On this podcast, we speak with Mavericks - creatives, visionaries and gamechangers who make their own rules, do work they love and live life on their own terms.
Episodes
Friday Sep 20, 2019
Friday Sep 20, 2019
If you ever thought that putting profit before people is a sustainable business strategy, you need to listen to this episode.
Nikki Gatenby, CEO of Search Listening and Chief Growth Officer of PropellerNet, tells us the story of building one of the most profitable agencies in the country…and they are consistently ranked in the best places to work in the UK as well.
Nikki couldn’t be any more Maverick if she tried and, in this episode, she shares some of the transformational practices that PropellerNet use…and the commercial impact of these. She also tells us what it was like to share this people-first philosophy in her best-selling book SuperEngaged.
Nikki breaks every stereotype of what you might imagine a business leader needs to be like. She is warm, humble and extremely heart-centred. She also walks her talk at every step. Just SuperInspirational.
In this conversation, we talk about:
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Why putting people before profit makes complete commercial sense
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The journey from seeing the underbelly of the creative sector in London to leading one of the best places to work in the UK
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Why giving people time and space specifically to learn drives innovation
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Putting life first rather than putting the client first leads to better service, creativity and, ultimately, money
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How to encourage people to bring their whole selves to work
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The oddest and most productive conversation an MD can have with a new employee
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The intersection between people’s dreams and your business plan
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Why Propellernet refuses to grow bigger than 60 people…and it may not be what you think!
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Why the obsession with business growth can be destructive
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The 3 top things that any Scale-up Founder can implement to get the best from their people
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A different approach to feedback that can change the nature of performance conversations
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Why the people with the loudest are often the least courageous!
Nikki's Social Links
Friday Jun 21, 2019
Friday Jun 21, 2019
Hanna Naima McCloskey is both an inspirational and awesome human being. As the Founder and CEO of Fearless Futures, she is seeking to put social justice, equity and equality at the heart of the business agenda.
So many people are now talking about diversity and inclusion, but we are seeing many ineffective initiatives, committees and training that barely scratch the surface.
Hanna and Fearless Futures give business leaders a true experience of what it is like to experience inequity and prejudice. It is only from that place, she contends, can we really design organisations for true inclusion.
As a person, Hanna is warm, smart and wise beyond her years. As a startup founder, she is focused and purposeful. For me, this is one of the most important episodes that I have ever been part of. Hanna really does blow the lid off what you think diversity and inclusion are.
In this conversation, we talk about:
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Why dealing with inequity and inclusion is the transformative path to leadership
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How you can be a startup founder and fundamentally create social change
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Acknowledging that the world is unequal is the real starting point of diversity and inclusion (D&I)
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Most diversity and inclusion work doesn’t address the root causes of the issues that it sets out to address
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Never understand the power of a few courageous agitators to create fundamental change in organisations
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Webinars on unconscious bias are NOT the way forward
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Why you can’t look at diversity and inclusion by looking at gender, race etc as separate issues
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How to REALLY approach D&I as a transformative subject that does actually change things
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Why Fearless Futures never engage in business case conversations for the work they do with organisations
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How Hanna lives her own values as a leader in her own organisation
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Why this is one of the most important podcasts that you will listen to this year
Hanna's Social Links
Thursday Jun 06, 2019
Thursday Jun 06, 2019
Justin Billingsley defies convention. It would be very easy to make assumptions about someone who is one of the most senior people globally in a multinational advertising group. Whatever picture that brings to mind, Justin is NONE of that…and is a true Maverick.
As the CEO of Publicis DACH and Publicis EMIL, Justin runs a multi-billion dollar business. But, he walked into our interview, took off his converse trainers and chatted with me as if I had known him for years. It couldn’t have been more refreshing experience.
In this podcast, Justin discusses his journey as a Maverick and how he has risen to the ranks of being a global business leader, all while staying true to himself.
What impressed me most about Justin is just how down-to-earth, humble, geeky and personal he is. He is also immensely smart. If you work in corporate but long to be more true to yourself, this is a must listen.
In this conversation, we talk about:
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Even in corporations, you can be disrupting and entrepreneurial
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What is your one-word equity?
