabilities whilst pursuing combat.Trent helps goliaths like The World Bank and U.S. Government to foster innovation using the simple methods he has learned meticulously researching naval strategy. In this episode, we talk: - Countering Japanese covert tactics - The power of doctrine - When admirals get psychological safety - Creativity under fire - Lessons for corporate agility Links: Trent's Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week on Being Human, I speak with Dr. Kevin Dutton, University of Oxford Research Psychologist, Bestselling Author and Elite Performance Consultant, also known as The Psychology Guy. The topic might seem odd for a show dedicated to humanising people’s lives and workplaces, but psychopaths are part of the forest of humanity. As we’ll explore in this episode, they can and often do take on productive roles in our society, but it’s important to understand how psychopaths operate and what we can and can’t expect from them. Like his charming psychopathic father, Dr. Dutton is hugely charismatic and it was a joy to spend tme with him. In this episode, we talk: - Growing up with 'Del Boy' - Hot vs cold empathy - Saying 'no' like a psycho - The positive role of psychopaths in society - How psychopathic are you? Links: Dr. Dutton's Website The Wisdom of Psychopaths - The Book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with Karin Tenelius, one of the world's leading experts in self-managing organisations, or, in her own words, "workspaces that work for people and bring out the best in them." Karin not only trains others to lead through self-managing principles, but she has served as CEO to several businesses that she has managed in this way. For those of you who loved our episode with Lisa Gill, her co-author of Moose Heads on The Table, this is a brilliant follow up, diving into real-world examples of fully empowered teams delivering explosive results. In this episode, we talk: - Letting go of driving - Who are you being? - Creating the right environment - Straight talking - The extraordinary gains of self-management Links: Karin's Website Moose Heads on the Table

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week, Jos de Blok, has been on the bucket list of Being Human for a number of years. He's the founder of Buurtzorg, a community nursing organisation that has embracing the self-organising principle to stunning effect. In recognition of his contributions, Jos shares the RSA's Albert Award with the likes of Tim Berners-Lee and Stephen Hawking. Recently, having grown Buurtzorg to become an international operation, he is taking an interest in applying his principles to politics. A big thank you to Tom van der Lubbe to helping to make this happen. In this episode, we talk: - Letting go of products and activities - The ‘needing’ principle - Forgetting your MBA - Ditching risk thinking - The human society Links: Buurtzorg

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week on Being Human, we talk with Robin Rice, an internationally published author, transformational speaker, social change artist and mentor to leaders. A big thank you to renowned Transformation Coach Lyssa Adkins who recommended Robin to me as a guest. Our conversation was a powerful reminder for me of that paradox that developing enhancing our personal impact rests in dropping our 'I' in service of the 'We'. Robin offers what she calls consciousness training to executives, artists, medical professionals, civic leaders, and entrepreneurs. I hope our conversation might help you to see a path to new insights and perspectives. In this episode, we explore: - Your 'Little Gen' vs Big Brain - Personal evolution vs social pressure - Your 'Minimum Viable Change' - Interrupting your patterns - Dissolving Self Links: Robin's book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, we talk with Nancy Giordano, one of the world’s top female futurists. Nancy has worked with many leading companies to evolve over $50 billion worth of business. The first TEDx licensee and guest lecturer with Singularity University, Nancy is currently advising an AI startup and advancing horizon efforts that aim to dramatically reshape the ways we recognize, create, and exchange value with each other in the decades ahead. Nancy's campaigning for ditching the 20th century’s industrial playbook—driven on growth—allowing humanity to instead focus on building new, more expansive practices committed to human-centric innovation, regenerative solutions, and the creation of long-term value. We explore: - Waking up - Connecting - Empowerment vs Sovereignty - The Productivity Era - Beyond learning Links: Leadering - The Book Femme Futurists Society

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week on Being Human, we talk with Jack Parsons. He's an entrepreneur, public speaker and subject expert on youth, and serves as CEO of The Big Youth Group. Jack has made it his mission to help young people better themselves, in order to help them take advantages of opportunities in the business world. Jack's efforts have paid off, as he has become publicly known as the UK’s Chief Youth Officer. In this episode, we explore: - Overcoming an alcoholic mother - Seeing the whole person - Safe spaces - The Three C's for success - Be kind, now Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: The Youth Group

