Making remote work for you with Zoltan Vass

Problem Busters

Player FM - Internet Radio Done Right

הוסף לפני five שנים

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לפני 4 שנים 47:37

MP3•בית הפרקים

From his London home, Zoltan reflects on his Serbian background and pan-european experience of over 20 years building and running highly-functioning remote teams across multiple geographies. He brings a unique perspective to the concept of remote work and how to do it well.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Zoltan Vass is a remote delivery and innovation consultant with over 20 years experience in sourcing and growing remote teams. His background in project delivery brings a unique perspective to the logistics of effective management in a remote setting.

Zoltan is a co-founder and active member of Tech London Advocates (TLA), a unique collection of tech leaders, experts and investors who form a combined strength of opinion in tech. Zoltan believes strongly in the potential globally-distributed teams offer to both economic growth and diversity.

Zoltan's Website
Zoltan on LinkedIn
Join the free Tech London Advocates group on LinkedIn

Show mentions:

Many companies think that remote working is just sitting with a computer at a desk, but there is a lot more to remote working than that.
04:32 It's important to realise that remote working is the future and is underlined by issues including cyber security, work life balance and more.
Most companies have been forced to work remotely and this is why the experience to many are not as expected. It wasn't planned.
Once people know how to operate in a digital space, they can connect with talent outside their home market
05:45 Remote working and digital collaboration is crucial for the UK economy
Studies indicate a large number of CEOs see a proportion of their workforce continuing to work remotely after the pandemic.
07:45 Advice for moving towards remote working and recognising that people need greater flexibility - leading to some companies offering a more hybrid environment
There are companies that will offer great flexibility post-pandemic and that will attract more talent
The hybrid environment we are likely to see will be a bridging state to a future, more fully remote working environment
The effect of remote working on people and businesses depends on the business and their working culture.
I see that if remote work is done carefully, then productivity can increase significantly.
Survey with Loughborough university and collaborating on research around remote working challenges
We are seeing remote leadership emerge as one of the key issues with running remote teams
12:00 The Zoltan Vass framework to help understand the remote working. You need dedicated space to work.
You need dedicated space to work, a desk, lighting and this is the bare minimum.
Need to look at body and soul - as employees as humans. Mental fitness, physical fitness are so important for productivity.
If productivity drops for someone, it could be due to many factors at home as well as at work in this new working world.
The hard pillars of need the basic technology standard, cybersecurity and policies and procedures
Soft pillars of ownership and collaboration.
14:30 The future of work.
Diversity is critical to innovation. If we bring in people who have different perspectives, it helps innovation.
Tech London Advocates Remote Working Group bring different perspectives to the topic and this is critical to bring innovation and to think outside the box.
When it comes to diversity, it's really important that we understand that there are really talented people who are disabled and just can't go to the office. Now these people become available to us and our teams.
How can we help unemployed people to be re-employed?
17:00 How can we upskill and retrain people from industries such as hospitality, into tech and digital industries?
Take the customer service industry. It's just training people on the tech that is needed to help people transition into the industry.
How leadership and management needs to change to facilitate remote working.
19:45 Leading in a digital space is not enough. You need to manage and also deliver.
If you are a leader in a remote company you need to make sure that people can approach you and that they can see you are doing something. <----
Doing and delivering becomes so important. Staying close to employees and creating a culture where they can reach you.
21:00 The three levels of communication and getting things done
Slack as a really powerful tool and I really believe many companies underestimate the need to have this in the mix of communication tools.
There is a need to centralise and keep everything in the cloud. You can't store data on different platforms and different places.
Having something in email is not centralised and is a lot harder to hand over between people
Version control is so important and can waste a lot of time.
Building a truly remote team unlocks access to a truly diverse group of talented people across the globe.
Engaging with talent across the globe is what unlocks the potential to innovate.
26:00 How we live our lives and our work is certainly changing. How we lived until 2 years ago is now going to be different.
27:00 Advice to help avoid pitfalls of overwork and burning out.
I realised that I need to set boundaries and set a routine.
Waking up early, spending 15 minutes thinking through priorities, some meditation, push ups and then starting the day.
Looking into emails, then having breakfast
I really recommend a 10-20 minute nap after lunch to help increase productivity.
We all have to set boundaries, and at a given time, close your laptop and stop.
How you close your day is really important.
This could be going to a walk, walking the dog, doing exercise.
Set crystal clear digital boundaries and don't check emails on your phone after work.
Companies need to learn not to expect people to respond after hours
Covid is adding a lot more pressure, as is the temporary home-work environment but I strongly believe as we move out of this phase we will see a lot more benefits.
Companies need to open up and embrace mental health, mental fitness and the very high possibility that issues will come up in the next few years due to stress.
32:00 It's important to train hiring managers around hiring people from different cultures, so that we understand diversity and can better identify talent.
It is really important that cultural differences are on the agenda and that people are talking about how to help diverse groups work together
Companies that have never had globally remote teams are truly entering new territory here and it's vital they understand how to build and support remote teams.
The double whammy of not seeing people face to face any more, combined with not seeing friends and family face to face during lockdown.
36:00 There is a trend towards companies starting hubs in distibuted locations, perhaps in co-working spaces, so that teams can gather at a local base.
There is an interest in redesigning workplaces to make them less dry and more interesting.
Tech companies like Google have been leading the way with £1,000 per employee to set up their working space from home.
Book - Minter Dial - You Lead
What book inspired you recently?
Book - Minter Dial - You Lead. Minter Dial is a management consultant for blue chip companies and keynote speaker who has had a big impact on me.
Who do you most look up to in the world?
Russ Shaw - Co-founder of Tech London Advocates (TLA/GTA) had a massive and positive impact on my life. He is both experienced and yet down to earth and is growing an amazing community with Tech London Advocates
Movie - Mindhunter series
TV series - Vikings
DNA testing to find out the mix of your genes
Tech - a really reliable laptop
Tech - a Jabra corded headset for calls
Quest 2 - virtual reality
PS4 online gaming and wishing I had a PS5 (if the crypto miners hadn't got in first)
Tech - High fi system - Yamaha amplifiers and Odil speakers
Earfun uBoom bluetooth speakers
People I look up to - Ros shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates
Tech London Advocates as a source of best practice and the future of work.
https://zoltanvass.com for more detail on my work.
My advice for thriving in the remote world? Have crystal clear boundaries, raise your concerns and be open to change.

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

35 פרקים

#Science #Business #Podcasting Education #Problem Busters

Making remote work for you with Zoltan Vass

Problem Busters

published לפני 4 שנים

שתפו

MP3•בית הפרקים

About the show:

About our guest:

Zoltan's Website
Zoltan on LinkedIn
Join the free Tech London Advocates group on LinkedIn

Show mentions:

Many companies think that remote working is just sitting with a computer at a desk, but there is a lot more to remote working than that.
04:32 It's important to realise that remote working is the future and is underlined by issues including cyber security, work life balance and more.
Most companies have been forced to work remotely and this is why the experience to many are not as expected. It wasn't planned.
Once people know how to operate in a digital space, they can connect with talent outside their home market
05:45 Remote working and digital collaboration is crucial for the UK economy
Studies indicate a large number of CEOs see a proportion of their workforce continuing to work remotely after the pandemic.
07:45 Advice for moving towards remote working and recognising that people need greater flexibility - leading to some companies offering a more hybrid environment
There are companies that will offer great flexibility post-pandemic and that will attract more talent
The hybrid environment we are likely to see will be a bridging state to a future, more fully remote working environment
The effect of remote working on people and businesses depends on the business and their working culture.
I see that if remote work is done carefully, then productivity can increase significantly.
Survey with Loughborough university and collaborating on research around remote working challenges
We are seeing remote leadership emerge as one of the key issues with running remote teams
12:00 The Zoltan Vass framework to help understand the remote working. You need dedicated space to work.
You need dedicated space to work, a desk, lighting and this is the bare minimum.
Need to look at body and soul - as employees as humans. Mental fitness, physical fitness are so important for productivity.
If productivity drops for someone, it could be due to many factors at home as well as at work in this new working world.
The hard pillars of need the basic technology standard, cybersecurity and policies and procedures
Soft pillars of ownership and collaboration.
14:30 The future of work.
Diversity is critical to innovation. If we bring in people who have different perspectives, it helps innovation.
Tech London Advocates Remote Working Group bring different perspectives to the topic and this is critical to bring innovation and to think outside the box.
When it comes to diversity, it's really important that we understand that there are really talented people who are disabled and just can't go to the office. Now these people become available to us and our teams.
How can we help unemployed people to be re-employed?
17:00 How can we upskill and retrain people from industries such as hospitality, into tech and digital industries?
Take the customer service industry. It's just training people on the tech that is needed to help people transition into the industry.
How leadership and management needs to change to facilitate remote working.
19:45 Leading in a digital space is not enough. You need to manage and also deliver.
If you are a leader in a remote company you need to make sure that people can approach you and that they can see you are doing something. <----
Doing and delivering becomes so important. Staying close to employees and creating a culture where they can reach you.
21:00 The three levels of communication and getting things done
Slack as a really powerful tool and I really believe many companies underestimate the need to have this in the mix of communication tools.
There is a need to centralise and keep everything in the cloud. You can't store data on different platforms and different places.
Having something in email is not centralised and is a lot harder to hand over between people
Version control is so important and can waste a lot of time.
Building a truly remote team unlocks access to a truly diverse group of talented people across the globe.
Engaging with talent across the globe is what unlocks the potential to innovate.
26:00 How we live our lives and our work is certainly changing. How we lived until 2 years ago is now going to be different.
27:00 Advice to help avoid pitfalls of overwork and burning out.
I realised that I need to set boundaries and set a routine.
Waking up early, spending 15 minutes thinking through priorities, some meditation, push ups and then starting the day.
Looking into emails, then having breakfast
I really recommend a 10-20 minute nap after lunch to help increase productivity.
We all have to set boundaries, and at a given time, close your laptop and stop.
How you close your day is really important.
This could be going to a walk, walking the dog, doing exercise.
Set crystal clear digital boundaries and don't check emails on your phone after work.
Companies need to learn not to expect people to respond after hours
Covid is adding a lot more pressure, as is the temporary home-work environment but I strongly believe as we move out of this phase we will see a lot more benefits.
Companies need to open up and embrace mental health, mental fitness and the very high possibility that issues will come up in the next few years due to stress.
32:00 It's important to train hiring managers around hiring people from different cultures, so that we understand diversity and can better identify talent.
It is really important that cultural differences are on the agenda and that people are talking about how to help diverse groups work together
Companies that have never had globally remote teams are truly entering new territory here and it's vital they understand how to build and support remote teams.
The double whammy of not seeing people face to face any more, combined with not seeing friends and family face to face during lockdown.
36:00 There is a trend towards companies starting hubs in distibuted locations, perhaps in co-working spaces, so that teams can gather at a local base.
There is an interest in redesigning workplaces to make them less dry and more interesting.
Tech companies like Google have been leading the way with £1,000 per employee to set up their working space from home.
Book - Minter Dial - You Lead
What book inspired you recently?
Book - Minter Dial - You Lead. Minter Dial is a management consultant for blue chip companies and keynote speaker who has had a big impact on me.
Who do you most look up to in the world?
Russ Shaw - Co-founder of Tech London Advocates (TLA/GTA) had a massive and positive impact on my life. He is both experienced and yet down to earth and is growing an amazing community with Tech London Advocates
Movie - Mindhunter series
TV series - Vikings
DNA testing to find out the mix of your genes
Tech - a really reliable laptop
Tech - a Jabra corded headset for calls
Quest 2 - virtual reality
PS4 online gaming and wishing I had a PS5 (if the crypto miners hadn't got in first)
Tech - High fi system - Yamaha amplifiers and Odil speakers
Earfun uBoom bluetooth speakers
People I look up to - Ros shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates
Tech London Advocates as a source of best practice and the future of work.
https://zoltanvass.com for more detail on my work.
My advice for thriving in the remote world? Have crystal clear boundaries, raise your concerns and be open to change.