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What it takes to reach the top of one of the world’s largest and most successful companies
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The challenges and opportunities of moving your family and moving to China
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How as a Maverick, you have to be able to embrace ambiguity
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Despite technology, it is still important to do business by looking people in the eye by being there in person
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In the age of information and technology, staying analogue is what keeps Justin organised
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As a founder, know your weaknesses and staff up around that
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The challenges of integrating family life and self-care and with being a global business leader
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How even global leaders have the people that inspire them
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When looking for inspiration, read outside of your immediate area of interest…it stimulates creativity and lateral thinking
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Assume that you are not an imposter! That holds more people back than almost anything else…
Justin's Social Links
Friday Apr 26, 2019
Friday Apr 26, 2019
So much success depends on ignoring the advice and opinions of others and figuring out what really works for you. That saves time, energy and an awful lot of angst as Tara McMullin, the CEO and Founder of The What Works Network and extremely successful podcast of the same name, has discovered.
For over 10 years, she has been facilitating honest conversations about running and growing a small business and answering the no. 1 question small business owners want to know is: What works? (in marketing, hiring people, selling more, driving results etc).
What I love about Tara is that she is extremely grounded and relatable, yet incredibly inspiring and wise. Tara describes herself as a "natural introvert but digital extravert" and she hits that sweet spot where purpose meets the practical, where the big picture meets pragmatic action.
In this episode Tara shares her experience of what has worked for her in building her business, growing as a person and leader and really discovering what authentic success means for her.
In this conversation, we talk about:
- Why being a Maverick ultimately means being true to your own values
- The way to forge your own path is to take imperfect action
- How we limit ourselves as leaders, entrepreneurs and founders through the stories we tell ourselves
- Why most goal-setting in business is evolutionary and completely unhelpful
- Who you are and how you behave is more important to your success in business than the goals you set
- If you don’t decide who you are becoming as a leader, someone else will
- Why being a powerful leader is rooted into tapping into your natural strengths…so even ‘quiet’ people can be extremely powerful
- The top three strategies that have helped Tara as a CEO and Founder grow her business
- As an entrepreneur, focus on energy management rather than time management
Friday Apr 12, 2019
Friday Apr 12, 2019
Every now and then, someone comes along who is so genuine and authentic that it is hard not to be instantly enrolled in them. That was the case for us at Mavericks Unlimited with Josh Connolly.
Josh is a speaker, coach and spokesperson for the National Association for Children of Alcoholics, who spends his time passionately advocating the power of authenticity, resilience and acceptance. These aren't just concepts for Josh, they are born out of hard-earned experience and an extraordinary journey through life with extreme ups and downs. He also speaks about mental health and why so much of the current debate on this topic is focused on completely the wrong thing.
The thing that I love about Josh is that he speaks so openly and authentically about emotions and feelings that many of us have but are afraid to bring out into the open. More than that, he speaks with courage, acceptance and compassion.
Josh is a true model of what it is to fall down, do the inner work and, ultimately, thrive as a person doing incredible work in the world.
In this conversation, we talk about:
- The difference between how we see our lives and what is actually happening
- The strategies we use to deal with overwhelm, stress and pain that simply don't work
- The difference between how we look to the outside world and what we might actually be feeling inside
- The journey through addiction to actually thriving in life
- Why being completely present with how you are feeling can literally change everything
- How the current focus on mental health in society and the workplace is actually focused on the wrong things
- Thriving in life and work is ultimately down to resilience
- What resilience is and what it isn't
- The keys and techniques to build your resilience
- Why stress is good...and when it becomes bad
- How to reframe stress in order to become more resilient
- The power of authenticity...and how to become more authentic
Josh's Social Links
Tuesday Nov 13, 2018
Tuesday Nov 13, 2018
Change is difficult, but if you want any degree of success, you can't keep doing the same thing over and over again. At some point, you have to take a risk and do something different.
That is the core message of our guest this week, Ray Richards. Ray is the CEO of the Brighton-based tech company Do Something Different and is very much a Maverick in his own right. DSD's mission is to help people create sustainable change in their lives by mixing up their routine and taking small steps or "do's" to expand their behavioural flexibility. It is this behavioural flexibility that is the key to reaching our goals.
