Eat Sleep Work Repeat

Sign up for the newsletterSeth Godin has cracked the secret of how to make you more creative. And the good news is that everyone can do it. He was so dogged by his need to share this that he has turned it into a book, The Practice. We talk about the simple way to unlock creativity and ask why schools don't teach this. At the end Seth gives his recommendations of the best things you should be reading (linked below)Seth's blogMy previous interview with Seth - How you can reinvent your company cultureSeth's recommendations:The War of Art by Steven PressfieldThe Art of Possibility by Rosamund Zander and Benjamin ZanderJust Kids (audiobook) by Patti SmithCaste by Isabel WilkersonAkimbo courses Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sign up for the newsletterThere was an incredible response to the episode with Chris hayward last week. I know that Chris was really touched with the response. He’s not on Twitter but I know he was responding to some people on Linkedin last week. Today’s episode is much lighter in tone but it’s fascinating rare opportunity to get a different perspective into another world. During the summer someone at GCHQ got in touch and asked whether it would be of interest to get an insight into the modern world of spying and intelligence. I’ve been very fortunate that since I’ve been doing this podcast I’ve been invited to M15, to M16 and inside the SAS so I was delighted to go inside GCHQ. Especially as I was allowed to record it and have one of the first interviews with someone inside GCHQ. GCHQ (government communication headquarters - as its never known) was created in 1919 after the first world war as a way to gather intelligence to assist the British Government and UK military.It’s always had a unique

WARNING: INCLUDES THEMES OF SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION"I walked up and down Tottenham Court Road looking for a lorry to throw myself under"An episode going deep on mental health today. I chat to someone who has been brave enough to reveal their own breakdown and how they got to the verge of suicide. In a recent piece of research Deloitte surveyed 1000 UK employees, 55% say their colleagues are just as productive but 38% say that lockdown has had a negative impact on their wellbeing. Not long ago Chris Hayward was named the number 1 media buyer in the UK by industry bible Campaign, he was responsible for buying advertising campaigns for some of the best known brands in the world. An unfortunate accident made Chris's health take a turn for the worse and before anyone could notice he was spiralling through exhaustion and isolation into a very dark place. In this incredibly candid conversation Chris explains how he felt, how he's learned to cope and what he would say to others in his position.Support if you're feelin

Sign up for the newsletterToday's episode is for anyone who is curious about how human's tick. Work ultimately is a practice of the brain and how our brain processes and reacts to things is a fascination to me.I have a friend who is studying neuroscience and a couple of years ago at someone's wedding I was chatting to him and said 'who should I be reading?' and he said the best voice in the field was a psychologist called Lisa Feldman Barrett. Sure enough I looked her up and her book How Emotions Are Made was dazzling and brilliant. it covers themes of understanding emotions.One of the things that Lisa believes is that we don' t arrive programmed with emotions, we learn them along the way. The more emotions we're taught to understand the more we can feel. In her book she says people who read fiction books and learn to appreciate nuance of emotion end up feeling a wider range of emotions. She has a new book out. How Emotions Are Made is several hundred pages and her new book 7.5 Lessons About the Bra

What a truly wonderful conversation you're about to listen to today. Mo Gawdat is an expert on happiness and today's episode is a combination of philosophy and science - and it never fails to be stimulating to listen to every step of the way. This podcast used to be about happiness and work culture. And about 4 years I saw a captivating clip by Mo which went viral everywhere on the internet. I contacted him and finally here we are. Mo Gawdat was formerly the boss of Google X, the company's innovation lab, now he is one of the most respected thought leaders on how we can find happiness in our lives.Links mentioned in the show: Joe Biden's climate plan (I love this site Bloomberg Green btw their daily Green email is brilliant).Listen to Mo's podcast. I'm on this episode.Follow Mo on Twitter/Instagram.Here's Mo's original viral clip if you want to share it - YouTube/Facebook/TwitterMo mentions the most successful artist Romero Britto - here's his work, he wasn't kidding about his work being simplistic. Hosted on

"When I moved to New York City, I realised what it meant to be truly lonely for the first time. I had no consistent community — people who would wonder where I was if I didn’t show up. I was disconnected. At the time, I thought that I was the only one who felt this way… but I was VERY wrong.Turns out, loneliness is a huge issue in the United States. The average American only has one close friend, and 75% of people are not satisfied with their friendships".Jillian Richardson found that one of the most relatable things that any of us can do is confess to others that we're lonely. Freshly arrived in Manhattan she found the paradox of big cities is that we can be alone while surrounded with others. Her response was to create the Joy List - a list that once set about connecting people across New York with other like minded individuals and now sets about connecting anyone virtually.The Joy List has become a phenomenon recommended by Esther Perel, Priya Parker and many more. She's also the author of Unlonely Planet.