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

35 פרקים

#Science #Business #Podcasting Education #Problem Busters

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Liz Batalla shares how she came to realise her dream of helping women level up both individuals, groups and the organisations lucky enough to have them. This is an inspiring episode from an experienced and finely-honed leadership coach. We learn how to set about writing a book, what you could expect to learn on Liz' Masterclasses, what issues commonly hold women back at work, and most importantly, how to support the women around you. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Liz Batalla is the Founder and Executive Director of The Institute for Achievement and Excellence and the author of the book - Level up to move up. Liz helps women level themselves up and helps businesses educate and promote their female talent. 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A man may put himself forward with 50-60% understanding of a role, a woman may require 90% upwards to feel confident to do the same. 11:00 How can the Institute help? Assisting companies to better educate and promote their femal talent and also helping the woman herself to take responsibility and level up herself so she can rise to the occasion. 12:00 The 3 forces in achieving excellence are: Identity of the individual (improving oneself), connections (relationships with self and others), status (managing one’s standard of living). 3 life areas in each of the 3 forces in achieving excellence, there are 9 life areas in total. 14:30 Women going through the process of a self-assessment. Easiest way to identify areas of strengths and areas for improvement. The three Cs: Courage, Confidence and Charisma. A lot of women coming into corporate environments are lacking the fundamental skills to navigate the world of business because these skills are not taught in schools. 18:00 What can women do now, to get the ball rolling? Establish where you are. Then establish where you would like to be. A gap analysis. If you don't know where you are and where you are going, it's hard to navigate the space. Speak to loved ones who are supportive of your progress, professionals and coaches, or an easy way - do a free assessment online. 20:30 Liz' story as an author. There needs to be a plan. It can be loose, doesn't need to be fixed. Need to be flexible, however knowing what you need to accomplish every single day is important. I don't measure the size of the step, I just do something every single day. Break it down into small chunks, so I don't feel overwhelmed, then even smaller. Example: it takes 6 months to write a book, with 12 chapters say. 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It helped me to understand that like all games, there are rules. Once someone understands the rules of the game, you can play better. I started to see everything like a game. What projects or movements have you most excited right now? The foundation of why I formed the institute. To reach more people, to help more people, to have positive impact on women in leadership McKinsey and Company’s 2020 report: Companies with broadly diverse leadership teams were 45 percent more likely to report growth in market share and 70 percent more likely to capture a new market. It's a huge effect. The conversations are happening and I would like to see more than just a few posts on social media or text in a mission statement. The movement that supports women in accomplishing their goals. 39:30 How businesses can improve the situation. Two things: recognise how massive the benefit is to empower women. The fact is that diversity is not a trend, it is here to say. The public is demanding strategic representation in businesses. Secondly more action being taken. Beyond saying the right things, the action needs to be looked at holistically from inception, induction all the way through the employee lifecycle, to exit. 42:30 How men can help the women around him. I choose to believe people are inherently good, but may not be aware of the situation. Be aware of the way things are said, and the way things are done. Don't speak over women in meetings. Ask questions, as she may not feel confident enough to expand on her ideas. <----- In isolation, a situation may not seem like a big deal. But when a woman has to deal with a situation every single day, it can be exhausing. So just be more aware and not to trivialise what seems to be an isolated issue from your point of view. From her point of view is is neither isolated nor trivial. 46:30 What is one thing you'd like to change in the world? I would love it if people could slow down just a little bit, so they could listen more actively. Really listen, not waiting to interject or to bring the conversation back to them. It is very rare to have someone truly, actively listen to what you have to say - and genuinely show interest. 49:00 What one thing would you like people to take away from this episode? Identify your goal, your dream, your purpose. And don't wait. Start where you are. Use what you have and do the best that you can. Some of the greatest achievements started with tiny steps. <---- How can people find out more about you? Website: https://achievementandexcellence.com Take your free assessment: https://courses.achievementandexcellence.com/p/professional-assessment-benchmark Book: https://books2read.com/leveluptomoveup LinkedIn personal profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethbatalla Social Links: Youtube:n https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn08Yx5bKaRIwf0Im5P69dg?sub_confirmation=1 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-institute-for-achievement-and-excellence FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/instituteforachievementandexcellence Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/achievementandexcellence Twitter: https://twitter.com/InstExcellence Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/AchievementandExcellence Blog: https://achievementandexcellence.com/blog Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

1
Clare Seek on Repair Cafes 54:23

לפני 3 years54:23

54:23

Repair Cafe Portsmouth founder Clare Seek opens the Problem Busters' eyes to the Right to Repair. We learn about the growing, global community of Repair Cafes and most importantly - how to start one in your town. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Clare Seek is all about building community for people and planet. Based in Portsmouth, a city in south west England, she is the founder of Repair Cafe Portsmouth, Green Drinks Portsmouth and other community-based projects besides. Clare lives in Portsmouth UK with her family. Show mentions: 02:00 A bit about Clare and how a move into motherhood coincided with an interest in the environment and our impact on the planet. Repair is at the heart of walking more lightly on the planet. The sheer existence of my children had a lot to do with my becoming interested in treading lightly, and my community 04:00 Why Repair Cafe ? Started in the Netherlands by a woman who initiated what has become a global movement. What is a Repair cafe? A place that brings together people who fix things with people who have things to fix. 05:30 The setting up of a Repair cafe. 200 people showing interest within 1 day! Portsmouth is an island city, one of the most densely populated areas of the UK outside of London. 4 months later, we ran our first Repair Cafe. Starting with people who could repair and fix each other's stuff. 07:30 What is next for Repair Cafe Portsmouth ? We are a pop-up event, we hold it once or twice a month. We've had to stop advertising because we are at capacity. Opening up a space permanently, taking it to the next step The library of things concept - we will work it in with that. 09:00 Campaign - The right to repair. A global campaign. Most of the carbon in electronics happens before the first use of the item. The right to repair campaign is focusing on manufacturers and policy makers to provide goods that are designed to last longer, can be fixed, have manuals and spare parts available. Right to repair as a justice issue - lobbying to create a fairer way to consume goods and services. 11:00 Petition - The restart project . And changing where tax is applied. 12:00 Shifting culture from wastage to consumers being able to repair. In France - they have a system that shows on products how repairable they are. Consumers are better informed. [13:00 Jon Coughs] The UK is the second biggest producer of e-waste per capita in the world. It's shocking. 14:30 Why is the UK so high on the e-waste scales? We have an appetite for the latest gadgets, Norway is ahead of us, we are second. 16:00 There is a pressure in our culture to have the latest thing and the best tech for that. 17:00 What do kids learn in school about sustainability? Very little. However, thankfully coming generations are taking more of an interest in the environment anyway. There is very little in schools that leads kids down a repair career path, although elements of sustainability are sprinkled through other career paths. Concept - the circular economy There is a stronger voice from individuals and community groups, than the Government, when it comes to pushing for real change. Episode - Hakim and Aryaana 19:30 Where is the concern in the young coming from? Concern about climate change. Kids are really aware of that. They have clear and vivid imaginations about these things. Kids wonder about the world, they question things. They sense the urgency. Conference: Cop26 Extinction rebellion Pester power - from kids to parents, e.g. adding pressure to reduce plastic consumption. 21:00 It's really interesting to talk to kids about career paths in sustainability Greta Thunberg David Attenborough Topic: at what age should children be able to vote? Should it be lowered? 22:30 What benefits does the Repair Cafe bring to the community? It's about a lot more than just fixing stuff. It's all volunteers, there is a relaxed social environment. It's a safe place to volunteer and offer skills, to learn, to welcome people, to serve cake. It's an opportunity for people to get more skills. Building peoples' confidence up. Project - city of sanctuary . Linking into a group who help asylum seekers. They can give back in that way. Community as a way to challenge isolation. 25:00 creating a place that has a purpose, not just being a place to chat, but a place to tinker. website: iFixit (great for how-to guides and spare parts) Jonathan's family friend who learned to repair washing machines. A great example of community assistance that became a business for him. 30:00 How to access spare parts and why does the law in the UK stop at white goods? Having a kit to repair phones in your house. Ifixit guide to repair your mobile phone Campaign - chargers. Aiming to enforce universal chargers. 33:30 What is openability? Phone - The Fairphone . A phone designed with easily replaceable elements. Hair dryers - most are literally sealed shut (manufacturers claim safety), and cannot be fixed. Irons - working out how to open them is very challenging. Repair Cafe Portsmouth is planning on collecting old irons that can't be fixed and start a repository with the tips and tricks on how to open them, to have a chance of fixing them. 35:30 What goods can be repaired? For us, around 67% of electrical, and almost all clothing, jewellery, bikes and lots of toys. It's great when items have a real story and sentimentality. Show - The Repair shop on the BBC - a great way to inspire people (although somewhat different to what we do in community repair) 37:30 How to buy with more care. Do you need to buy it? Can you borrow it? Can you share one someone else already has? Check the website of the product "fixing X", see if it can be fixed or not. Petition to sign: The Restart Project (UK) . Asking for repairability measures to include everybody, not just for professionals, but also for DIY/community repair groups. Commitment to right to repair for electronics. Reducing the VAT on repairs. Poll - YouGo v (UK) - 81% of the public are behind the right to repair. How to get a conversation with your MP - use the website. TheyWorkForYou website to find your MP Knock on their door if they have an office nearby. When they come door knocking, looking for votes, talk to them about right to repair. Look up local repair projects and get involved. Both to get your things repaired, and to help repair things. Website - Repair Café Foundation shows groups around the world as well as The Restart Project 44:30 How to set up a Repair Cafe in your town. Find a few people who are interested in helping you. Get along to the nearest Repair event to you. Look up tools and guides advising how to set one up. We are a helpful bunch! Movement: Community repair network (UK) Bringing Repair to Every Community 47:00 The sharing section Who do you most look up to in the world? I totally admire people and get excited and inspired by them. But I am into everyone being really awesome. Inspired by my kids, by people who are carers, people who helped us get through the pandemic. Film - Belfast. It was amazing! Beautifully shot, poignant, looking at conflict in Northern Ireland. Book - Non-violent communication by Marshall Rosenberg . About repairing ourselves and our relationships with others. The Problem Busters bookshop - where all books mentioned in the show are available in one list. Movement - Restorative Practice . A fascinating way to bring people together when there are disagreements. A great way to solve problems. Movement - Positive journalism. Magazine/email list: Postive.news . A great magazine to have on the table and to inspire and bring positivity into the house and the day. Tool: Ti.To for bookings (used for repair cafe bookings) The value of turning apps off, unsubscribing to things. Using the unsubscribe button on emails. 56:30 What is one thing you'd like to change in the world? My husband's snoring ;-) Switching to natural bedding (latex and wool duvets). People pausing and engaging the brain a bit more before they do something. Whether that is something they do, say, buy. That ability to slow down in the moment before reacting. Could even lead to world peace. 57:30 What one thing would you like people to take away from this episode? Repair is an option. It's always an option. To set up a repair project, right through to buying things carefully, or repairing what you have first, before buying. https://repaircafeportsmouth.wordpress.com/ Twitter: @southseamum Clare on LinkedIn Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Candice Gasper on Urban Farming 54:20

