In today’s show, I welcome Lynda Gratton, London Business School professor and author of several books, including her most recent, Redesigning Work: How to Transform Your Organisation and Make Hybrid Work for Everyone. Lynda is one of the world’s most well-respected thought leaders on the future of work and has been named by Business Thinkers 50 as one of its’ top 15 business thinkers. She has a column for MIT Sloan and writes regularly for Harvard Business Review. Her ten books, including...
May 18, 2022•42 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast My guest this week has had an exciting and unusual career journey. After studying finance at university, Kathrin Hamm went to work for an NGO in Afghanistan, which led her to pursue a PhD in international development. However, following four years of travelling the globe in her role as an Economist at the World Bank, she began developing sleep issues. Kathrin searched far and wide for a solution to her insomnia and eventually came across weighted medical blankets. Yes, they were ugly and h...
May 11, 2022•35 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast This week's guest is Andy Ayim. He's an angel investor and founder of the Angel Investing School, which teaches professionals from all backgrounds how to begin investing in startups. Its mission is to get women and people of colour onto the cap tables of the world's best performing startups. Andy grew up in Tottenham, which is just around the corner from me and after starting his career as a management consultant, he then moved to Silicon Valley in 2015 where he worked as a product manager in te...
May 04, 2022•41 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast We're often told we should have clear goals for ourselves. In fact, as we've heard from guests like Marc Effron and Grace Lordan in the past, there is a connection between effective goal-setting and high performance. The thing is, many of us still really struggle with this idea, so I wanted to explore it some more. And I figured if you want to dive deep into a subject, we may as well invite one of the world's leading experts onto the show. Today's guest is Emily Balcetis. She's an Associat...
Apr 27, 2022•43 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, my guest is Tom Haak. Tom runs the HR Trend Institute, which he founded in 2014, and he spends much of his time analysing trends in organisational design, people and workplace culture. We had a really interesting discussion. You'll hear us talk about the increasing trend towards personalisation of work, why it's currently trailing behind the consumer industry and what we can do to change that in the future. We also discuss the pros and cons of coaching in the workplace and...
Apr 20, 2022•21 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, you'll hear the incredible and inspiring story of the journalist and author, Laura Price. After making the switch from financial journalism to writing about food, she's now a freelance writer and her new novel, Single Bald Female is out in the UK on the 14th of April. Laura and I discussed how her cancer diagnosis in 2012 changed her perspective on life and work, inspiring her to go back to university to study a masters degree in magazine journalism. After initially working f...
Apr 13, 2022•22 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is Andrew, Associate Editor and Management Editor of the Financial Times. As well as writing the FT’s weekly column on management, Andrew is a previous winner of Business Commentator of the year and the Decade of Excellence award for sustained achievement in business and financial journalism. Most relevantly to you perhaps, he’s one of the writers I’ve referenced most in my weekly news digest in the Future Work/Life newsletter. We discussed hybrid work and the future of...
Mar 16, 2022•35 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast My guest today is Hung Lee. He’s the writer and curator of Recruiting Brainfood, a newsletter read by nearly 30,000 people interested in recruitment, talent, and HR, among other things. He also writes This Week In Recruitment and hosts a popular job board. Hung has worked in recruitment for over twenty years and knows the market inside out. As well as dedicating time to saving his readers time – by finding the most relevant and interesting news for them each week – he’s a great example of how wh...
Mar 10, 2022•25 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Like many others, I've been down the rabbit hole of crypto and web3 over the past year or two. I've met some fascinating people doing what I can only describe as some next level shit as they explore new ways of building communities, creating new business models and generally exploring what's possible with blockchain and tokenomics. Today, I'm speaking to Pedro Oliveira (CEO) and Filipe Macedo (CMO), co-founders of Talent Protocol. They're old friends who, after pursuing separate careers since th...
Mar 08, 2022•29 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast The theme of my new book, Work/Life Flywheel, which will be published in January 2023, is reimagining your career without fear. As well as the fantastic podcast interviews you've heard over the past few months, I've been deep into the research phase since the start of the year. I've spoken to all sorts of people from different industries and backgrounds. Everybody has a unique story to tell about the decisions they've made in their careers, and I've loved the process. In the book, I'll bre...
