Eat Sleep Work Repeat

Sign up for the Make Work Better newsletterHow important is a happy workforce? According to Mark Price, the former boss of Waitrose, it's the main thing that leaders should be thinking about. Make your workforce happy and the profits will follow. Mark's new book is Happy Economics.To prove it Mark cites his experience running the supermarket chain, when with a goal of workers happiness he made it the fastest-growing, most profitable supermarket in the UK.The original purpose of the John Lewis Partnership, as laid out by the very same John Lewis , was to uphold the happiness of the people who worked inside the organisation.Mark's new book is Happiness Economics. Mark's book makes the assertion that the quickest way to business success is to focus on creating happy employees.This is genuinely a brilliant listen - and one that you might benefit from reading the transcript of - you can get the transcript here.While I got real value from the book, I actually found the conversation even more enlightening. It challe

This episode is part of the Presence project: Presence: Fixing culture starts with your calendar, not your officeYou might think an episode about improv comedy might be a stretch for a podcast about making work better. But in fact as Kelly Leonard explains today the skills of improv comedy are the most important ones that will determine our success at work. Kelly helps to run Second City, the world's famous famous improv comedy club - he believes that improv skills can teach us about what we need in work going forwards. ** TRIGGER WARNING ** includes one brief mention of poetryCheck our Kelly's book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is part of the Presence project: Presence: Fixing culture starts with your calendar, not your officeIn the 2000s a book called Fish! A remarkable way to boost morale and improve results became a bestseller. A small book, it was often used by companies accompanying a video of the same name. Together the two told a story of the culture of the fish market in Seattle, a noisy, bombastic place, but a place that was filled with joy. I first encountered Fish when a firm came to pitch to me when I was working in publishing. They told me that their culture was Fish. There are a few things that stood out from it. The idea of intentionally designing culture isn’t new but this seemed to be explicitly linking culture, emotion and mood. There were 4 principles of FishPlaybe theremake their daychoose your attitude Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is part of the Presence project: Presence: Fixing culture starts with your calendar, not your officeThis is the second episode about rituals - the first one is next to it in the podcast feed, it's an interview with Kursat Ozenc about how rituals can be used to create culture. This episode goes into real life examples.Claudia Wallace talks about Crisp Thursday (Connection)Andy Puleston talks about Pizza Meetings (Connection) and Leaving Speeches (Change)Dan Pink talks about Friday Night Experiments (Creativity)Biz Stone talks about Hack Week at Twitter (Creativity)Dr Heidi Edmondson talks about Ten at Ten (Performance)Heidi has a wonderful new book out - Darkness in the City of Light You can also hear the original episodes that each of these extracts came from by click the links above. I have to say that those whole episodes are worth revising. For example, Andy Puleston talks about how effective the culture was at Radio 1 when it was a series of affiliated tribes and he articulates the role that

This episode is part of the Presence project: Presence: Fixing culture starts with your calendar, not your officeKursat Ozenc is a product designer who he teaches at Stanford university, He teaches on the subject that we can all learn from which is the idea that culture can be designed. The specific tool he uses to design culture is the creation of workplace rituals. Kursat's Substack newsletterKursat's first book is here and the second, on virtual meetings is here.The reading list for Kursat's course is hereKursat’s book includes the suggestions that: ‘The rituals in our life show what we care about’. Critically then creating rituals demonstrate what our culture values.Kursat gives five use cases for rituals: For changeCreativityPerformanceConflictCommunityIf you like this episode you'll also like the episode that accompanies it - which goes into depth about specific rituals that companies have used. Listen to that episode here.A full transcript of the episode is at the website. Hosted on Acast. Se

Flow is the state of being in which people become so immersed in the joy of their work or activity “that nothing else seems to matter.”Presence is to be in a flow state of connection with others.Here’s the last discussion about the Happiness TrackSign up for the newsletterEmma’s new book SovereignHBR: The Best Leaders Have a Contagious Positive EnergyHBR: Proof That Positive Work Cultures Are More ProductiveToday is the first of series of podcasts about an idea that needs more consideration in our workplaces. The idea of presence.Emma Seppala is a psychologist and lecturer at the Yale School of Management – she also runs the Women’s Leadership program there. I first spoke to Emma about 6 years ago when I came across her book the Happiness Track. The hypothesis of that book was in many ways the sweet spot of this podcast: the notion that if you make workers happy then they do their better work. Emma had a new book out this week called Sovereign and it felt like a great reason to have a new conversati