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, we talk with Bjarte Bogsnes, Chairman of The Beyond Budgeting Institute and an HBR/McKinsey Management Innovation Award winner. Beyond Budgeting is a movement from CFOs themselves to kick out budgets from corporations. Yes, you read that correctly, CFOs burning budgets, and Bjarte was ripping them up before Beyond Budgeting was a thing. How does this relate to Being Human, you might ask? Well, the budgeting process, when you really think about it, is one of the most stifling and humanity-killing aspects of our working lives. Eliminating them represents a major vote for trusting in people's greatness and their ability to make wise choices. In this episode, we explore: - Why budgets must go - What to do instead - How trust demands leadership - Killing targets - Getting onboard Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Implementing Beyond Budgeting - Bjarte's Book Beyond Budgeting - The Original Book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, we discuss cybersecurity with expert in the field and author Christian Espinosa. Don't worry, we're not talking about bits, bytes, and firewalls. We're talking about the biggest security threat of them all. The one between the keyboard and the chair. Christian shares with us his journey becoming a world-renowned cyber security coordinator, managing on one hand the whims of extremely brilliant, but fickle security specialists, and on the other hand the needs of major clients like the US Army. Christian also shares his self-development journey from a very rough start to success in his field. In this episode, we explore: - From trailer park to entrepreneur - Choosing your own meaning - The power of self-reflection - Excellence for technical leaders - Extreme ownership Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Christian's book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode Being Human, we have a return visit of one of our most popular guests, Dave Snowden. Dave is by far my favourite Welsh National Treasure. He's a philosopher-cum-management thinker and developer of the Cynefin framework, a decision making framework that has transformed the way people work and think from the military generals to software developers to humble business coaches like me. Professor Snowden is part academic, part entrepreneur, part raconteur and a brilliant conversationalist. He's back to discuss the book created to celebrate 21 years of the Cynefin framework. In this episode, we explore: - The latest (and final) incarnation of Cynefin - Snowden vs Taleb - Snowden vs Stacey - Sense-making unpacked - Slaying fluffy bunnies Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Dave's Blog The Cynefin Book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week on Being Human, I speak with someone who's significantly influenced my lifestyle and how I eat. I think many of us understand that our diets aren't as healthy as they could be. But what if we were able to eat in a way that had us experiencing an abundance of energy from dawn till dusk? David 'Avocado' Wolfe is that possibility made manifest. He has spent a lifetime researching and seeking out the most nutritious foods on the planet. If you were to read his Wikipedia, you might instantly dismiss him. But on matters of health and nutrition, he's worth hearing out. As we discuss in the podcast, you don't have to believe what he has to say. Just try what he suggests and judge for yourself. We talk: - His beginnings in a 'health gang' - Foraging for food when starting out broke - Where to begin getting healthy - Clearing that colon - Planting nearly 100k fruit trees To your humanity, Richard Links: David's Website The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, I speak with Richard Stobart, an old friend and the CEO of successful start-up char.gy, a business devoted to transforming lampposts across Britain to start charging our electric cars. If you want to learn more about building a start-up culture within your business, this is the episode for you. Richard shares candidly about how he initially failed to create good start-up ideas within his existing consulting firm. He then tells us what worked in creating his fast growing char.gy.. We talk: - Business Model Canvases - How 'Hack Days' can fail - The in-house incubator that worked - Conditions for building start-ups - Getting investors To your humanity, Richard Links: char.gy Unboxed Consulting

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this episode of Being Human, we're doing a little experiment with my friend and regular guest Tom van der Lubbe. Tom is a fellow traveller seeking to humanise the workplace. He's also a historian with a huge brain. He is Dutch, but let's not hold that against him. Tom and I review one of the most influential books of 70's, Small Is Beautiful, written by the economist E F Schumacher. Schumacher's central thesis is that the way we approach economics improves our living standards whilst degrading our culture. In this episode, we explore several aspects of Schumacher's thinking: - Buddhist economics - Education as our greatest asset - Economic reductionism - Man and machine - The role of the State Do let me know what you think of this format. To your humanity, Richard

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ A conversation with Perry Marshall, a man who runs several companies, has written a string of best-selling books and who founded the world's biggest science prize. If you want to get the essence of building a life where you make an extraordinary impact, this could be the episode. It gets a little repetitive, but his message bears repeating. We talk: - The curse of our digital devices - What to start eliminating - Renaissance time - Your $1k-per-hour time - Remember you're paid to think Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Detox, Declutter, Dominate - The Book Perry's Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ A very Happy New Year to you all. We kick off 2021 with a brief message. I share a few thoughts on where to focus to show this year and a call to action. In the episode, I talk: - Food as medicine - Community - Taking Being Human to a new level Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ I hope that you're all enjoying your Christmas break. This week my guest is Anna Liebel. Anna is a on mission to empower professionals to thrive by helping get into what she calls one's Zone of Genius. This particular episode is a special one, as it has an addendum where Anna goes into detail with a subject close to my heart: journaling. Just watch out for it at the end of the recording. In the episode, we talk: - Your 'zone of genius' - Staying on track - Journaling - The 'Euromaidan' protests in Ukraine - Leading others from your zone of genius Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Anna's LinkedIn Profile