לפני 3 years54:20

54:20

Candice Gasper of Valley Mill Microgreens shares her story from bright-eyed environmental science graduate, to corporate, to ultimately becoming an Urban Farmer. She explains what urban farming is, what microgreens are (and why they are such a great way to get nutrients from your veggies) and how anyone, with as little as a sunny windowsill of space, can grow their own food. It's a great time to talk to Candice as her startup Valley Mill Microgreens is still in its first year, so we talk about the joy of working for yourself and soak up her enthusiasm for growing. We talk about the state of food, why the world needs more Farmer's markets, and how wonderful it is to connect directly to those who grow what we eat. Candice describes the foraging movement and gives us step by step instructions on how to germinate your own seeds, and grow your own food. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Candice Gasper is an Urban Farmer and is the founder of Valley Mill Microgreens. An Environmental Scientist by trade, she has worked in both the corporate world and scaled urban farming but these days is enjoying the life of a startup founder. She lives with her partner in Baltimore USA and is passionate about educating people about nutrition and the joy of growing your own food. Show mentions: A childhood outside, and choosing to study environmental science. A career in sales for environmental consulting and green construction. 02:00 Volunteering at the neighbourhood farmers market. One of the only place you can meet local farmers in a city. Food justice and food equity - and how access to food affects people 03:30 getting my first part time job on a women-owned microgreen farm. Saving up, losing my job and then going full time as a farmer 05:30 Hydroponics and how they work. Pros and cons. Learning what it's like to work in a large scale production facility. 07:30 Starting up my own business growing in my back yard. And the pride to get to here. The love of what I do. 10:00 Microgreens - what they are and why they are so cool. They can be added to any dish. You can sneak them in and get nutrient density into any dish. They are packed with flavour. Microgreens are nature's multivitamins 12:00 Anybody can grow microgreens, all you need is a sunny windowsill, a container, some water, some soil and some seeds. 12:30 Urban farming allows people to be more connected to their food. It's just neat to see my peers doing this and just right down the street, not in the middle of nowhere or far away. Saving on carbon emissions by not having to truck food into the city. There is really nothing cooler than getting to know your farmer 14:30 There is a lot of healing in growing - it teaches you patience. 50% percent of plants will die, and you learn how to care for them. The quality of food that is readily available not being great in many cities. Is soil quality deteriorating due to constantly farming them? 16:30 Cover crops are something you can plant between seasons that will extract nitrogen out of the air and regenerate the soil. Mass production leads to no breaks in the growing season and leads to less nutrients in the soil and therefore in the food. Microgreens grow so fast - they are only growing 2-3 weeks at most and they really don't need fertiliser. 18:30 how to get started growing microgreens in your own home. Kale microgreens have the cutest miniature kale leaves when they grow 21:30 There is a certain level of acceptance of failure in farming. Everything has been a learning process - if something doesn't work, I don't feel like I'm failing, I feel like I'm going into the next round of learning. 23:30 It's hard to make a good living as a farmer. Farming is difficult to get into because land access is difficult. Price of land, even renting land is unbelievable. I started my farm with about $10,000. 26:00 for most people wanting to get into agriculture, it's probably best to do it as a side hustle. Sell at your local farmers market. I try to shop at farmers markets as often as I can. The best bit is at the end of the market you can trade with the other farmers - and have groceries for the week! Food with backstory - you can tell by the way the grower raises their products that there is going to be more nutrient density in it. Episode: Nathan Ranklin on taking charge of your weight 31:00 The types of vegetables to look for in an urban area. Pay attention to what is in season. If it's in season and at a farmers market, you can bet it was grown nearby. The cost of living crisis in the UK, and in the USA right now. 33:30 What types of vegetables you could grow yourself. Microgreens are your best option. You don't have to repot them. SNAP (Supplemental nutrition assistance program) in the U.S. you can use the money to buy seeds - which is really exciting. Your dollar goes further. Urban garden rental plots. Renting a piece of land in a community garden. Allotments and their growth in popularity. Plant starts - a small plant you can repot when you get home, to get you started growing. 38:00 How to make fertiliser from kitchen scraps. The benefits of alfalfa tea for fertiliser. 40:00 How to support local farmers - buy directly from them. Sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) - paying in advance for a box of food. It helps the farmers to buy up seeds beforehand. Or go to the farmers market and buy directly from them! Supporting restaurants that also support local farms. Restaurant - Wild Flor (Hove UK). For supporting local farmers and having food that tastes just so amazing. Movement - School gardens and exposing kids to the joys of growing food, of getting involved in food. It's something they can do at an early age and it really impacts their lives. 44:30 Who do I most look up to in the world? Other women-owned farmers. Just to see someone else like myself doing well and being successful. Book - Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. How he talks about food is just awesome. Movement - Foraging. Trying to understand indigenous foraging practices and learning about mushrooms and food all around you. We have gotten away from some of those crucial indigenous food practices. 48:00 What would I like to change in the world? I would love to see more young people get involved in agriculture. I love the creative energy that comes from having to solve a problem right away. Agriculture is really interesting because it involves so many skillsets. 49:00 What one thing I would like people to take away from this episode? If you aren't happy sitting at a desk all day, just start being curious about the things that make you feel good, feel happy and spend some time volunteering. Getting in touch Instagram: valleymillmicrogreens Farmers market: Central market at York Pennyslvania Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Nathan Ranklin - Taking charge of your weight 1:08:46

לפני 3 years1:08:46

1:08:46

Nathan Ranklin has lost 18.5 stone, over 200kg and half his body weight. He talks the Problem Busters through what it's like to be a "big kid" growing up, how he took control of his weight (and kept it off), and most importantly - how he's helping others do the same. This is an honest and empowering look at a global issue which affects many in our lives at any given moment. Nathan has a disarming yet straight up style and therefore delivers a punchy and important message in an easy to digest way. We talk diet, lifestyle and modern food. Nathan explains how listening to those who have an addiction to food (or anything else) is the single most important step. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Nathan Ranklin is a 1:1 Diet Consultant for Cambridge Weight Plan. He lost 18 and half stones in 14 months, and won the male slimmer of the year 2020. Now he is here to share his gift with the world - the ability to take charge of your weight. Show mentions: 02:00 Growing up as a "big kid", being isolated as a result of my size Issues with food: comfort, binge and secret eater. For me, food was just there as my best friend - I'd just turn to it. Being a secret eater, it's hard for friends and family to monitor - as they don't see the eating 03:00 First realisation of being big at Alton towers, being taken off the ride at age 12. Doctor at 14 saying if you carry on like this, you would make it to 30. As a teenager I was still quite active, running about. 05:00 At 18, sitting down and doing nothing, I piled the weight on. There is always a reason to eat in the office. I was a yes man to eating. Being a binge drinker as well as a bing eater. At 20, diagnosed with sleep apnea. The fat around my throat limiting my breathing when I lay down at night to sleep. Being on a machine to sleep all through my 20s. At 26 being bed bound for a few days - the doctor turned around and said the weight you are, what do you expect? This was when the hard reality really set in. At 29 - went to Budapest, was quite sluggish this time. I wasn't the same, I was always tired. I needed a machine to stay alive at night time. Having to shop online or at big shops. 09:00 the moment I had an intervention from a Jamaican woman I sat down next to. I ran away for 4 months, but this woman was so persistent, she kept catching me in all the worst moments. Catch me having naughty meals. Eventually I gave in and went to her house on 22 March 2019. I weighed 36.9 stone (239 kilos). She promised me that I would never see that weight again, that she promised I would go down to a L size shirt size. How could she change my life in a week? I did the 1:1 diet by Cambridge Weight Plan. I hated it, hated everyone around. 13:00 I had tried a lot of diets before, but there was no one really there. Even through the doctors. No real structure. This was the first time I had someone on my ass the whole time. A week later I came back, I didn't feel like I can lost any weight To my surprise I lost 17 pounds (just over a stone, 7.7 kilos). Next week, another 10 pounds (almost 2 stone in 2 weeks!) I was hooked, the calculations were done. That was it, there was no turning back. I'm thinking I have a second chance here. The result - in 14 months straight, lost 17.5 stones (107 kg). How I did it, a lot of walking then I started the gym afterwards. The 1:1 diet is a combination of meal replacements and a healthy meal plan. It's all calculated for you, then I had to make myself the two additional meals. The thing was cutting out the carbohydrates. I kept seasoning all my food I started using fry light instead of oil, a george forman and an air fryer Tech: Air fryer - I absolutely love it! 19:00 The way to losing weight is - Water, your sleep, diet then exercise. Water goes in, breaks down the fat in the cells and flushes it out. I now drink 5 litres a day, just to stay hydrated. Majority of people should drink 2.5 - 3 litres a day 22:00 How I became a weight loss coach. 24:00 How being a weight loss coach works. Getting to know the person. Know their triggers. It's not one size fits all. What are the issues they are dealing with? Gaining weight is usually a side issue to something else. It's often filling a void of something else. It's all about relating to the person so I can help them. Then putting together a plan for them. Calorie limits, eating plan, tailored to their lifestyle. 27:30 The slimmer light is a choice I make every day. It's easy to slip into old habits. Everyone's body works differently. 29:00 Some mistakes I made and what I learned. The general level of people's knowledge is quite low. It's not's people's fault, they've never been educated. Social media and all the Just Eat adverts appear on Fridays. 31:30 The weekend is the hardest thing. The number one line is "the diet starts on Monday". Weekends and evenings. The cake I watched. The cake that watched me. 33:50 What about cheat days? I cheated for 29 years, I didn't need any more cheat days. I'd say plan in your meals. Work it out. The calories you will consume. You don't want this cheat day to wreck everything you've done. Get to the point you have control over your habits, then you can plan in the occasional naughty meal. 36:30 Food addiction is a real thing, that doesn't really get discussed. Usually people have a stone, 2 stones, maybe 5 stones to lose. They have the same problems, but they are catching it earlier. 38:30 How to tackle your weight. First step, be honest with yourself. It's never to late to start. Make sure you are doing it for yourself and not for someone else. And just get started. 40:00 How to support a loved one who is trying to lose weight. Do not fat shame! That whole bullying thing will trigger another emotion. Have conversations and see how they are feeling. If you don't have a problem with your weight, and your family or loved one is having trouble with theirs, do your naughty take aways out of the house. Do jump on board with the plan. You don't have to diet, but get involved with the cooking. Everyone can benefit from having a nice healthy meal. Suggest activities that don't resolve around food. There are so many things you can do that don't involve food. Show your support by joining them once a week or a month with them at a gym. You can occasionally fight their corner for them. Maybe you don't need another drink or another meal. It's all about being conscious. 45:00 All the things people did, that didn't help me when I was on my diet. Why don't we share it? It's me. So many shady things that didn't help. When you change your life around, you need to understand that people need time to catch up. I flipped the switch and that was it. There was no public announcement, that was it. 49:00 The sharing section 50:00 Who do I most look up to in the world? Barak Obama. Because he defied all odds and became a black president. I relate to that in the sense that I always thought I would be this big person. I've defied the odds. Book - The SAS guide to survival. I feel that growing up in a concrete jungle in London, books were always successful and networking. Money orientated. This book is nothing to do with money. It's about getting back to nature. Being the black Bear Grylls! The importance of reconnecting to nature, a long walk to recalibrate yourself Projects or movements have me most excited? I want to help expand my team. Help train people to help people lose weight. I want to educate the youth - that's missing. I feel like they are getting left behind. Their skills are going to come from YouTube. Kids are exposed to so many things and so quickly. They need guidance. Zoom has allowed me to connect to so many people all around the world. To connect to people and my dieters from anywhere. Tik Tok - the algorithms are amazing. The information on Tik Tok is the best when you're travelling. You can plan your life via Tik Tok! 01:02:04 One thing you'd like to change in the world? The education system for children. I'd implement nutrition and exercise in there properly. Food technology should not be optional. 01:04:00 Always cook from fresh. I love food. I like to understand what I'm making. 01:05:00 The one thing would you like people to take away from this episode? You are never too far gone. If I can do it, you can do it too. If you have a goal in life, it is never too late to go for it. There is so much you can do in a year. Getting in touch: Facebook (nathan ranklin), Instagram (call_me_slender), Tik Tok (1:1 diet with slender). Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Kapil Pankhania on coaching and being coached 54:44