To receive the newsletter and the forthcoming Presence project sign-up hereToday’s top episode goes to the heart of an issue that a lot of people raise with me.They say ‘where do you start when changing a culture’.To some extent it’s what the episode about the hospital trust in Barking was about, going in and changing the culture of a huge organisation.I saw one of today’s guests Darren Ashby speak at an event - talking through the specifics of how his company Business Four Zero tried to change the culture of Tesco. Business Four Zero are one of a group of organisations who work with leaders to change company culture. I know there’s a few of these firms. I attended a dazzling event by one firm called Scarlett Abbot in this field about a month ago. Darren is joined by Atif Sheikh as they talk through the specifics of what they did with firms like Electronic Arts, Aviva and Tesco. They’ve turned some of their work into a book which you can buy here.Some of the things that stood out for me:What’s the number

Isabel Berwick is a writer and podcaster who focusses on the evolving state of modern work. I’ve celebrated her podcast Working It many times here (here’s her specials on the 4-day week for example, or her special on meeting-free days was essential listening). I love its ability to react rapidly to the biggest news stories of the moment and to drop a snackable episode midweek.I talked to her about her opinions on modern work, going deep on the rapidly changing world of employment and where we’re going next.Isabel has a brand new book out, The Future Proof Career, which she says is for everyone who doesn’t read books about work but wants to be better at navigating it.Recent episodes you might have missedThe importance of trust at work - and why it's on the declineCharles Duhig on how to be a supercommunicator in your job (and your home life)Can improvements to culture fix a broken NHS trust?The Big Ange effect at Tottenham HotspurFrances Frei on the importance of training managers Hosted on Acast. See acast.co

How should most of us think about the differences between Employee Experience and Employee Engagement.I first spoke to Emma Bridger, who is the author of a well respected book on this topic and the founder of the EX Space, a learning community focussed on raising the bar in the Employee Experience field.Then I picked the brains of Melanie Wheeler who leads People Communications at Sutherland, a firm widely recommended to me as outstanding in Employee Experience.Get in touchSign up for the newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Duhigg’s bestseller The Power of Habit was the definitive guide to building and sustaining successful habits.His new book, Supercommunicators, grapples with the knotty topic of creating successful interactions with others.It’s a thorough and dazzling read that has many applications for the way we work (and how we live our lives).We talked about:the single biggest thing that builds psychological safetywhy moving conversation out of small talk into deep discussion proves more satisfying than we expecthow teams should use 'who are we' conversationshow we should think about three different types of conversation (are they looking to be helped, hugged or heard?Read an extract of Charles' book here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many of us have worked in environments that provided bonuses or rewards for success. Maybe they took the form of team rewards or individual incentives, or end of year profit-share schemes. But do these rewards achieve what they are designed to?Professor Uri Gneezy is the world's foremost expert on the science of incentives - and he comes with a huge warning about what such schemes actually achieve.Eat Sleep Work Repeat is today hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook.Sign up to the newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook.Roll up roll up as this week we talk the major trends in work and workplace culture and the big stories of the last month.Including:Wellness programs don’t work - in TikTok form, or in Matt’s post on LinkedIn Research from Oxford University looking at the (in)effectiveness of workplace wellbeing interventions at an individual levelChronoworking GymclassgateEllen on Gen Z workersFewer and fewer of us want to go out in the evenings or weekendsThe dystopian prospect of AI interviews Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was flattered to be invited to visit the NHS trust of Barking, Havering and Redbridge last year. I spent an afternoon meeting the team and seeing the place in action.It was an inspiring question that CEO Matthew Trainer was asking: 'can we improve the results by making it a better culture?'What does that look like? And how is going for them?Matthew Trainer's CEO note at the end of 2023Video: Inside the TrustFill in the form: Consider my firm for a future podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We often overlook the fact that trust is the basis for all good culture. I called out some of the remarkable data on this in the Work In 2024 deck.In Slack’s August 2023 survey of over 10,000 global office workers, trust was the top determinant of employees’ productivity scores. Employees who felt trusted were 2X as productive as those who didn’t. They were 30% more likely to put in extra effort at their jobs. If we don’t feel trusted we’re twice as likely to say we’re looking for a new job.But what role does trust play in the modern company? And how can we build it?Mark McGinn is a senior leader at the communications agency Edelman, he talks to me about their research into trust and how we should seek to build it.Has our organisation replaced government? Increasingly our company is the biggest thing that we believe we can have an impact on.Mark explains that Trust in our organisation is based on four things:Organisational abilityDependabilityIntegrityPurposeYou'll strongly enjoy downloading Edelman