Mar 02, 2022•21 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast It’s likely that if you listen to this show, you’re also a reader of business books. In which case, you’ll be very familiar with today’s guest. He is one of my favourite authors, and his books have probably influenced my work more than any others. I suspect many of you have experienced the same, so I’m absolutely delighted to bring you my conversation with Daniel H. Pink. Dan is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including his latest, The Power of Regret: How Lookin...
Feb 23, 2022•35 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast If you invite someone back on the show, they have to be legendary - Christopher Lochhead is just that. He’s a nine-time bestselling author, number one business podcaster, and the Godfather of Category Design. He’s also a thoroughly nice guy who’s been very supportive of this podcast, so I was delighted to chat to him again a couple of weeks ago about what he’s been working on and thinking about since we spoke on episode one in October 2020. Christopher explains why the most significant ins...
Feb 16, 2022•51 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Joining me this week is Erica Young, Head of Community and Network at Anthemis Group, a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in companies that will help drive change in the financial system. Erica is a life-long student of networks and is also the founder of The Reliants Project, where she helps people and organisations understand how networks shape our wellbeing, relationships and community. She uses techniques developed in the fields of computer science, physics, and sociology to map...
Feb 09, 2022•37 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Today’s guest is Bruce Daisley. Bruce is the host of one of the UK’s most popular business podcasts, Eat Sleep Work Repeat , and until January 2020, was Vice President of Twitter, having previously run YouTube in the UK. Nowadays, he writes about workplace culture in his newsletter, Make Work Better , and is an author. His first book, The Joy of Work , was a bestseller when it was published in 2018, and he’s got another one on the way this year. I’ve wanted to get Bruce on the ...
Feb 02, 2022•35 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, my guest is Nik Whitfield, Chairman and Chief Seer of Panaseer, the cyber security business he founded in 2014. Nik’s is a computer scientist and technology entrepreneur who is now a passionate advocate for wellbeing, exploring consciousness and learning new ways to help entrepreneurs and leaders to stay well. After reading about Panaseer’s work and coming across Nik’s LinkedIn profile, I contacted him to ask if he’d be up for an interview as part of the research for my book,...
Jan 26, 2022•39 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast After a short interlude over the Christmas holidays, we're back with a brand new series. Back, in fact, a little earlier than planned. Why? Partly because I've got some wonderful guests lined up to share their stories and insights with you over the next couple of months, but more specifically to today's episode because we start by talking about new year's resolutions and goal setting. My guest is Grace Lordan. She is an Associate Professor in Behavioural Science and Director of The Inclusion Ini...
Jan 19, 2022•38 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we examine the ways new technology will change how we manage our careers. My guest is Dror Gurevich, CEO of Velocity Career Labs and the Velocity Network Foundation. During our conversation, you'll hear Dror explain why he set these organisations up and how they'll shape what he calls the Internet of Careers. We started by discussing some macro trends affecting the way we work before diving into how blockchain technology enables a new method for people to own, share, and manage thei...
Dec 15, 2021•37 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast This week, my guest is Damian Hughes, organisational psychologist and author. He's written several books about leadership and high-performance culture within some of the world's most successful businesses and sports organisations, including Barcelona Football Club, and Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. You'll probably know him as the host of one of the UK's top podcasts, which he presents with Jake Humphrey. The High Performance Podcast has been listened to millions of times and h...
Dec 08, 2021•44 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, we'll be talking about writing with Alison Jones. Alison is the founder of Practical Inspiration Publishing, a publishing partner for businesses, and host of The Extraordinary Business Book Club, a podcast and community for writers and readers of extraordinary business books. She has written and edited several books herself, including This Book Means Business: Clever ways to plan and write a book that works harder for your business. We discuss how to decide whether writ...
Dec 01, 2021•40 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Today's guest, Geoff McDonald, worked at Unilever for 25 years and, at the end of his time there, contributed to the company's transformation from an ailing business into a thriving global organisation with purpose at its heart. He now works with businesses that believe that purpose can give them a strategic advantage by creating a company that the best people want to work for. He's also a passionate mental health campaigner and is now able to follow his own purpose to create a world where every...