לפני 3 years54:44

54:44

Life Coach Kapil Pankhania takes the Problem Busters through finding a coach, how to make the most out of being coached, and how to coach and mentor those in your team. Kapil has a refreshingly open and honest way of talking about coaching. He explains the difference between mentoring and coaching, tells his story and answers common questions about how both life coaching and coaching in general can benefit us. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Kapil Pankhania is a life coach from North London, currently working with Ollie at Form3. Kapil has a background in Finance and technology. website: www.kapil.coach Show mentions: Realising that coaching was a good route to becoming a better person, both professionally and personally App: Spotify Arriving at coaching as an idea Looking for a workshop and running into Becky, who was running the workshop. Life Coach: Becky Balzano became my first coach The benefits of coaching Coaching as a way to become more self-aware 05:00 Overcoming the excuse of "I have no time", and the importance of finding time for myself The value of putting time aside for myself every morning, for journaling, reading and plugging away Becoming aware of where you are spending your time Identifying where time is not being spent well, and substituting it for something more valuable 07:00 The emotional aspect of coaching. Digitised world, rare to have a time to have a proper conversation, about you. The value of saying things out loud - taking a big breath of fresh air. 09:00 Listening but also being present in the conversation. Really understanding where they are at before suggesting solutions. Coaches are not perfect, we are all humans. Trying not to relate to the client, but remaining separate in order to focus entirely on them and their challenge. 12:30 Advice to people who are looking for a coach Look for a coach you can trust, who is a good listener and is non-judgemental Suggest a first discovery session to see if you will work well together. 15:00 Figuring out what coaching is to you - and what each person wants to get out of the process. The importance of momentum and impact 18:30 What to expect from your first discovery session with a coach 20:00 How to get the most out of working with a coach Insight: The goal presented initially is not always the ultimate goal The importance of picking a place to start - the first challenge to tackle Write down as much as possible before the session Take notes as you go, so you have something to refer back to 24:00 The value of being accountable for your actions - of committing to take action. Playing back in next session on which actions you've taken. The value of taking action between sessions 26:30 What I've learned from coaching people 28:30 The importance of just letting people speak. The importance of reading body language 31:00 The difference between mentoring and coaching. The value of asking good questions 33:30 Advice for Managers wanting to coach their teams better Demonstrating the power of coaching is the way to sell it. 34:30 The value of developing a coaching culture, both between managers, at the exec level and out to all people in the business. 36:00 common mistakes managers make when coaching others The importance of not making assumptions. Ask, don't assume. Ask questions first in order to understand 37:00 How to develop a feeling of trust, of being heard 38:00 Daily habits I have picked up from coaching The value of a solid early morning routine Journaling as a daily practice. Thoughts on the day, what I've learned, unlocking your thoughts and creating space for new thoughts. The importance of reading regularly - as a way to learn Book: The miracle morning 41:00 The value of goal setting Getting crystal clear on what you want to get done, so you can start your day with purpose 42:00 the difference between life before and after goal setting 43:30 What it was like to start journaling Realising the importance of writing down my thoughts rather than what was happening around me. 45:00 The sharing section Who do I most look up to in the world? NBA Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers). He won many championships, but he had both an amazing work ethic and was a great person. The Black Mamba. Book: Can't hurt me by David Goggins A remarkable guy with remarkable mental toughness Movie: Good Will Hunting One thing you'd like to change in the world? Have people being more empathetic and have more compassion for the people around them. To not judge people for who they are and what they've done, but understanding them first. The best way to see how other people see the world is to ask them questions. 50:00 One thing would you like people to take away from this episode - look at your own motivations. Are you living your life on auto pilot? Or are you living your values? Look at the 2-3 main things you did in a day and decide if they served you or should be eliminated. Coach: Paul Søgaard Putting YouTube videos out as a way to help share knowledge with people. YouTube channel: Coaching Conversations getting in touch website: www.kapil.coach Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Adeola Haruna - Girls Can Code 1:01:42

לפני 3 years1:01:42

1:01:42

GirlCode co-founder Adeola Haruna shares how she got into tech, the experience of being a minority (a woman) in tech, and what motivated her to founding a non-profit coding academy to give back. GirlCode Academy is a volunteer-powered organisation that is rapidly becoming a movement. Headquartered in Lagos Nigeria, they have off their own backs created courses that have given hundreds of women the chance at a career in tech. Whether the students opt for Product Design, Frontend coding or perhaps Product Management, they have had an incredible impact on the people involved, many of whom return as volunteers to help others. This is an awesome story and includes the ability for us too to help - by donating a used laptop or supporting a woman in learning to code. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Adeola Haruna is the co-founder of GirlCode Academy - a volunteer organisation in Nigeria that has trained hundreds of women in Frontend coding and Product Design. She is a Project Manager, now a Product Manager and has a background in Fintech. Adeola is from Lagos Nigeria, and now resides in Aberdeen Scotland (for the castles, what a great reason to move anywhere!). Website: https://girlcode.academy/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GirlCodeAcademy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GirlCodeAcademy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlcodeacademyng/ Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adeola-haruna-24490434/ Show mentions: Adeola is the co-founder of the GirlCode academy, and by day is a product manager and former software engineer and graphic designer. 03:00 What is the GirlCode academy ? Being the only woman in every technical team, from company to company In 2016: In Lagos Nigeria - decided to find a solution to being the only technical woman in tech Women were interested in technology but didn't have the opportunity to participate in tech. The idea: train women in coding. 2017 - GirlCode academy was launched. 2017 - 25 women trained We have 100 applications in the first batch, then 300+ for the second. 2018 - 66 women trained in a bigger office Why do girls want to learn to code? "I tried to learn online, but I didn't get it, so I want to be in the class" 2021 - now over 1,000 applications each time We added more classes; front-end engineering, product design. 09:30 Is there disparity between men and women in Nigeria? Yes. We grew up with mothers with roles such as nurses, catering, fashion. In Nigeria you keep hearing "this is for men, this is for women" The problem we wanted to solve - having the right information and the right opportunity. We want to place a women in tech in every family Plenty of my cousins have taken up product and web design 12:30 Representation really matters. When you have someone who looks like you doing a thing, you want to do it too. What it's like to be a woman in tech. It's not difficult, but you will encounter some forms of discrimination or bias. 13:00 Example of looking for work and experiencing discrimination It's getting better in Nigeria - there are a lot of women I look up to in media and tech now, so it's getting better by the day. 17:30 What career paths did the GirlCode graduates end up taking? An internship is included in the program. A lot of them have gone on to bigger things. Example: someone studying medicine, but wanted to learn to code. She started the program, was one of our best and now she has stopped medicine, and works for one of the largest e-learning organisation in the world. From the last batch of graduates - we've had some girls come to us and say "I want to do Product Management, how do I do it?". They inspire me every day and they make me want to be better. 20:00 What I learned running GirlCode Even though we were doing it for free, I realised that volunteers deserved to be paid for their time. It's made me appreciate those who taught the first batch of girls, for free. I learned the value of friendship I've learned to try to outsource. We try to do lots of the things for ourselves, but we are getting less done by doing it alone. We've realised that with more volunteers we can take it to the next step. 23:30 Some of the feedback we've had They want us to extend the training! To have more time, more courses Last year we decided to add a Product Design course - over 500 applicants! We took 84 girls into the course. We had applicants from other countries for the first time. 25:00 A run through of the Frontend course 8 weeks - saturday only They have access to the tutors, both Instagram and WhatsApp numbers. So they can contact their tutors at any time. They are working on projects during the week, it's all practical 28:30 The plans for the future - for GirlCode Expand the number of tutors. Expand the countries we can cover. Our adverts are only targeting Nigerians. Perhaps even the UK! I'd like to add more courses - and both online and physical Get more support from people, get sponsorships. The Adopt a scholar program - paying for a girl to learn design, to code, to become a product manager, data science. GirlCode Academy website: https://girlcode.academy 32:00 Some of the ways the girls inspire me Graduates have been giving back as trainers A girl from the third batch now lives in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria and trains girls to code in a community in Nigeria People who didn't want to code have gone on to become tech writers. Lagos and the tech scene 2012: Conga was the first ecommerce site that I realised was built by Nigerians, and was owned by a Nigerian I think. I saw it, was blown away. Fintech in Nigeria is booming. It is everywhere. PayStack, which was acquired by Stripe. There are a lot of Startups, getting great investors, providing great solutions. There are a lot of Microlending operations in Africa In Nigeria, people don't really have access to credit. If I want to buy a new computer, I can't get a loan. The bank would ask for collateral (land) that I don't have. All these Fintechs are trying to provide loans to people like me - who need to graduate and get access to quick cash. Some people don't have access to banking solutions. People don't know what a credit card is, what a debit card is, what an ATM is. Buy now, pay later solutions are really important here. Peer to peer lending is also so important for people - the unbanked. In Jamaica, you'd have a Pardoner - who would help the community contribute to someone in need. Now it's digitised and it's even better There is a huge volume of young people in Africa, so the margins don't need to be high. International Women's Day was last week. What can people do to help encourage gender equality in tech? A lot of advertising is happening with companies asking directly for women to join - and women therefore want to learn to get there. Hercoonomy Shuttlers 43:30 Don't think because they are women, this is all they can do. Try a woman, let her let you know she can't do it, rather than expecting it. Advice for young women wanting to get into tech Just do it. Start. If you don't start, you cannot know what will happen. Reach out to people and ask questions if you don't know. Sell yourself. Always show up and be consistent 45:30 Advice to hiring managers at tech companies about hiring women. Always provide feedback. If they are not proceeding, tell them. Just listen to women. Don't box them because of their gender. Ask them all the questions you would ask a man. 48:00 The sharing section I look up to a lot of women The female founder of an app called Shuttlers (in Nigeria) - it solves the transportation problem in Nigeria, especially Lagos. Movie director - Kemi Adetiba . She's good, she calm and she gives good advice. Producer - Ava Duvernay in the U.S. And of course my mum. I've learned a lot from her. She taught me patience. I wish to be half the woman she is. Nollywood - Nigeria has the third largest movie industry in the world. A Netflix partnership has occurred, there are a lot on Netflix Movie - King of boys Movie - Confusion na wa TV series - A suitable boy Movie - Seventy Six Book - How to crack the Product Management Interview Book - Ship it. I loved reading it. I still go back to it. They interviewed a couple of silicon valley product managers and how they work. GirlCode movement is inspiring me! If I could, I would love there to just be peace. To just live together as one. What is going in Ukraine is so bad. The one thing I would like people to take away from this episode? For those who can give back. Who are privileged, who have the ability to lift others, please start. For those that are lost, let them speak out and reach out to people. The worst they can say is no. Keep pushing. Keep doing what you can do. The website: https://girlcode.academy/ Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adeola-haruna-24490434/ Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Stacy Holland on conscious leadership 1:22:12