The role of managers are pivotal in our working lives but most managers aren't trained or prepared for the responsibilities that they are given.When we look at the research from Gallup about burnout and why people hate their jobs managers are regarded as having the biggest responsibility. Half of people who say they don't rate their manager say they are looking for jobs. So what can we do to make our relationship with our managers better? I chatted to Anthony Painter from CMI.Download the Work in 2024 deckChartered Management Institute research on the Accidental Manager82% of workers entering management positions have not had any formal management and leadership trainingonly a quarter of workers (27%) describe their manager as ‘highly effective’of those workers who do not rate their manager, half (50%) plan to leave their company in the next yearFollow Anthony on LinkedInFollow Anthony on Twitter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterWe talk through the hottest topics in work:New research says that bosses think going part-time signals the end of career ambitionRadio 5 Live's Nihal Arthanayake says he feels alienated as the only brown face in a sea of white at his workplaceBill Gates advocates for the three-day week but doesn't detail who he thinks is going to pay for it Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Frances Frei is the biggest brain in the field of workplace culture and I was delighted to get another opportunity to talk to her.She explains the one thing that firms should do to fix their cultures (spoiler: train their managers), why she thinks inclusion is a more important element of culture than just diversity.The previous episode with Frances FreiFrances and Anne’s podcast FixableFrances’ and Anne Morriss’ new book Move Fast and Fix ThingsSign up for the newsletter Quotes from the book that I cited: “One way to build cynicism quickly in an organisation, something we see all the time, by the way - is to ask people for their input and then do very little with the information they give you (and take a long time to even do that)’Robert McDonald, former CEO of P&G “Organisations are perfectly designed to get the results they get… if you don’t like the results you need to change the design”. We're often asked for a summary of how to build a workplace where everyone feels welcome.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterIs toxic culture driving your team away?If you’re someone whose job it is think about culture, or maybe you’re a boss who has tried to communicate values to your team then today’s episode is an essential listen.Donald Sull and Charlie Sull are a father and son research team who have discovered extraordinary insights into values and what they look like in the real world.Here are some articles to get you going to understand the world of the Sulls:Toxic Culture Is Driving the Great ResignationThe Toxic Culture Gap Shows Companies Are Failing WomenWhy leaders need to worry about toxic culture?Charlie and Donald have a business that focusses on this called Culture X. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterThis week we go deep on the latest news about work.ITV tell staff to declare ‘friendships’Moderation staff at Facebook are suing over PTSDBBC staff given help for stress levels'We Had To Remove This Post' - brilliant novella by Hanna BervoetsOobah Butler’s Amazon show on Channel 4Reddit anti workReddit r/LateStageCapitalismMatt’s final comment about having orgasms to boost productivityBig Train sketch: 'no wanking in the office please' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eat Sleep Work Repeat is hosted by Bruce Daisley, Ellen C Scott and Matthew Cook. Sign up to the newsletterThis week we go deep on the latest news about work. We discuss:Two thirds of bosses expect a return to the office by 2036KPMG CEO surveyDavid Foster Wallace - This is Water commencement speechShonda Rhimes “Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life”80% of remote workers claim to have two jobsEmail sign-offs are changingCoffee badging as a protest against being in the officeSnail girl jobs (and the toxicity of ‘trends’ about women working less)The gendered nature of WFH assessment (participants in research were less likely to choose to hire working mothers than childless women) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.