In this episode, we talk about what you can do to build your own behavioural flexibility, how you can deal with the unknown and bring the people who matter on the journey with you.
What I love about Ray is that he is extremely grounded, laid-back and pragmatic. Although he believes that change it simple, it is not easy and he is dedicated to making it easier.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL LEARN:
- The definition of insanity is...
- The most successful people in life have behavioural flexibility
- There is a difference between knowing when to flex...and actually doing it
- To make an audacious change, you have to break it down into tiny chunks of doing something different
- The 3 keys to behavioural flexibility
- What a flying volleyball has to do with taking personal responsibility
- You can think your way into a new way of acting, but you can act your way into a new way of thinking
- To make a change, you have to actually take action, not just think about it
- How to embrace both the unknown and the known (and know which you prefer)
- What to do when you have fallen into a rut
- Why routines are so important for Mavericks
- What the law of unintended consequences is
- How to become the Maverick you have always wanted to be!
- The risks involved in not listening to the old INXS album...
- The impact of other people on your efforts to change
- And much much more...
LINKS
Friday Nov 02, 2018
Friday Nov 02, 2018
Whatever flavour of Maverick you are, whether change maker, leader or entrepreneur, sooner or later you are going to have to sell people on your ideas and bring them on a journey with you.
And this is what marketeer Wes Kao is a master of. She understands that selling isn’t a dirty word, but rather about deep empathy, walking a mile in another person’s shoes and really helping the other person to feel seen and heard.
She helps organisations launch products, leaders run change programmes and entrepreneurs to really understand their audience.
Wes has also learned from the best having worked closely with Seth Godin as the Executive Director of his AltMBA programme.
In this episode, we do talk about tools and techniques of persuasion, but we go rather deeper into how to really hone your empathy, building your confidence and how to bring your loved ones along on with your on your Maverick journey.
In this conversation, you'll learn:
- The life advice that Seth Godin gave Wes
- "It was like a knife being sharpened" - the experience of working with Seth Godin
- Whether you are a change maker, leader or entrepreneur, you need to be selling your ideas every day
- The role of the WIIFT (what's in it for them?)
- How to build your empathy (clue: it's not all about you!)
- The need to position your ideas in the context of what is important to the person you are trying to bring along with you...not what is important to you
- If it is hard to get ourselves to change, why do we wonder why it is difficult to get other people to change?
- How to use social proof, FOMO and storytelling to bring people along with us
- The role of tribal behaviour in getting people to take action
- How to use these techniques to bring your loved ones on your journey
- DO NOT try to problem solve with people until they feel seen and heard
- Ultimately this is all about establishing and building TRUST
- How using sprints and building momentum is so important in building your confidence
- Trojan-horsing your idea to get past the "immune system" of your organisation or family
- And much much more!
Links
Thursday Oct 25, 2018
Thursday Oct 25, 2018
We believe that Mavericks can change the world and that the world needs more Mavericks...and that is exactly what this week's podcast guests are doing. Rich Bloom and Ross Taylor are first-degree Mavericks. Having worked in the recruitment industry for years and running their own very successful recruitment company, they felt the need to shake things up and disrupt their industry.
Rich and Ross have literally just launched Hidden, their new recruitment venture, which aims to throw out bad practices that a driven by sales targets and contingencies fees. More than that, they are using technology to further diversity and inclusion by eliminating unconscious bias from the recruitment process...all while providing a much higher level of service to their clients.
It would be easy to dismiss this if recruitment isn't your thing. The real message here though is about what it really takes to build a startup when you are following your principles as well as trying to build prosperity. Rich and Ross are very candid about the challenges they have faces, the difficulty of convincing clients of radically new ways of working and the impact on their families.
What's more though, they are off to a flying start with clients such as Wunderman, VaynerMedia and Dentsu Aegis getting onboard very quickly.
If you are running your own business, dream of doing so or want to be a disrupter, this is a must listen!