Sign up for the newsletter.We're at part 3 of our series about community at work.Today's guest is one of the most respected community thinkers in the world, Casper ter Kuile, Fellow at the Harvard Divinity School and author of The Power of Ritual. His book is a practical guide to the way that communities come to life, not only is it practical it's also brilliantly written. I found myself annotating a lot of it and it's impossible not to learn from his wisdom on the topic.“Disconnection sours the sweet things in life and makes them nearly unbearable”Casper previously wrote a free book with Angie Thurston is at Harvard Divinity School called How We Gather which was a wonderful exploration of how post religious (secular) groups were creating get togethers that seemed to be inspired by the religious communities that went before them. Casper's perspective is wonderful, so respectful of religion even though he sits outside of it.This series of episodes has been about understanding how our organi

Today's episode is a further exploration of how firms will try to evolve their culture by hiring Community Managers. If you've not listened to last week's episode featuring Sarah Drinkwater pull up, back up and tuck in to that one first. Sarah said the person I should talk to is Abadesi Osunsade from Brandwatch - and so that's who we are talking to today. Abadesi's title is VP Global Community & Belonging at the 500 strong organisation.We talk about seeking to get better at Diversity & Inclusion, giving voice to teams (and applicants) and how to build community in organisations who are no longer together.Abadesi mentions Square's Rise program. This is the scheme that ensures there's always one minority candidate at the last stage of each hiring process. You'll find more details on it here. (note I couldn't find it on the UK website so maybe stay on the US site when it asks if you want to move).Here's Abadesi's book and the other organisation she's part of The Hustle Crew.If you like this please do sub

Sign up for the Eat Sleep Work Repeat newsletter here.New podcast today - the first of four podcasts about what’s next with work - specifically how can we make work feel like a community again, especially when you’re hunkered down under the duvet trying to survive the November chill. Over the next few weeks I’m going to be chatting to some incredible guests.Today I kick off with Sarah Drinkwater who is a supreme community builder and now works for the Atomico fund.Some links to what we discuss!I mention that Gary runs Wonder - this is their websiteFollow Sarah on TwitterSarah's Medium postShe mentions Jason Fried's book Rework (my own bookThe InterintellectQ Anon - great piece on how one woman felt enveloped by the community (before she twigged it was all nonsense)Q Anon - outstanding Reply All when they pretty much work out which crackpot is behind it. Created by a crackpot, weaponised by the GRU.The Sunrise Movement - love these kidsImage by Shane Rounce on Unsplash Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo

Can't Even can be ordered nowAHP's original article in BuzzfeedAHP's newsletter is hereLast year Anne Helen Petersen’s Buzzfeed article about burnout became a viral sensation, spawning a seemingly never-ending wave of ‘Year of Burnout’ headlines. Petersen’s writing triggered such recognition because she rooted it in the ordinary, in everyday experiences that were instantly relatable. She evoked her own life where industrious professional productivity (as a writer) was combined with a weary inability to get things done in her private life.She initially thought there was something wrong with her. Googling for other people relating their aversion to getting sh!t done domestically, bills sitting unpaid, registrations unfiled, postal votes uncast, chores uncompleted. She realised it wasn’t personal, it was systematic. The way we were living was driving us to a constant feeling of being emotionally & physically spent.Relatedly, it was sad to read of the passing of David Graeber this week. As an academic he was

Subscribe to the newsletterToday's interviewees: Bhushan Sethi leads PwC's workplace strategy business and Ben Waber is the CEO of workplace analytics firm, Humanyze.Read the Humanyze research about the way work has changed since lockdown. Here's the previous episode I recorded with Ben Waber. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was fortunate to speak to Gary Hamel about his forthcoming new book, Humanocracy.He believes that the single most empowering (and profitable) thing that businesses can do is eliminate their creeping bureaucracy.He talks about how increasingly organisations are paralysed with red tape and bureaucracy. The end result is that they can’t get anything done. There are some clear examples of this from the recent past. He characterises the Microsoft era under Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer as being one where opportunity after opportunity was passed because the organisation was so heavily bureaucratic. Satya Nadella has freed the organisation from a lot of this – with evident results.Hamel proposes a series of questions that help you diagnose the extent of bureaucracy in your company - and you can read more about this here: read moreSubscribe to the newsletterBuy Gary Hamel's new book, Humanocracy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe to the newsletterWhat are other firms doing about returning to work? How can any of us work out the right thing to do? I chat to 4 more firms to hear their plans.Listen to conversations with Beth Marie Norbury from Babcock International, Tom Ellis from Brand Genetics, Richard from a big secret pharmaceuticals firm and Laura Pleasance from Captify. This is addition to Dan Cullen Shute last episode.Here's more on my survey I put out last week (from last week's newsletter):We’ve already heard loud and clear that workers don’t want to return to the old days but we’re starting to hear more about firm ordering workers back to their seating plan. L’Oreal US saw some unwelcomed attention this month when they told workers that if they didn’t come back ASAP they needed to authorise the firm having access to their private medical records.So what are other firms saying is going to happen next? I got just under 100 qualitative replies to the survey; from pharmaceutical companies to start-ups, char