לפני 3 years1:22:12

1:22:12

Soul led coach Stacy Holland explains what makes a conscious leader, how to spot them in your team and why they are so important to the building of a successful business. We discuss Stacy's 20+ year career in high-profile corporate roles and how she knew when it was time to make a switch to coaching full time. Stacy shares how she moved the family to Dubai for a job at one point, and how ripping a whole floor out of a building is sometimes necessary to create the right culture at work. This is an honest, straight-talking account of rising to the top of the corporate world, of living with purpose, and most importantly left us with the feeling that starting something new is not starting again - it is just the next step in your journey. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Stacy Holland is a soul led leadership coach, a life coach and a mentor. She is the founder of Stacy Holland Coaching and lives in the UK with her family. Website LinkedIn Instagram Show mentions: The path to coaching. Leadership as being coaching in many ways The concept of a shadow leader. Be aware of the shadow you cast. Working with BT and digital transformation Culture being incredibly important during lockdown Setting up guilds where people support each other. How to handle feeling like you don't have enough time. Book: Marie Kondo - Joy at work Removing the clutter, in order to see clearly. The excitement and challenge of accepting a role overseas Taking the plunge and the risk of moving the family to Dubai. Going to a country where English wasn't the first language. Dubai's mall culture Ripping out an entire floor of the building to create a massive co-working space. How to develop female leaders. The value of choosing to be in a transformation role - to bring change. The need to have team members that represent all the cultures of your customer base The main barriers for entry for women come down to confidence. Study: The Confidence Gap There is often a wobble for women when they've had children What is a conscious leader? How to identify your purpose The role of conscious leaders in any business Burnout being a clear sign of needing to change Book: The big leap by Gay Hendrix Podcast: Dare to Lead Moving from corporate to entrepreneur The value of developing a coaching culture The big take away from this episode? Whatever you feel, listen to that. There is a message there. Just listen and trust what is being shown to you. The value of working with mentors and coaches Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Aryaana Khan and Hakim Evans on COP26 and the climate emergency 1:20:43

לפני 3 years1:20:43

1:20:43

A sobering and inspiring episode where Aryaana Khan and Hakim Evans from NGO ACE (Action for the Climate Emergency) share a rare insight into the workings of the much-discussed COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. They describe what was missing, what was inspiring and what they'd like to see come out of the next: COP27 in Egypt. We discuss the effects of climate change on both Aryaana's homeland of Bangladesh, and Hakim's of Jamaica, then hear how New York City is now very much also affected by the climate emergency. What motivates young people to stop what they are doing, to get involved in fighting for climate justice, and to learn to engage young and old in this most urgent of debates? And what type of world would both Aryaana and Hakim like us to create together? Expect to be shocked, angered, inspired and to come away empowered with the knowledge that you too can in your daily actions make a difference. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guests: Aryaana Khan is a Youth Climate Organiser and ACE Fellow, born and raised in Bangladesh and recent delegate to COP26 in Glasgow Scotland. She is joined by returning guest Hakim Evans, a Senior Fellow with ACE and Founding Board Member of Climate Emergency Advocates. Both inspiring guests are based in Queens, New York City. Show mentions: Growing up in Bangaladesh and moving to NYC in 2010. ACE Alliance for the climate education has rebranded to Action for the climate emergency . Why the new name? It speaks to the scale we need to address the issue - it is a climate emergency. Global Kids - the first NGO Aryaana worked with ACE had local fellowships all across the U.S. - including NYC. Learning how to teach and engage people in the climate debate. Words like the climate emergency have been so necessary to shift the discussion to the urgency of the situation. Aryaana's story: Growing up in Dhaka (capital city of Bangladesh). I started life with mango trees outside my window and I saw the growth of the city. It was beautiful yet jarring. Experiences of climate change in NYC Much of Long island is already under water. Hurricanes, insane storms. Parallels between growing up in NYC with Bangladesh and Jamaica Educating people and empowering them How to decide who to talk to about the climate emergency Helping people find their story COP26 Glasgow and what it was. What was Glasgow like as an event? Being on the ground at COP26 and reflections on it COP26 Glasgow: the horse and pony show NYC and The climate and community act Things young people are doing to bring change and the role of covid What can people at home do? - focus on the biggest issue. What is a food desert? ACE Creator Collective - getting the message out there over Tik Tok. ACE Launching action teams. The big message: don't stress out The kind of world Aryaana and Hakim would like to create Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor Image credit: ACE acespace.org…

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Happy Good News: Flying Car, Nuclear Fusion & LEDs 36:39

לפני 3 years36:39

36:39

The Problem Busters rave about flying cars (it's a thing), nuclear fusion and a simple way to prevent almost half of the catch of commercial fishing operations from getting caught by mistake. Also electric cars, solar power, paint that generates electricity (thanks Dulux!) About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. Show mentions: Flying Car https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/a-flying-car-just-got-certified-as-airworthy-to-fly/ China Achieve Nuclear Fusion https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/chinas-artificial-sun-broke-record-for-longest-sustained-nuclear-fusion/ Europe Achieves Nuclear Fusion https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60312633 Simple LEDs saving sharks and turtles https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/simple-green-led-lights-save-sharks-and-turtles-from-accidental-fishing-nets/ Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor Photo by Mehdi MeSSrro on Unsplash…

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Happy Good News: Christmas Special 2021 58:11

לפני 3 years58:11

58:11

News but only the good bits, and this time it's a Christmas bumper edition, to warm hearts at the end of the year. Plenty of good news to be shared, hope you enjoy! About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. Show mentions: The right to repair movement .Claiming the right to repair - Positive News Phone boxes put to use Thinking outside the box: unusual uses for the UK’s old phone boxes The UKs largest rewilding project ‘Natural Health Service’: Derby approves UK’s largest urban rewilding project HIV jabs approved New HIV jabs taken two months apart hailed as huge step forward How Norway's pop stars pushed the government to electric cars How a pop star helped inspire Norway's electric car revolution How Amsterdam stopped junk mail Amsterdam's Instant Fix for Getting Rid of Junk Mail Biofuel trial in shipping tankers BP and Maersk Tankers team up to trial marine biofuel in decarbonisation push Dyson award 2021 entries Project gallery | James Dyson Award kiva.org - Microcredit fantastic. Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor Photo by Kilian Seiler on Unsplash…

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It's OK to ask for help with Andrew Murphy 46:05

לפני 4 years46:05

46:05

Andrew Murphy from the Federation of Small Businesses UK (FSB) talks running a business post-lockdown. We talk trends in business and lifestyle, explore the experience of founding and growing a business. Most importantly, we discuss how it is OK to ask for help, how covid actually fostered networking and how we are better off sticking together. The Federation of Small Business UK (FSB) is an undiscovered gem in the wild world of running your own business. Whether you are a freelancer or whether you employ a team - we feel there is so much support available in an FSB membership and hope to see more take advantage of it, so they can focus on their day jobs. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Andrew Murphy is a Small Business Champion at the Federation of Small Businesses UK. A career at PwC led him to start his own removals business in London, which ultimately led to a lot of lessons in starting and growing a business. He is passionate about the importance of small businesses to our economy and community as a whole. Show mentions: Starting off in PcW in Consultancy Started his own business, a removals business - ran it for 15 years, then sold it and moved to the FSB It was the Uber for removals - perhaps a bit before its time. 04:30 The challenges in building a business, and in hiring and managing staff. Remote staff management is one of the most difficult parts of the growth of the business. Finding good people is one of the hardest part of growing a business in my experience. Then looking after them and welfare is right up there with hard work. I had a friend in HR, but eventually realised we needed help with that. The Federation of Small Business (FSB) knocked on the door, and I was getting a lot of contacts at the time, but this guy made a good point and the offer was really strong A not for profit who helps small businesses. He talked about HR support, documentation and legal support, and it made a lot of sense to me as a business owner. 07:30 Small business owners want to be spending more time on running the business, not doing all the other paperwork. FSB has been running 45 years, has over 165,000 small business members. There is at times a disconnect between central government and small business. Example: The creation of the Furlough scheme, via the powerful lobbying voice of FSB, and a chap called Mike Cherry. It has supported a lot of businesses during the pandemic. The FSB legal hub was super helpful to me, had a series of documents in a library, we had access to an HR representative at no charge, and at one point, we had to visit the Employment Tribunal and they supported us through the process. We were not at fault, but it was great to have someone there to hold our hand through it all. 14:00 What would I do differently next time? I'd get help from people like the FSB earlier. You've got to know when to ask for help. What steps could people listening take to reach out and get assistance? Have a look at the website and all the services provided. Tax investigation protection is a part of the membership (an important one in coming years) Small businesses are the backbone of this economy. 70%+ of employers and an important part. We're not talking a lot of money for this membership, and every bit of revenue goes back into supporting Small Business - £147 per year (based on the number of people in the business). We have a lot of sole traders who are members. Sole traders also have legal obligations, tax returns. We cover right up to larger businesses of 50 employees or more. It can be quite isolating as a business owner. The buck does stop at you as owner. 22:00 What are the top areas small businesses worry about? Staff Management, Finance, Getting new customers on board, tax investigation protection. For every pound HMRC invests in tax investigation, they recoup £15 pounds. We are seeing a lot of positivity coming out of Covid now. It's been a roller coaster over the last 18 months but we are seeing a lot more positivity and businesses getting out there. How being remote has bought networking into a new age. We used to run monthly groups, a bit of a social thing and a lunch. Now it has all moved online, there is a huge opportunity to now network with your potential customers anywhere in the country and anywhere in the world. People are now happy to do these type of online meetings, and you still have the opportunity to meet in person also. Episode: Zoltan Vass - Building remote teams 31:00 The sharing section Who do you most look up to in the world? I spend my life talking to business owners, from people who are about to set up to people who have been running for a while. So I'll go business owners. It takes real courage to run your own gig. I have nothing but admiration for people who get out there and make it work. Book - Jordan B Peterson - 12 rules for life. There is some great stuff in there. He has a great understanding of the way we work as humans, or as a society. Book - Jordan B Peterson - Maps and meanings. What movements have you most excited? Cop26 summit is going on right now. I studied Environmental Science at University and it was a big deal for me. Agenda 21 back then was important Greta Thunberg famously summed this up - there's been a lot of talk and it's now time for action. There is a groundswell of people looking to take this into their own hands, and looking at how they can get involved in sustainability. 27:00 What tech is improving your life right now? I implemented Calendly.com into my work. It has taken away a huge part of when people can talk to each other. Send a link, sync with diary and it works for everyone. What is one thing you'd like to change in the world? I don't have a specific thing because the solutions to where we are are really really complicated. There is a lot of complication in all of this, which is why we haven't been able to solve it. There can be no question about the impact we are having on the environment. I'm pleased that this stuff is now on the agenda, and the fact that people are taking personal responsibility rather than waiting for something to happen. One thing people could take away from this episode? To recognise that you don't have to do everything yourself (like the FSB!) that help support you as a business owner. 40:30 Don't be afraid to reach out and ask for help, so that you can focus on the doing of the business, the growing of your business. The last 18 months for a lot of people have obviously been really difficult. Especially for men, we are kinda a bit guarded around asking for help. As part of the FSB, we have first aid and nurses. It's reaching out to the right people when you need it. Talking about mental health has become normal Getting in touch? Happy to use Calendly, or to email andrew.murphy@fsb.org.uk. FSB events - click here for events (going on almost every day), they are open access and you don't need to be a member to access those resources. Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Happy Good News - Oct 2021 Roundup 45:55