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week we turn the tables and I become the interviewee. Jan Ake Johnsson is my interviewer. He's the star of episode #64 and a man who cured himself of epilepsy through trauma release work. Jan is 80 and still in excellent health - an inspiration to us all. In the episode, we talk: - Preparing for interviews - Childhood influences - Idols - Medicalisation of society - Returning to the earth Enjoy and a Merry Christmas to all of our listeners. To your humanity, Richard

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ If Management 1.0 was how we managed how factories functioned in the Industrial Age, then what’s management for a Knowledge Economy, or even a Transformation Economy? Enter Management 3.0 – an approach that represents a major cultural shift, empowering team members to take on more decision-making responsibilities, while encouraging managers to create a collaborative work environment. My guest this week is Ralph van Roosmalen. When the current team inherited the company from founder Jurgen Appelo, they needed a new leader. In the spirit of the approach, the team asked Ralph to take up the mantle We talk: - The essence of Management 3.0 - How our schools must adapt for a new age - Signs of a big shift - Growing up with freedom - Becoming CEO To your humanity, Richard Links: Management 3.0

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ If you're a frequent listener of the podcast, you're probably familiar with our guest this week, Tom van der Lubbe. For those of you who don't know him, Tom is the Lead Link of Dutch mortgage broker Viisi, one of the companies that have implemented the radical business operating system Holacracy to create an extraordinary high-trust culture. Today's episode is a recording of an interview with Tom that was part of the Forward management conference, organised by Management 3.0. We talk: - Tom's battle with a life threatening illness - The Golden Rule - Growing the cake vs. cutting the cake - Long-term vs. short-term interest in a company - Opening decision making to the intelligence of the group To your humanity, Richard Links: Viisi

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In 2008, my guest this week Ed Evarts was unexpectedly laid off from his job as a senior HR director at records management giant Iron Mountain. In the middle of a recession and with no network outside his former employer, he set about building his own coaching practice Excellius. It’s now thriving and Ed tells us how he made it happen. Often my pods can get a bit philosophical, but this one is packed with practical advice, whether you’re building your career within a proper job or you’re out there on your own. We talk: - 3 keys to psychological safety - Positive relations with your boss - Raising your visibility - Effective networking - Play the hand you've been dealt To your humanity, Richard Links: Excellius Drive Your Career - The Book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week, David Chislett, dropped out of private school in South Africa to become a rocker. From playing punk to managing bands he ultimately made his way to Utrecht in the Netherlands to become a self-proclaimed Weapon of Mass Creation. He teaches people how we can put creativity at the heart of our armoury of workplace skills. Doing this can help us become not just better innovators, but better decision makers. We cover: - Preconditions for creativity - Punk rock in South Africa - Which dots to join - Everyday creativity - Making it happen To your humanity, Richard Links: David's website The Playful Creative summit

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week is Loizos Heracleous, Professor of Strategy and Organisation at the Warwick Business School and author of the recently published book, Janus Strategy. After serving as an advisor to major international companies for years, he started to observe that some companies got a competitive edge when adopting a more flexible strategic approach, as opposed to companies that stuck to tight, orthodox strategies. Loizos has called this type of thinking The Janus Strategy, after the Roman god Janus who surveys two or more directions simultaneously. It’s about an abundance mindset, for example, how can we reduce cost and increase quality at the same time? We cover: - The god of gods - Embracing opposites - Open heart surgery for $2000 - 4 phases of breakthrough thinking - Why you've got to care To your humanity, Richard Links: Janus Strategy - The Book Loizos' Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week is Remy Bertrand, a Frenchman in London and an improvisation facilitator. Kicked out of school at 15, Remy worked a succession of jobs that never quite fulfilled him. Nearing 40, he realised that improv was his passion and it was time to plunge in and build a business around it. With a loan from the bank, Remy gave himself a year to build a business. It took another three before he had something that regularly paid the bills. He now has a thriving improv operation attracting actors, artists and executives. In this episode, we bring you: - Why improv is not what you see on TV - How improv helps with social anxiety - Why so many people are choosing to train in improv right now - Improv for self-knowledge - A live demo Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Imprology