Nov 24, 2021•37 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Today I speak to Naomi Shragai, author of The Man Who Mistook His Job for His Life: How to Thrive at Work by Leaving Your Emotional Baggage Behind. Naomi is a consultant, a coach, and uniquely a business psychotherapist. Her book focuses on the unconscious motivations behind our behaviours and decisions in the workplace and is based on 30 years of experience working with organisations and executives, as well as individuals, couples and families. We had a riveting discussion coverin...
Nov 17, 2021•36 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Today I welcome Danny Fortson to the show. Danny is the West Coast correspondent for the Sunday Times and the host of Danny in the Valley. Anyone who reads my newsletter will know that I'm a regular listener to his podcast, on which he consistently invites fascinating founders of some established and emerging tech businesses that are attempting to solve some of the world's most exciting and important challenges. During our conversation, we discuss tech's approach to remote work and why although ...
Nov 10, 2021•38 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast If the quality of a podcast directly correlates with the practical value that you get from it, then I think today's episode might be the best one I've released so far. My guest is Marc Effron, the author of Eight Steps to High Performance: Focus On What You Can Change (Ignore the Rest). We had a fantastic conversation in which we discussed the importance of big goals., what changes managers need to make now that they're working with remote teams, and the difference between evidence-based a...
Nov 03, 2021•40 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast You may have noticed something different about the podcast. That's right; I've decided to change the name of the show! Take My Advice (I'm Not Using It) has served me well over the past year, but since the business and the newsletter share the same name, leaving the podcast out didn't seem fair. In today's episode, I talk to Elizabeth Ogabi, the author of Side Hustle in Progress: A Practical Guide to Kickstarting Your Business. Liz previously founded For Working Ladies, a digital media pla...
Oct 27, 2021•38 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast I'm back a little later than planned after what's been a very busy few months. Future Work/Life is now a business - I'll be leaning on the many insights developed from the newsletter and this podcast to help clients design the future of work. As of last week, I'm also writing a book, which will be on the shelves in Autumn 2022. It's called Work/Life Flywheel: Find flow and propel your career to the next level, and it will consolidate my thinking about the various themes I discuss with guests on ...
Oct 20, 2021•48 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode is a Future Work/Life special. I recall two newsletters in which I discuss diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as AI, decision making and the future of jobs. LINKS: Future Work/Life #42 - DE&I and why progress doesn't mean perfection Future Work/Life #43 - AI, decision-making, and the future of jobs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jul 08, 2021•14 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode is a Future Work/Life special. I recall two newsletters in which I discuss technological disruption and the lessons we can learn from Spotify and the music business, as well as imposter syndrome and why it isn't incompatible with the vision and drive required by successful entrepreneurs. LINKS: Future Work/Life #40 - Lessons of technological disruption from Spotify and the music industry Future Work/Life #41 - Turning imposter syndrome into a positive Future Work/Life #33 - Stran...
Jun 30, 2021•11 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode is a Future Work/Life special. I recall two newsletters in which I discuss the problems with NPS (net promoter score) and the benefits of illeism (the act of referring to yourself in the third person). LINKS: Future Work/Life #38 - (Not Proving Strictly) Useful Future Work/Life #39 - "Ollie, this newsletter is the best thing you've ever written" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 23, 2021•12 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, we're looking into the future to explore how technology will create new opportunities to monetise our expertise and what effects that will have on our understanding of jobs and careers. My guest is Dror Poleg, a writer and all-around purveyor of interesting ideas. I discovered Dror's blog at the beginning of the year, and since then, he's helped join the dots for me between a wide variety of subjects, all of which relate to the future of work, cities, and human communities. I...
Jun 16, 2021•56 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast In today's episode, we talk about culture - what does it mean, how do we define and develop it within organisations, and how is this likely to change as the way we work continues to evolve? My guest is ideally placed to advise on this subject as she's spent almost two decades working within some iconic companies, which have achieved tremendous success and significant growth. At the same time, she's also seen how some get it wrong. For over fifteen years, Melissa Daimler led learning and developm...
Jun 09, 2021•37 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast 
