Being Human

#180 What Is Water? - with Kayvan Kian

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/How many of us during our school years learned the teachings of Epictetus or Seneca? Perhaps you were lucky.With the world as it is right now, there's a great need for the perennial wisdom of the ancients.My guest this week, Kayvan Kian, has been leading a series of philosophical dialogues within the Young Leaders Forum he founded.He condensed the essence of these conversations into his book What is Water? In it, Kayvan shifts the focus away from overwhelm and toward virtues and strategies that will help you grow stronger through it all.In this episode, we talk:The Bricks, Pillars and Schools metaphorMagical celebrationsLearning to talk lessThe power of dialogueCultivating virtueLinks:What Is Water? - The Book

#179 Swagger - with Leslie Ehm

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/Why are some people magnetic, confident, comfortable in their skin, and in charge of their destinies? What’s their secret?This week's author Leslie Ehm, believes she has the answer in one word: Swagger.Leslie talks about how her philosophy shatters the myths around “fake it ’til you make it”, and we why need to dig deep to uncover and express our real selves.What I love about Leslie is that she’s not shy about tackling what’s blocking many of us from finding our swagger and that’s addressing our underlying pain.In this episode, we talk:The true definition of swaggerWhat's blocking your real selfHow far we can heal painEmbracing our weirdnessProfessionalism vs. authenticityLinks:Swagger - The BookLeslie's WebsiteLeslie's Instagram

#178 Sparking the Virtue Revolution - with Antoinette Weibel and Otti Vogt

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/What does it mean to be a good organisation in a world of unbounded individualism and ferocious social Darwinism? A rebellious professor and a business insurgent believe they have an answer.Professor at the University of St. Gallen Antoinette Weibel and Otti Vogt, ex-COO of ING, join us this week to talk about the new project they've co-founded called Good Organisations.They believe the “anything goes” narrative of our postmodern world cannot be upheld. Antionette and Otti join the show to tell us that we need to re-learn how to put virtues first and craft “good organisations” that enable human flourishing.In this episode, we talk:Healthy feminine and healthy masculineThe role of healing and dialogical learningThe curse of unbounded individualismHow Agile = 'Lipstick on a Pig'The need for revolutionLinks:Good Organisations

#177 Patreon Poetry - with David Chislett

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/We're back with much loved former guest, David Chislett.David is a South African punk rocker-turned-creativity consultant, now living deep in a Dutch forest.As well as helping companies to unleash his weapons of mass creation, David is a poet supported by a band of loyal Patreon subscribers.David shares with us his journey to create a virtual community around his poetry and the steps he took to achieve it.In this episode, we talk:Discipline in creativityWe are what we doDealing with psychological triggersCan art truly impact culture?Managing tour bandsLinks:David's Poetry PatreonWith All Of You - The BookDavid's Personal Website

#176 To Be Honest - with Ron Carucci

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/What if being honest with ourselves and others made us be better business leaders?That is the issue this week's guest, Ron Carucci, addresses in his book, To Be Honest.The origins of his book are fascinating. He put hundreds of his firm's past client interviews through IBM Watson's AI engine to uncover patterns associated with business success.He found that honesty was crucial. He discovered that just four factors could make organisations 16 times more likely to have people tell the truth, behave fairly, and serve a greater good.In this episode, we talk:How BS slowly kills businessesHow honesty is a muscleGoing beyond engagement surveysThe secret of Microsoft's turnaroundRon's path to getting more honestLinks:Ron's BookTo Be Honest - The WebsiteNavalent - Ron's Consultancy

#175 Why Meditate? - with Jillian Lavender

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/Jillian Lavender used to run a large division of an international publisher, always between two planes and walking right up to the line of major burnout.On the recommendation of a friend, and with some scepticism, she took a meditation course. From that point, things changed for her in a big way. She could handle her fast-paced life.After a complete career change, she now teaches meditation in London and New York and has written a book called Why Meditate? Because it Works.In this episode, we talk how meditation:- Can be easy and non-wierd - Improves your sleep    - Can be done anywhere - Enhances your clarity of thought- Doesn't require you become a hippy!Links:Jillian's BookLondon Meditation CentreNew York Meditation Center

#174 Surfing Rogue Waves - with Eric Pilon-Bignell

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/Over the next few years, we will experience more disruption than in the previous 100 years. Yet are things changing too fast and too regularly to notice? Futurist Eric Pilon-Bignell sees modern change presents as a giant, rogue wave emerging on the horizon. He asks, will we surf these waves with mastery? Or will we let them swallow us whole?In his book Surfing Rogue Waves, Eric shows us how to gain from the greatest period of opportunity in all of human history.In this episode, we talk:The Six D's of the Fourth Industrial RevolutionThinking in exponentialsWhy improv is the crucial 21st-century skillEverlasting wormsLearning to surf complexityLinks:Surfing Rogue WavesEric's Website

#173 Radical Uncertainty - with John Kay

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode of Being Human, I speak with John Kay, one of Britain's leading economists, whose career has spanned the academic world, business and public affairsIn his recent book, Radical Uncertainty with Mervyn King, he describes how, as a society, we regularly crave certainties which cannot exist and invent knowledge we cannot have. We forget that humans are successful because we have adapted to an environment that we understand only imperfectly and that, throughout history we have developed a variety of ways of coping with the radical uncertainty that defines our lives. In this episode, we talk:The problem with bias-obsessed behavioural economicsThe power of abductive reasoningUnderstanding economics' failing recordOur love for doomsday scenariosThe folly of misapplying probabilistic reasoningLinks:Radical UncertaintyJohn's Website

#172 The Future of Capitalism - with Paul Collier

> Sign Up For Our Newsletter: http://www.firsthuman.com/being-human-newsletter/In this episode of Being Human, I speak with Paul Collier, the author of the barn-storming new economic treatise 'The Future of Capitalism'.From humble beginnings in Sheffield, England, to life as an Oxford don, Paul understands the power and limitations of capitalism from both sides of the tracks. In our conversation, Paul reflects on the role businesses must play in creating a more sustainable version of capitalism.Packed with great anecdotes and some sobering insights, I really enjoyed this oneWe talk:From England's poorest city to celebrated academicWhy 'oughts' trump 'wants'How General Motors failed at LeanHow the capitalism that has brought us closer is now pushing us apartWhy we can't treat humans like catsLinks:Paul's The Future of CapitalismNicholas A. Christakis - Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good SocietyMichael J. Sandel - The Tyranny of MeritRobert D. Putnam - The UpswingPaul Collier, John Kay - Greed Is Dead: Politics After Individualism 

Bonus Episode - Tom van der Lubbe - Self Management

This is an interview with Tom van der Lubbe around the theme of self-management. We get into the history of his founding of Viisi on self-management principles. We also take several practical questions for the webinar audience members. Well worth a watch/listen if you want to learn more about this topic.