לפני 4 years45:55

45:55

The Problem Busters have a quick chat through some positive news articles from October. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. This show's reading list: Most plans for new coal plants scrapped since Paris agreement: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/14/most-plans-for-new-coal-plants-scrapped-since-paris-agreement Firm raises $15m to bring back woolly mammoth from extinction: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/13/firm-bring-back-woolly-mammoth-from-extinction Sep: Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea has been billed as the world’s first major net-zero carbon football match. https://www.positive.news/lifestyle/sport/climate-crisis-the-football-clubs-making-net-zero-more-competitive/ One of London’s busiest streets goes car-free (a section of the Strand): https://www.positive.news/society/one-of-the-busiest-streets-in-london-goes-car-free/ Renaming Revolution: the campaign to change the language of maternity care: https://www.positive.news/lifestyle/wellbeing/the-campaign-to-change-the-language-around-maternity-care/ Magnetic male contraceptive invented.https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2021/07/29/magnetic-male-contraceptive-birth-control/ Food market in Vancouver https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/rescued-food-market-vancouver-sells-food-saved-from-landfills-at-pay-what-you-feel-prices/ Berlin campaign to ban cars https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/06/berlins-car-ban-campaign-its-about-how-we-want-to-live-breathe-and-play Fossil Found by Kids in New Zealand Turns Out to Be 27 Million-Year-old Giant Penguin https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/giant-pengiun-fossil-found-in-new-zealand-by-kids-unites-ancient-genus/ How India’s Air Pollution is Being Turned into Stylish Floor Tiles https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/indian-entrepreneur-invents-cheap-air-purifier-and-sends-the-waste-to-be-made-into-tiles/ Ireland pilots basic income for creatives. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/basic-income-scheme-for-artists-art-workers-to-be-piloted-in-2022-1.4698533 Plyscrapers in Sweden: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/oct/14/skelleftea-swedish-plywood-eco-town-20-storey-wooden-skyscraper-worlds-tallest Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor Cover art credit: Sven Scheuermeier on Unsplash…

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Keep on moving while working from home with Kristi Barker 1:01:35

לפני 4 years1:01:35

1:01:35

Energetic Physiotherapist Kristi Barker gives us the low down on the science of keeping moving to stay healthy. With so many of us now heading into our second year working from home, it's more important than ever that we spare a thought for the need to mix it up, to sit and to stand, to get outside and stay active, but most of all - to find our own balance of activity. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Kristi Barker is a Physiotherapist from Regina Saskatchewan, in Canada who specialises in rehabilitation and injury recovery. Kristi on Instagram Kristi on Tik Tok Sign up to Kristi's mailing list For $50 off the Happy Massage Gun (Discount code: REACHREHAB) Show mentions: I've been a Physical Therapist for 5 years now. I was really into Volleyball when I was younger and kept injuring myself 02:30 I got into Physio after a trip to Uganda to help distribute wheelchairs. A young man who was destined for a wheelchair was re-diagnosed, educated and avoided being put into a wheelchair! Where Reach Rehab came from: How can we use education to help educate in a bigger scale? I put it on Instagram and it's taken off. I've never looked back since! It has been such an amazing way to educate thousands of people at once. Instagram - a social media platform for images and videos. Tik Tok is the new version. Instagram: Reach.rehab. Videos of Kristi explaining how to recover from injuries. 06:00 What is Physiotherapy when you really get down to it? A mix of Chiropractor and Massage therapy. Clicking and joints, to working with muscles. We look at the muscles and joints, how they work together and we are the doctors of movement. To ensure you are moving optimally and functioning at your best. There are so many different regions of Physiotherapist. With babies, in the hospital, with patients, with people who are recovering, with athletes. There is a lot of research going on. The Masters program made it a 6.5 year degree. In the USA, there are doctors of Physiotherapy. 09:00 Jonathan's first introduction into Physiotherapy - Science faculty folks were working alongside sports doctors. For teeth health it is ingrained in us as a child that we should brush our teeth daily. So why isn't mobility and strengthening daily ingrained in us? That majority of people who are on pain medication, by the time I see them, don't want to be on them. Movement is medicine! Prevention is an exciting trend. People coming in to prevent future injury. You don't need to have an injury to come and see a Physical Therapist, you can talk to us to help prevent injuries. What complaints from working from home? Back pain, neck pain, hip pain and tennis elbow. It is more the static posture we are in for prolonged periods. This leads to lengthened and shortened ligaments. The wonderful people who work in the NHS. It is great to see Physiotherapy embedded in Hospitals and within the healthcare system. Being prescribed a Physio in a situation that used to lead, with the same doctor, to being prescribed pain medication. 16:00 Post-surgery it is almost imperative to see a Physio. What is the difference between Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists? Occupational Therapists look at your movement for every day life. Exercises specific to daily living. 18:30 What are the main causes for discomfort in patients? How often we move and how we move. Be careful not to move from static to extreme exercise. Match the activity levels. Don't push too hard. Most people I see are either not doing enough and doing too much. It's about finding a balance for you. Some of it could be improper form as well. Dead lifting too heavy, or improperly can also cause problems. What is the asymmetry aspect? Can people favour one leg or the other? Don't be fearful of discovering asymmetry. It is common. What is a problem is repetition. E.g. using the mouse with one hand. Ollie's Penguin ambidextrous mouse. 21:30 What about switching? It isn't about doing it all one way. Switching from side to side is great, giving each side a break. Yoga, Occupational Therapy, Massage, Lifting, it's all movement. 24:00 We are built to be movers, to be hunters and gatherers. We weren't built to be sitting still all day. Our bodies tell us. This hurts, I've been sitting still. It encourages us to get the body moving. 27:00 If you think about how you move and what you do most throughout your day. Say you are at your desk all day, then you go weight lift. Visualise it. You are getting the strength component. But what about mobility? Perhaps try yoga. Even marathon runners need to add strengthening to their running endurance. What is Crossfit? Think of weight lifting, timed exercises, a community of people, there are gyms, there are competitions. High-intensity based exercise. The Crossfit games Things you could ask your Physical therapist - how is my form? How am I moving? The importance of finding great instructors to make sure your technique is good. What do you think of standing desks? Recent reports came out stating that they are helpful if you are changing posture every hour, or even every half hour. If I'm still just sitting here for 5 hours, it's all about moving as frequently as possible. Have a little timer, and remember to switch it up every 30 minutes or an hour. If you could have office workers do strengthening exercises on one area, what would it be? There is never one fix. I'd give you two things 32:00 The number one takeaway: Get moving. If you are sitting then stand. If you are standing, then sit. This will have the biggest impact on your pain. A good mobility one, if you have been sitting. Is to get you up and standing. I would go for a good chest opener. Don't pull on your head, but rest your hands behind your head and curl down and breath out. Then breathe in and look up. A good strengthening one: 4 point. Getting onto your hands and knees. A scapular pushup. Think about pressing palms into the floor, press away with a straight elbow pushup. How many you do, the sets and reps and duration - depends on the people and their goals. If you are not ready to commit to 3-5 mins of exercise, then start small - create habits of starting small and giving you a reason to get out of your desk. The Happy gun massager. Ollie has one too and loves it!! 40:00 What does Kristi do for mobility? I do about 5-10 minutes of morning mobility, targeting whatever is sore. Mine has been neck and shoulders. I do some in between my patients. I'll take 5 minutes to move during the day in between appointments. I'll typically go to the gym after work. I mix it up, do a bit of weightlifting and more mobility while watching Netflix. So about an hour of weightlifting and half an hour of mobility. How to watch Netflix and do mobility. Every time an episode changes, I'd get up and do 5 mins. Now I'm feeling so good that I'm doing it during the show. People can be doing stretching. Tell us about the Happy gun massager. Ollie has one too and loves it!! It is a percussion gun which adds small beats to your muscles. The different attachments do different things. The beats help to give pain relieve. It is taking our nervous system, from fight or flight, and the impulses can help take us into the rest and digest phase of nervous system. But, that shouldn't be the end all treatment. It is a passive-based form of rehab. It will give pain relief, but won't necessarily fix the underlying issue. So we have to pair strengthening with stability. Comparing Dentistry to Physio - and it being interesting how many different areas a Physio needs to know about. 49:00 Who do you most look up to in the world? My sister. I've consistently always looked up to her. She's one of those people who is her true authentic self. I respect the life that she lives. It's just her as a person. 51:00 I want to be people's biggest cheerleader and to motivate them to be better. Book: Self-observation. It really forces you to observe your patterns and your thoughts. The more we can stop just reacting and just responding, the better outlook and impact we can have. Our reactions are based off our past experiences. Our bodies automatically go into that reaction and emotion. By being aware of it, you can stop yourself and wait, and give a difference response instead. It can be applied to anything in life. I'm all about mindset and getting that straight. Mindset so heavily impacts us and is so heavily related to the body. My goal with Reach Rehab? I'm interested in making programs to help people to work on their injuries. How can you get involved? Sign up on Instagram, and I'll send more detailed information about it - and ask people what they want. Give me feedback on what you need. My ultimate goal? To give back. To be able to use my skills as a Physical therapist to help. InShot: An app I use to make my videos Canva: An app for graphic design What is a reel? A shorter, quicker reel on Instagram. I try to incorporate fun! The biggest takeaway? Move your body as much as possible. And find that balance between strength and mobility. Getting in touch Follow me on Instagram Kristi on Tik Tok Sign up to Kristi's mailing list For $50 off the Happy Massage Gun (Discount code: REACHREHAB) Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Starting a business with Henry Latham 1:02:11