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week is Julian Wilson, CEO of British engineering firm Matt Black Systems and author of "500%: How Two Pioneers Transformed Productivity". Along with his business partner, through a series of counter-intuitive steps, he experimented his way to a 500% gain in productivity. The change saw his staff triple their income, come alive as human beings, whilst delivering extraordinary returns for him and his co-investors. His is a story of returning to the original translations of Taiichi Ohno's pioneering work at Toyota to apply its essence to a creative, design-led operation. We talk: - Why Lean/Agile transformations fail - Why centralisation does not remove duplication - Business as a social institution - How business culture starts in our families - Self-leadership pushed to its limits Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: 500%: How two pioneers transformed productivity - The Book Matt Black Systems

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week is Bruno Cignacco, international speaker, coach and author of 'The Art of Compassionate Business'. Bruno is committed to putting love at the centre of our business relationships. First and foremost, Bruno is an advocate of what he calls The Human Oriented Enterprise, a type of business that prioritizes human interaction over everything else. We talk: - Love in the office - Generosity - Natural conversations - Passion and resilience Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: The Art of Compassionate Business Book Bruno's Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week is Mike Ettore, leadership coach and ex-infantry officer with the US Marines. He's the author of 'Trust-Based Leadership', where he explains how he adapted and applied military leadership concepts while serving as a business leader. After leaving the Marines, Mike has served as a top executive for the staffing company Kforce, where he rose to the position of Chief Information Officer, despite not having any formal tech training. Over his years in corporate life, Mike learned how to apply the Marines Core Values - Honour, Courage and Commitment to business. We talk: - Forgetting ammo on the battlefield - Leadership eats culture - Integrity above all else - Leader as scholar - The art of planning Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Trust-Based Leadership Book Fidelis Leadership Group

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ Sam Conniff Allende is back on the show. Last time Sam had just hoisted his Jolly Roger to the world in the form of his breakthrough bestseller 'Be More Pirate'. This week he's back on Being Human with his Right-Hand Pirate Alex Barker. Alex joined Sam in 2019 to turn a book of culture-busting ideas into a movement. Alex and Sam make a great double-act. Sam is the embodiment of the pirate spirit, whilst Alex is the anchor getting real change done in Navy-like corporates. We talk: - Going pirate with Mercedes vans - Finding your inner pirate - Professional rule breaking - Scaling vs impact - Salty language Enjoy me hearties! Links: How To: Be More Pirate book Be More Pirate website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week is Alain Hunkins, a veteran leadership coach. He's worked with over 2,000 groups of leaders in 25 countries, and he's author of the just-published 'Cracking the Leadership Code: Three Secrets to Building Leaders'. Alain was raised by a mother and grandmother who were both Holocaust survivors. Their trauma-bound personalities were his first experiences of leadership. This sowed the seed for his life-long quest to discover better ways to lead. Over years of working in men's groups, Alain learned to identify and reframe his beliefs on leadership, and, through his leadership coaching, he has learned what works for others. We talk: - Building connection - Dealing with rage - Outside-in vs inside-out development - What limits organisation growth - How parenting shapes the workplace Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Alain's Website Alain's Book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week, Pete Walker, is a man who has travelled far physically and metaphorically. A Vietnam War veteran, he sought spiritual salvation in India before finally confronting his inner grief at an Encounter group workshop. Learning to feel and grieve deeply set Pete on a path to dealing with his Complex PTSD. He has since written several books on these themes and treated hundreds of others as a deep feeling therapist. Pete and I have walked similar paths and talk frankly about the joys and pain of deep work. We cover: - Pete's LSD trip that opened new possibilities - His path to grieving - Complex PTSD explained - Getting started with grieving - Why real men cry Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Pete Walker's Books Pete Walker's Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ Perhaps the phrase 'A Man of Many Hats' was created for my guest this week. A Google Exec, investor, record label boss, YouTuber, I give you Kiwi-in-London Craig Fenton. Craig began life as a barrister, then switched to consulting before landing as Director of Strategy and Operations at Google in the UK. We talk: - Phone-only podcasting - Managing multiple pursuits - The evolving Google culture - Discovering music talent - The upside of Glass-holes Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Big Community Records Coffee, Eggs & Inspiration Google

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ In this week's episode, I speak with therapist Theresa Sheppard Alexander, author of 'Facing The Wolf: Inside The Process of Deep Feeling Therapy'. Theresa shares her story of finding Primal Therapy in her early twenties and how she helps clients climb down ‘the staircase of feeling’ to experience their deepest pain, and ultimately, to find more joy and light in their lives. I found this one of my most challenging conversations so far on Being Human. As a veteran of Primal Therapy myself, I reveal more about my own journey than I have in any other public conversation. We talk: - The benefits of 'descending into feeling' - Getting your whole self back - The problem with cognitive therapy - Will I become just a puddle of tears? - Therapy and sexuality Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Theresa's website 'Facing The Wolf' book