In this conversation, you'll learn:
- Why there is a need to shake things up in a very traditional industry
- What makes Hidden a disrupter in the space
- The strategic business case for diversity and inclusion in business
- The link between the personal drive to create social change and creating a prosperous business
- The impact of mental health challenges for entrepreneurs
- The challenge of selling a radically different product or service
- The trials and tribulations of long-term business partnerships
- The importance of being able to clearly articulate what you are doing and its value
- How do you navigate the territory of cashflow?? Simple...credit cards!
- Why keeping your husband/wife/partner on side is soooooo important
- Strategies for staying productive and not burning out as an entrepreneur
- The growth of the human-centred workplace movement
- How Christiano Ronaldo and David Beckham inspired two entrepreneurs
- And much much more!
Links
Rich and Ross' startup - HIDDEN
Hidden social links - TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
Feature article about HIDDEN in The Drum - Hidden targets unconscious bias in the creative industries with ‘in-house talent partner’ recruitment model
Friday Oct 12, 2018
Friday Oct 12, 2018
You know how sometimes you meet someone who is so effortlessly inspiring, it is unreal. That was my experience with Glenn Elliott, the founder of Reward Gateway and author of “Build It: The Rebel Playbook for World Class Employee Engagement”.
Glenn is a highly successful entrepreneur and former engineer whose approach to employee engagement is simple, down-to-earth and common sense. To him, engagement is not some fluffy HR issue but the single most important business improvement tool. As a result he is a hugely sought after speaker and travels the world championing employee engagement.
Glenn is grounded, warm and real..and that is what makes him so inspiring. There is no inauthenticity or pretense. And that is what makes him so effective.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
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The impact of office design on culture and engagement
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"Employee engagement is about creating en environment when people can do their best work and want to do their best work"
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The three factors for determining whether a person is going to be engaged at their job
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Employee engagement isn't a fluffy issue on the side, it is the single most important business improvement tool
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Every factor that will add to your bottom line is connected to people...
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Numbers are just a mathematical model of the output of people...so how engaged your people are is critical
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According to Gallup, about 70% of people are disengaged at work...and that isn't really changing
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Most companies still treat their employees in the same way that we did during the Industrial Revolution (200 years ago!)
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If you can't trust the people that work for you, don't employ them...employ people you can trust and build a great team
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Most employee engagement is actually quite straight forward common sense and isn't expensive
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A huge act of corporate rebellion...saying thank you to people at work ;)
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The Bridge Model to Employee Engagement
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The easiest places to start in building engagement are communication and recognition
LINKS
Wednesday Oct 03, 2018
Wednesday Oct 03, 2018
Let’s face it, one of the biggest barriers to living life on your terms is a lack of time and having too many things to do. If we could just get ourselves a bit more organised or productive, things would be better, right?
Well, productivity expert Chris Bailey believes that it is not about managing time, it is about managing your attention. Social media and split focus are ruining the quality of our lives AND what we can accomplish. In his new book, Hyperfocus, Chris looks at what mindfulness really means and how it can supercharge our productivity and our life.
Chris is just a warm, compassionate man who is super-knowledgeable and full of practical tips. I also love that he is a bit of a productivity geek as well.
We talk about the neuroscience of productivity, meditation as a time management tool and the difference between getting stuff done vs accomplishing meaningful outcomes.
Other highlights of our conversation include:
- Effective productivity is actually about managing your attention not managing your time
- The first key to turning around overwhelm is looking at where you are stimulated or overstimulated
- Is looking at Instagram or Twitter really meaningful to your life or is it just distraction?
- How to check where your focus is on a consistent focus
- Hyperfocus vs Scatterfocus
- It is when our attention is at rest, that is when our mind is most creative
- Productivity and the power of 3
- Chris' super hack on the 3 Most Important Tasks productivity method
- The power of setting intentions before each task we attend to
- The difference between "how much have I done?" and "how much have I accomplished?"
- There really is no such thing as multitasking...it's impossible
- The real reason why multitasking actually kills your productivity
- Productivity is the by-product of managing our attention..and managing our attention determines the quality of our lives
- When was the last time you spent a day not looking at a screen?
LINKS
Chris' website - A Life of Productivity
Chris' new book - Hyperfocus
Chris' TEDx Talk - A More Human Approach To Productivity
Chris' social links - TWITTER