לפני 4 years1:02:11

1:02:11

Entrepreneur, founder and coach Henry Latham shares the low down on how to start a business. From deciding if you really want to, to evaluating ideas, to building it in a way that fits in with your lifestyle (rather than replacing it). We cover a lot of ground here while discussing the founding game, and explore what might be in it for you and your family. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Henry Latham is a London-based Entrepreneur and founder of Prod MBA. First attracted to starting his own business while backpacking in South America, Henry has founded, grown, funded and wound up his own business and is now enjoying helping others evaluate and pursue their own business ideas via the Prod MBA course. Henry now lives in sunnny Middle England. Show mentions: 01:00 It started when backpacking in Brazil by myself, floating down a boat in the Amazon. Backtracker - my first idea and first business. An app for tracking travel. As a Politics and Spanish major I had to learn it as I went along. Fast forward a year or so, we'd been through an accelerator program and raising investment, the business failed due to making every mistake in the book. Book - Product Leadership starts with you My second business: Prod MBA and helping people succeed. 04:00 What lessons did you learn from the initial business failure? I could dig into many things, but many are well trodden. The surprising thing for both Product leader and entrepreneur is the disillusionment with the business you are building. Looking back, I never believed in raising investment and shaping a pitch deck to show scaling 10x per year. I started the first business because I liked travelling. In the end I became stuck in London in the funding cycle. But I was really wanting to build something that was more aligned with my beliefs and the lifestyle I wanted to life. 06:00 Does starting a business have to mean building an app? We have a misconception that a product equals a solution. What what we need to be successful in business is to understand where value lies in a market and how best to deliver that value. Take coaching: There could be many way to achieve this. It could be an app, but you could deliver more value in say a high level coaching program. It is a big mindset shift for many. Obviously technology enables delivery of value, but it isn't the only way to get them to their desired outcome How do we get customers to their desired outcome the fastest way possible? This is what we need to be doing. 10:00 What is the Prod MBA? The market need is that there are Product Managers to master core competencies of Product Management. As a Product person, I was seeing so many courses and books that were so far removed from reality, that it wasn't helpful. The real world of product is messy, it's uncertain and you come up against challenges of your own ego, pressure of people pulling in different directions. There is a psychological aspect to product We teach these competencies by building a real product from scratch - because that is the best way you are going to learn. 13:00 Some examples of ideas people have tackled in the gym? Akash: Gym towels and prototyping bamboo towels. Nittin: Healthcare and how to choose healthcare options in the U.S. What we teach is that it is all about understanding where the biggest problems are in the market Is it an addressable problem? Is it an acute problem? Is it worth addressing? We don't talk about solutions until 8 weeks into the program. It's a massive mindset shift for many. We break down many of the misconceptions about product. What is a product in simple terms? We look at how to evaluate good ideas and how to filter them, then how to go out and talk to people 16:00 Week by week, what we do in the Prod MBA program We then look at how to flip an idea into a product vision Then how to turn that into a viable business 18:00 What is a no code prototype? MVP: Minimal Viable Product. MVP was meant to be the quickest experiment to validate if anyone is interested in this thing we have to offer. The problem in the majority of cases I see, is that companies take an MVP and make that the first version of what they build. They are committing to a coded solution (weeks or months), delaying feedback on the idea. Everyone talks about an MVP, we are talking about mapping out a problem, validating first to gauge interest, then perhaps a landing page, then a design prototype with something like Figma, then a no-code prototype that is a real app for a user, but is not coded. Book: Eric Reis - Lean Startup The problem stems from a narrow idea of what success looks like. You don't need to go zero to 1 hundred, to run before you can walk. As a Product person you have limitations on resources, so you need to be disciplined about step 1 and what you really need to do, what stepping stones you need to take to get there. Product is the whole experience of the customer. Everything they touch and every experience as a customer. There are a lot of issues created when we create silos. We lose sight of why a product really exists. 27:00 Why does a product really exist? To fulfil a customer promise. Everything we do should be geared to ensure our strategy delivers actionable and hands on learning. Recent episode: Jason Knight 29:30 Examples of companies who scale really well: Loom Loom conferencing - loom.com They have a huge profit margin and have raised a lot of investment. Why have they scaled so well? A simple promise, and a simple delivery method. Promise: Video communication is better. Video is a great way to save time. Everything they do is geared up towards that. If you are looking at multiple products or opportunities, and if it isn't clear what the customer is, you'll end up with challenges. The strategic step is key - at what point do you look to expand your offering? Now we are doing well with our first product - Prod MBA, we are looking at launching a second product (Helping prepare for interviews), but we are taking our time, researching it. How do you fast track a product manager's career? with hands on, actionable learning. 34:00 What trends did you see in product/lifestyle during the pandemic? I started the business before the pandemic, specifically during the pandemic (which was great for our business), I had a lot of conversations with people who had for the first time in years, had paused to consider what they wanted out of their careers. To start their own business, or take charge of their own career. I suspect we will see a massive boom in new businesses, new successful businesses, as a result of the pandemic Recent episode: Heather Rooke Recent episode: Darrell Woodhouse 37:00 Henry's founding story. Unfortunately as human being it takes a moment of crisis for things to really crystalize. I had the first business then the second, then freelanced. I keep a journal every morning, then do an annual review (reading everything from the year before). It was clear I had a classic lack of focus. I wrote one line on the page: "nobody is coming for you". Nobody is coming for you to found this business. I realised I had created this false belief that I would need a co-founder or investment to get started. I realised if I wanted to take control of my life, then I would need to go and take charge myself. That simple mental shift, that massive mental shift, got me down the path of starting a business in a very real way. Timing was fortunate for us - luckily good for us just before the curve. Example - Life isn't as certain as I thought. Example - now I'm not commuting into London every day, am I happy with the life I am now living 41:00 Is the founder's life really work all the time for 5 years, then retire? It's part true, and part BS. There is a path that leads to going big, via investment, with specific targets. You need to hit 2x growth per month, 10x growth per year. You will have many employees and handling the myriad risks of a business. You won't have a great life balance. That's fine, delivers more impact for more people. Personally I decided on another way. Yes initially, you work hard (10-12 hour days), but you have choices early on. If you want to take walks and exercise, you can. More work is not the answer. It is going to come down to a few big strategic things, placing the right bets on the right market, opportunity, offer you might make to your customers. That's the thing you need to be iterating on. Product people are builders and we like building stuff. Hold yourself back deliberately, so you can be thinking through these high level things. 45:00 The sharing section 46:00 Who do you most look up to in the world? Ryan Holiday. Tim Ferriss - the 4 hour work week Ryan Holiday - was at American Apparel, doing really well, then launched his career as an author. About Stoicism and a practical guide to living well. He lives a very intentional life, lives on a farm, spends 4 hours a day, spends time with his kids. I have massive respect for wisdom he passes on in his writing. Brewdog as an example of not living in line with their own ethos. Book: Ryan Holiday - Ego is the enemy Book: Essentialism by Greg McCowan. Teaches you how to operate in a way that focuses on what is really important. Book: Product Leadership starts with you by Henry Latham. Whatever you do, particularly true with Product, you need to start with your foundations and be mindful, resilient and focus on the essential - to be great at focusing on what really matters. A huge amount of success comes down to managing yourself effectively and using that as a foundation. What tech is improving your life at the moment? Automations!!! Tool: Active Campaign (as you scale up) or MailChimp (the starter version). Used to automate a sales funnel, tracking and automating people showing an interest, booking a call, and auto invoicing. Quote: Products come and go, but data will be there forever - Tim Bernards Lee You want to start in month 3 with some strong customer management tools. 55:00 What is one thing you'd like to change in the world? For people to qualify their fears more effectively. For example, the fear of thinking to start a business, people must quit their job and take a bit risk. They can do it with zero risk! Realising that the idea of things is more scary than reality. 56:30 What one thing would you like people to take away from this episode? To take time to write down your ideas, to create little habits, that stack with other habits, that effectively fulfil your goal. 58:30 Getting in touch Free 7 day course: Go to prod.mba and sign up Henry is happy to have questions on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/henrylatham/ Book: Product Leadership Starts with you by Henry Latham Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Happy Goodwin Day - 1 year of pods 24:04

לפני 4 years24:04

24:04

The Problem Busters celebrate reaching the big 1 year of podcasting together in this short yet witty episode. What were we thinking setting this show up? What have we learned and what is next for the show? All will be revealed in this annual celebration episode. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. Show mentions: Happy Goodwin day!!! 1 year today What we planned when we started? It was a crazy idea... to highlight people helping fix things around them. What we have learned? People were interested! and hundreds of people have listened. We've met some amazing people. "Met" 😁 There is a lot of improving going on. When you start to look for it, we are surrounded by people doing positive things. There is plenty of positive news around. Lock down has been both master and teacher. It held us apart physically, yet brought many together. Lockdown was a mirror we couldn't help but look into. The air was cleaner, no cars, peace and quiet, trivialities no longer important. Focus on what was important - planet, freedom and loved ones What we are doing next? A long list of interesting people to talk to Happy good news, each month. More nerdy science!! Episode: Avoiding burnout with Daryl Woodhouse Gone Workabout - Episode: Made in the 90s Logo and concept by Christy Connor.…

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Happy Good News - Sep 2021 33:48

לפני 4 years33:48

33:48

In this first edition of Happy Good News, the Problem Busters have a quick chat through some positive news articles from the week that was. This may even become a regular fixture on the show... About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. Show mentions: Carbon capture Iceland (or on YouTube ) UK green sector nearly 4 times side of manufacturing: Low-cost rail firm Lumo launches in UK Rewilding - The Monks Wood Wilderness experiment An NHS rule change means more gay and bisexual men can now donate blood Climate cafes - getting together to discuss climate change. Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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On art and ecology with Eva Bubla 1:01:15