Subscribe to the newsletterHere's Dan's tweets that started this conversation.Today's episode is first of two episodes about the big return to work. It covers themes that I've covered in the newsletter over the last few weeks. What are other firms doing? How will they make their decisions. Over the 2 episodes I've chatted to stacks of people to get their views. Firstly I talk to someone who went on the record describing his company's approach.Dan Cullen Shute is the boss of advertising agency, Creature he tweeted a few weeks ago that he was getting the band back together every Wednesday and Thursday. I asked him his thinking behind this and his vision of how this will create a special place to work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"We think people want to be liked, but they need to be needed".A thoroughly stimulating discussion here - that I've allowed to run long because it's so interesting.I met a brilliant guy called Misha Byrne who worked for a company called NeuroPower. I was so taken with what he was talking about (applying neuroscience to work) that we arranged to meet up, and he brought Peter Burow, the founder of the company along.There's some wonderful stuff in this discussion:the important of Relatedness in teamshow we build affinity between people who might not initially see a connection with each other (in this case doctors from India and Pakistan)how good teams don't avoid conflict, they are comfortable with ithow resilience can be built in teams"We think people want to be liked, they need to be needed"The model that they use in their work is RELISH: Relatedness, Expression, Leading the pack, Interpersonal connection, See Progress and Hope for the futureWe talk a lot about Matt Lieberman's book, Social.Misha invites liste

"Tuesday and Thursday, see you there. BOOM!"A lot of us are starting to long for human contact again and the office feels like a happy place to be. But what does the office of the future look like? I chatted to the brilliant Antony Slumbers (follow him on Twitter here). Antony is regarded as a visionary thinker in the real estate market and runs a course for you to learn to be the same.Antony is incredibly incisive:"in the same way we realised we didn't need a shop to go shopping we've realised we don't need an office to do work"."no company wants an office, they want a productive workforce"To get this and more sign up to the newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Firstly a conversation with David D'Souza the membership director of CIPD (incidentally is a fantastic Twitter follow).David talks about the choices available to firms right now:do we want to be famous for the new culture that we've created?or our actions going to be defined by reactive actions to bosses' whims?If you want to follow the Twitter list I mention you'll find it here.If you're interested in workplace culture you might like my newsletter makeworkbetter.substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe to the Make Work Better mailoutI'm so excited about what is in the next few episodes. This is a short series of episodes about what we're about to lose with the end of office culture, and how we can build something new. If you like this please do share it.Today's episode has two great interviews. Later I’m going to hear from the frontline how firms are changing their use of technology by chatting to Adrienne Gormley, Head of EMEA at Dropbox.The first conversation is with Dr Emma Cohen, Associate Professor in Cognitive Anthropology at Oxford University. It went to see Dr Cohen before the lockdown and chatted to her in her office. Emma is going to teach you about the impact of working with other people. You're going to learn about how this impacts exercise and then about the self-other overlap. Over the next few episodes we're going to look at this more because understanding this is the secret of building new work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe to the Make Work Better mailoutSubscribe to Your Table's Ready PodcastVaried episode today, firstly for Mental Health Awareness week, two members of West Midlands Fire Service talk about stress at work and when it's ok to say you're not ok. Then later in the show a brief discussion with April Vellacott and Jez Groom who give us a brief glimpse of how to use behavioural hacks to improve work.Buy their book Ripple here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you're interested in workplace culture you might like my newsletter makeworkbetter.substack.comI've been chasing this conversation for over 2 years and I'm delighted today to talk to the world’s most sought after culture doctor: Frances Frei is the Red Adair of work culture problems.If something goes wrong at WeWork, Uber or Riot Games there’s one name you call… You’ll be thrilled to hear the brilliant, thoughtful interview Frances gives.She’s very clear answering:could Uber have kept Travis Kalanick and solved their problems?what’s horrifically wrong with 360 appraisals?what is the first action she takes when she goes into a firmcan anyone be the agent for change in culture?her feeling on the importance of purposeFrances and her wife are the authors of a brand new book called Unleashed which recounts their experience at Uber, WeWork and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.