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My guest this week is Lisa Gill, host of the ground-breaking podcast Leaderphormosis. She’s also co-author of the just-released 'Moose Heads on the Table: Stories About Self-Managing Organisations from Sweden'. Lisa has helped businesses across Europe to let go of their boss culture. Her approach, along with fellow liberator Karin Tenelius, is to focus on creating different forms of dialogues between employees within companies, as opposed to looking at complicated the structures and processes. We talk: - The benefits of moving to boss-free cultures - How to make decisions without managers - How to sustain self-management or Agile transformations - How going autonomous is no easy ride - The meaning of bringing our whole selves to work Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Moose Heads On The Table - The Book Tuff Leadership Training Leadermorphosis

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ My return guest this week, Alex Goldfayn, is back with a new book '5-Minute Selling', which is already an Amazon bestseller. Now, I hate sales. I've always hated sales and yet it's an absolutely critical skill in my business life. In fact, it's crucial even if you're not a proper salesperson, but someone who needs to be able to influence and persuade others. What I love about Alex his approach is that it's the antithesis of 'oily' or 'pushy'. At its core, sales is about connecting with people and asking them if you can help. With that as the ethos, we talk: - The mindset to have you make that call - Why we hate sales and how to learn to love it - The Minimal Viable Proactive Sales Habit (MVPSH) ;) - Why the phone is so important - Why system trumps individual actions Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: 5-Minute Selling Alex's Website

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This week's guest, John Hagel, is a 40-year veteran of Silicon Valley. John co-founded the Center for the Edge in 2007. The Center has brought insights that have helped me to understand the megatrends in the economy throughout my career. He was the first to identify the growing 'topple rate', i.e. how when large companies gain leading market positions; they are then losing them at an increasing rate. I’m delighted that I'm getting to share his takes on the current state of capitalism in this episode. We talk: - The Big Shift - The importance of passion - The problem with the Learning Organisation - Creation Spaces - Management consultants - problem or solution? Enjoy! Links: John's website The Power of Pull

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ From his cabin on an island off the coast of Sweden, Henrik Kniberg, author of the viral 'Spotify Culture' video, joins me in this week's episode to share what he learned as a top Agile Coach at Spotify. Henrik is a creative powerhouse with prodigious talent as a musician, coach, author and developer. He brings these skills together to transform the organisations with which he works. In this episode, we talk: - Teams 'self-aligning' for scale - Patient leadership - Why we draw - Achieving Agile Rhythm - Dealing with technical debt Enjoy! Links: Spotify Culture Video Agile Product Ownership in a Nutshell Friendly Guide to Climate Change Books by Henrik

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ This episode's guest, Rich Sheridan, was a VP in a successful software firm in Michigan when he brought his daughter to work. She was impressed. She figured her Dad must have been very important, as for anything to get done, he had to give his say so. He was "The Answer Man". And yet for Rich, this was a devastating moment. He was a hero in a hero culture. The only way to scale Hero Organisations is to scale the hero, which would mean longer hours for Rich and less time with his daughters. This moment set Rich on a path to ultimately build Menlo Innovations, a firm built on a foundation of joy. In this episode, we talk: - how to kill meetings permanently - the power of pairing - managing the system not the people - equipping people to say no to curveballs - how to make more babies! Enjoy! Links: Joy, Inc The Chief Joy Officer Menlo Innovations

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ Nicknamed "The Gentle Giant from Denmark" from his time resolving conflicts in a troubled part of Asia, my guest this week, Lars Kure Juul, is a gifted facilitator. With his book 'Organizational Happiness', Lars is on a mission to improve our experience of working life - and especially how to sell happiness to your CFO. In this episode, we talk: - compassion - strengths-based leadership walking away - unlocking potential - why transformation doesn't work Enjoy! Links: Motivational Landscape site Free strengths test

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/ Late last year, my guest this week, Mark Creighton, CEO of Avado, listened to a proposal from his CTO to bring the Agile practices into his management team. Although a bit sceptical, Mark accepted the challenge. They shifted from a 90-minute weekly management team meeting to a daily stand-up, plus an end-of-week retrospective. This tweak to their practices had a significant impact on Mark's leadership style. It was also instrumental in their successful navigation of the COVID crisis. In this episode, we talk: - Agile for Management - Leading with vulnerability - Saving 50% of planned redundancies - What the COVID recovery should really mean Enjoy! To your humanity, Richard Links: Avado's webiste