Being Human

#230 Axing Line Management - with Philippa Kindon & Taryn Burden

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This week, I speak with Philippa Kindon & Taryn Burden, representing the UK software development company Mayden. Philippa and Taryn share Mayden's genuinely pioneering culture. Mayden has taken self-management from the software team and applied it to the whole company.
Philippa and Taryn absolutely give the lie to the belief that removing formal hierarchy inevitably leads to chaos. In fact, it's given them an outstanding culture.
We talk:
A coach for everyone
Personal growth, not promotion
Building culture bottom up
Links:Mayden's Website

#229 Chase the Light - with Cesar Perez

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This week, I speak with Cesar Perez, author of Chase the Light. A professional actor with a promising career, Cesar was on a meteoric rise until a car accident left him with a severe brain injury and almost entirely incapacitated. His remarkable resilience, through a grueling physical recovery and the breakdown of his relationship, forms the core of our conversation.
We talk:
Being coached by an extraordinary mother
His big break
Getting hit by two trucks
Recovering for the sake of others
Keeping it in the day
If you’re going through dark times right now, you may find great inspiration in Cesar’s story.Links:Chase The Light - The BookCesar's Instagram

#228 The Vedas For Everyone - with Narada Kush

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This week, I speak with Narada Kush, someone who has changed my life. He was my personal Vedic meditation teacher. Since taking up this practice, my life has transformed in multiple ways: my sleep has improved, my mind has cleared, and I'm far less reactive to daily events. 
Narada is the author of the book The Vedas For Everyone. He has made it his life's mission to bring the ancient wisdom of the Vedas to the masses and teach their practical applications to inspire people to follow their own unique (inner) path. 
We talk:
his journey into Vedic meditation
gathering insight in an age of ignorance
finding personal stability through meditation
transcending your current state of consciousness
Links:Narada's WebsiteThe Vedas For Everyone - The Book

#227 Communicating Beyond Language - with Richard Newman

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This week, I speak with Richard Newman, one of the world's foremost communication trainers.
Richard's extraordinary career journey began with a stint in a Tibetan monastery. The challenges he faced there set him on a path to helping others to communicate powerfully. 
We talk:
teaching monks that spoke no English
overcoming his autism
turning his business around in the middle of the pandemic
his potent morning routine
how communication starts with mindset
Links:UKBodyTalk - Richard's websiteRichard's LinkedIn profileRichard's Instagram profile

#226 My Meditation Journey (So Far) - with Richard Atherton

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This week, I go solo to share my experiences of the last year practising Vedic meditation.
Previous guest Jillian Lavender first introduced me to this style of meditation in her book 'Why Meditate?'. My new habit has transformed my life and especially my well-being.
I share:
How Vedic meditation is so easy
Sleep vs meditation
What is and what is not meditation
Links:Jillian's book - Why Meditate? Because It WorksJillian's London Meditation CentreNarada's online courses

#225 One People One Planet - with Michael Glauser

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This week, I sit down with Michael Glauser, author and Professional Practice Professor at the University of Utah.During a stint working in the Middle East, Michael began a study of Islam. It sparked a quest to find parallels across all the major religions and philosophical traditions. It led to One People One Planet: 6 Universal Truths for Being Happy Together, Michael’s manifesto for happiness and a path to healing the divisions emerging in many of our societies today.We talk:
From academic to building a 600-person company
Giving up the ego
To judge or not to judge
Saving a marriage with one question
Learning from Confucius
Links:One People One Planet - The Book

#224 Re-Humanize Now - with Chuck Blakeman

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This week, I sit down with Chuck Blakeman, serial entrepreneur, international speaker, best-selling business author and world-renowned business advisor.Chuck is on a mission to create a world where all members of companies share in the creative process of building the company together. He is a man who pulls no punches in calling out the current de-humanizing corporate paradigm—his message is a true tour-de-force.
We talk:
Corporations as Ponzi schemes
You can't just fire the bosses
Thinking for yourself
Capitalism not industrialism
The Participation Age
Links:Chuck's WebsiteThe Crankset Group

#223 The Seismic Shift in Leadership - with Michelle K. Johnston, PhD.

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This week, I sit down with Michelle K. Johnston, PhD., author and professor of management at Loyola University in New Orleans.We discuss her book, The Seismic Shift in Leadership: How to Thrive in a New Era of Connection, and how the overriding imperative for leaders today is to connect; to themselves and others.
We talk:
From pantsuits to heels
Dropping perfection
How to build connection
The power of ritual
Lessons from a great quarterback
Links:The Seismic Shift in Leadership - The BookDr. Johnston's Website

#222 Bright Lights, Big Empty - with Ron Baker

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This week, I sit down with Ron Baker, author of Bright Lights, Big Empty.When I first accepted Ron onto the Zoom call for this episode, I was blown away by how extraordinary youthful Ron looked for a man in his early sixties. Ron is a man who has very visibly done The Work. I was also profoundly moved by how loving, and present Rob is. The conversation stretched me in many ways.We talk:
Walking away from a career in the performing arts
Building his School of Self-Mastery
How his business partner became a channel for Gabriel
Scanning our past for trauma and the good
How the split we're seeing in society right now was expected
We go all the way out there with this one, and it's well worth the ride!
 
Links:Ron's WebsiteBright Lights, Big Empty - The Book

#221 Participate! - with Roberto Martinez

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This week, I sit down with Roberto Martinez, co-founder of the software company Nearsoft.
As a follower of famous business radical Ricardo Semler, Roberto built a company culture based on:
No formal hierarchy
Meaning and belonging as foundations
Transparency and decentralisation
The number one message from Roberto that I took away from our conversation is that if you want a vibrant, humane culture, you've got to find ways to have everyone participate. We talk:
We talk:
Cooking for the team
High participation *and* fast decisions
Handling transparency in larger organisations
Letting go of hierarchical mental models