לפני 4 years1:01:15

1:01:15

Ecological artist and activist Eva Bubla shares how art can challenge us to see the wood for the trees when it comes to our impact on the planet. She takes the Problem Busters on a fascinating tour of eco-clever projects spanning multiple countries. If you have ever wondered if your creativity could get people thinking in a positive way, then this episode is for you. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that highlights people with ideas to solve the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Eva Bubla is a Hungarian artist who deals with environmental and ecological issues. Her insightful and thought-provoking projects have both an activism and education element and have been widely recognised. Eva has participated in a range of projects and artist collectives, including Green Root Lab and PAD. Eva is currently based in Budapest. Eva's website Show mentions: 01:50 Art has always been in my mind. Ever since being a child. My current practice is rooted in Indonesia, because that is where I started dealing with environmental issues. I studied there and stayed longer, those experiences pushed me in this direction. Wanting to deal with environmental issues both as a person and as a citizen. 03:00 What sparked the interest in the environment specifically? 2011-13 I was at University, we had a task to form groups and experiment using art. I used to study painting before (a solitary process), but this working with a group, on location at the beach, was exciting. We were asked to use materials we found on the spot. Using material on-site was one of the sparks in taking me in this direction. Because the materials included a lot of rubbish on the beach - it was obvious to use that, and one of the experiences that started my journey. This was 9 years ago and my perspective has changed a lot. I would not now use rubbish as a material (I find it contradictory), but at the time it was a moment that got me starting thinking about the environment. 06:00 The question of visibility. We have services that take rubbish away, so it is not visible how much rubbish we create. Governments such as the UK government pay for rubbish to be exported to other countries. Many just put it to landfill, it's important to follow the chain and have visibility of it. Greenpeace UK as an important group in raising awareness here. Documentary: Plastic China . A movie about family businesses that process plastic, horrible waste, which was imported into China from other countries. It's a must-see for all of us. Regulations are already changing, a lot of countries are already saying no to waste that is exported to them from other countries. Making art from things that have been found can really shock people. In that project - we built the shape of a nautilus shell, but the material related to this human habit of generating waste. I no longer want to create artworks from waste because it has the risk of making waste look aesthetic. 11:00 Earliest memory of being interested in art - kindergarten! My first memory that comes to mind is sitting at a small table in kindergarten and drawing a tale for children. 12:30 Project: Designated Breathing Zone . The first version came out of a residency with HONF foundation (art and engineers - makers). My process: I have an initial idea but decide a topic to explore only once I am on the spot. The place is important for the people, the materials I work with. I got sick in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, related to air pollution I think. This is a global issue (not related to a specific country). Certain green areas where I used to ride my bike disappeared, so I started to dig into it and read into local regulations, how much green area the city is supposed to have, etc. I started to read about how certain plants can remediate air pollution. Project: Designated Breathing Zone is basically an incubator for the snake plant / mother in law plant. This is one of the plants that is really effective in making indoor air quality better. How does it work? The air goes into this box, with the plant inside it, and a fan to ventilate the air out via a mask. You can take the mask and breathe the air through the mask. This idea actually exists on the market, but I used materials that I found around the area (e.g. a box from a restaurant nearby). The purpose: A symbolic object to raise awareness of the importance of plants, air pollution. Combining art and education is something important to me. What was the reaction to your work in this case? Some surprise, raising questions in them, and then a really nice conversation with people, especially kids. Children were very sensitive to the issue of air pollution. In public spaces you can reach a wider audience than in a gallery. I didn't see a difference between children and adults in their sensitivity to the issue. Workshops with kids are more curious maybe, but not necessarily more or less interested (a lot depends on the parents). 23:00 szabadonbalaton (Free balaton lake) ( also in English here ) - a group project raising questions around the challenges of the lake and its ecosystem. We have various art events, including social scientists, ecologists and engineers. We have cocktails and foods that are sourced from the area. Chips from plants found in the lake. The reaction from people is really interesting - they can't believe food can come from the lake. The perception of people is usually that the lake is clean if you can see the bottom. If it is clear. But this is false, it is not necessarily related to the water quality, may also be related to the bottom of the lake or ocean. 28:30 we need a change in perspective in certain respects. We should treat lakes as lakes. We should become friends with its elements (e.g. mud) and not be disgusted by it. The Blue Lagoon, Abereiddi: There is a lake in Wales (there is also one in Russia) that is nicknamed " the blue lagoon " - and looks blue, but cloudy - and it's caused by Slate from a quarry. Remnants of an industrial past. Locals still swim in it. The story of the two fish, and the old fish. Two fish are swimming and they see an older fish. It nods at them and says "isn't the water great today". The other two swim on and look a bit weird, then ask each other a bit later "what is water?". It is hard to generalise which generation is wiser. We should learn from elder generations what they did right, mistakes they made, but should keep the curiousity of children. If we are curious, that can be used as a tool to explore and understand. 33:00 Are you seeing improvements in environmental awareness? I see more and more people paying attention to the environment. But it's not that simple. Is it enough for us as citizens to pay attention and become aware? When actually the problem is caused by companies, so we should also make change at the government or corporate level. In the latter there is not enough change. Me personally, I don't want to wait for governments or others (anyone else), I want to do what I can do, even if in the end it is not enough. Many people don't have a positive perspective on where we are heading to. But I want to live with the idea of I do my best and if more and more people do their best, maybe that will lead to a change. 36:30 The word solution. I was often using this word, but maybe it is too big to be used. We cannot solve certain problems, but what we can do as artists, is raise questions, start conversations and think of alternative ways. In design and technology - in design thinking we can really look at a problem and think of solutions. Designing objects that have technological elements is great. The first step is that you start to raise questions. Perhaps one thing we need to learn is to adapt to whatever is around. There are certain things we can't solve in climate change, but we need to learn to adapt to the unknown. With certain methods and art, you can develop a different ability and mindset to adapt - a love for beings (human and not). I really look up to ideas that combine art and technology, even on a global scale. We don't need to think global to make a difference Artist collective: Superflex, Tanzania - a project in Tanzania installing biogas. An example of a movement where art is not about creating something beautiful for a gallery, but is understood more widely. A saying: Ask a builder to build a house and they will build a box. Ask an architect and they will build something that works into the surrounds. The two can work well together. Artist: Leonardo Da Vinci - who invented the design for Helicopters TV Show: Star-trek inventions and introducing new ideas that eventually became real as flip phones, voice activation, microwaves. Does life imitate art? or does art imitate life? The ability to inspire someone to create a solution is powerful. We can only control what is in the sphere of our control. Western countries can only control themselves. Telling third world countries they can't use fossil fuels is hard - because they need it. Being in Sardinia in June - at a festival where the theme was breathing. An important element was to work with locals there. Project: Designated Breathing Zone: Sardinia . In this project I had an artist's residency in Sardinia, the island off the coast of Italy. Association: Rimettiamo Radici . The local association I worked with in Fluminimaggiore, Sardinia. I worked with this organisation of activist women, we did experiments with wild carrot, investigated plants of the regions and characteristic plants. We reused wine bottles adding pumps and a funnel where the smell could come out. This was a new version of the designated breathing zone. Designated breathing zone - Sardinia . A metal structure that had plants upside down, so as you walk, you walk into them and can breathe the scent of the plants. Back in Budapest and the idea of Designated Breathing Zone: Public Breathing Practices. Project: Designated Breathing Zone: Public Breathing Practices During the lockdown, I found people were scared in public and at times of each other. This project focused on harmonising breathing Preparing for at the moment: Bucharest Biennale 9 Research Lab, I represent the Doctoral School of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts - Hungarian School of Fine arts. And an upcoming research lab and exhibition. 52:00 When we think about plants and their role and our role in the ecosystem, it's a global issue. Each place is different but the outcomes may be the same. 53:30 Advice on limiting your impact on the world? What I more and more believe and focus on is that the root of all of this (pollution/waste) is that we need to develop our connection with the elements of nature and the elements of the environment around us. If we try to see ourselves as part of this system.. I would wish that power struggles and status struggles disappear from the world and you want to collaborate with people and natural elements in the world. If we really develop this skill of being empathetic towards the environment that can have an impact on our decisions and then our actions. I learned painting but I do everything but painting! I teach myself design programs and software, I love to use my hands and I enjoy learning new things. One of my hobbies is to leave my comfort zone. Artist: Lilli Tölp , an inspiring Estonian artist 59:00 The method? you have an idea, you don't know how you will realise it, but you are crazy enough, passionate enough to go for it and make it real. Being an artist is hard, sacrifices need to be made, but art is something that is less supported because it is in certain minds less necessary. But those who really believe and stick to their passion, then sooner rather than later they find a way. Who do you most look up to in the world? There is not one, there are so many people!! People who don't give up, even if it is impossible. Rocky balboa from the Rocky movies! What book/film has most inspired you recently? I have at least 6 books right now. Book: Eva-Maria Dreyer: What kind of edible wild plant is this? Book: Mogyorósy-Révész Zsuzsa: Érzelemszabályozás a gyakorlatban (Emotion Regulation in Practice) and certain practices or exercises which are useful for me and I turn them into my art projects. Book: T.J. Demos: Decolonizing Nature. Contemporary Arts and the Politics of Ecology Projects that excite you? I'm inspired by my work so all of them! Especially the ongoing projects. I am about to curate in the next project, creating a concept of the program and selecting Project: Budapest - Placcc festival - Sensing the City . Projects related to the 5 senses. I'm really excited about the projects that will be exhibited! Projects dealing with waste management, agricultural technologies, a sound/audio walk, and one on the cycle of life and death. Amazing how people without a sense can still navigate the world - soundscapes and colour blind designers are super interesting. Project: Designated breathing zone: C19 (face masks) Is there one thing you would like to change in the world? Power struggles. If there were no power struggles then our relationship to one another would be so different. Eva's website: https://evabubla.art Credits: Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Avoiding burnout with Daryl Woodhouse 1:07:33

לפני 4 years1:07:33

1:07:33

We talk to Daryl Woodhouse about burnout and how to avoid it. A timely episode for many who have survived lockdown by working (even harder) from home. As we step out into the world again, some will be in balance and looking to keep it that way, while others will have lost sight of the outdoors and be in need of a rethink. Daryl shares his story from corporate to start-up, the experience of running a coaching and training business during lockdown, and what he has learned along the way. Plenty of tips are shared in a bite-sized and easy to apply way. This episode will get you thinking, and will likely cause you to reclaim a bit of your precious daily time for spending what you love most. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Daryl Woodhouse is a speaker, coach and founder who helps leaders and their teams grow performance and maximise life-work balance. He has a long track record of working with businesses ranging from Fortune 500 to plucky startups. His most recent program The Life Work Effect has just hit the market to help people achieve balance. The Life Work Effect site Daryl's LinkedIn Daryl's website Show mentions: Two halves of career to date: Corporate leadership up to a FTSE Top 10 level, and lucky enough to benefit from a leadership development program that got me where I am today. Then in 2012, I started my first business. Starting a business and there being a lot to learn to do so (and how to beat the odds and not fail). Advanced Business Partnerships scaled up to 7 figure revenues in the first few years in the areas of leadership, coaching, mentoring and non-executive leadership training. 2016 coming away from that business and getting involved in several technology companies and a few exits, and getting into lecturing in business, then keynote speaking. 05:00 Having a major burnout was the result. Something that was a long time coming as a workaholic who put work before life for too long. A personal tragedy finally brought everything out and showed that life happens and if burnout is not dealt with, then health problems result and relationships are the result. Coming back from burnout and moving to a 4 day week, seeing work life improving as a result, means I've realised that less is sometimes more. Less is sometimes more, I've realised there is a better way than the traditional rat race many corporates and entrepreneurs just accept. 07:20 It should be life work balance, not the other way around. Sustained success comes with planning life first, then fitting work around it. 08:00 Signs of burnout? A number of things came up for me. Things like working long hours, always being too busy, too rushed and regularly late for meetings (even just a few minutes), they love work and see it as a hobby, but it can be a very unhealthy one. For overachievers, it is a natural habit to try to pack too much into the day. Being aware of being too reactive to time gremlins and to be proactive in how we spend our time (and the boundaries we set) is the key to overcoming them. 10:00 Tips for putting life first? Do exercise at the start of the day, not at the end. Make time for lunch. Garmin watches as a way to track stress during the day and as a trigger to have down periods during the day. 14:30 Research proves that when overworking, less is actually more. There are a range of benefits that come from more balance, and being happier. A study from Oxford University showed that people who were happier in their work and what they were doing, were 13% more productive. 15:20 Tips as a team to make yourself a little bit happier during the day. Notice your energy levels during the day and when they dip (or are lower). Notice the big hairy potatoes - the work tasks that are more complex, boring, unclear and those that you don't want to touch. It is natural to put them off. It is natural to put off doing things that we don't like doing. But putting them off, we have them in mind and they drain our energy. Do them earlier in the day and free up time and energy for the rest of the day. Bucking the trend of putting off difficult tasks and doing them first thing in the day, opens up the rest of the day for a reward and a better experience. I found that when I started tackling the big hairy potatoes (difficult tasks) first, I was able to finish my working days earlier. Usually when we enjoy something, we typically complete it 2, 3, even 4 times quicker. 19:30 Top tip: Take 5 minutes out of your day to go and do something fun. Get your energy levels up, lift your mood and refresh yourself. Getting on the rowing machine as a way to blow off steam and refresh yourself. Eating, having cuddles with baby children and exercise all as ways to replenish yourself. 23:00 What are some of the benefits you see as a result of better life work balance? People are likely to stay longer, they are happier, customers get a better service, customers stay longer, sales conversion improves. The quality of work of a burned out sales team is worlds apart from a motivated and energetic team who are enjoying what they do. 25:00 Nurturing a culture of productive wellbeing and the importance of it. Investing in employee wellbeing initiatives is the right thing to do, and indirectly does boost productivity. However there is a multiplier effect alongside that because embracing life work balance in the workforce is where the real change occurs. With this pandemic, with life-work boundaries being blurred, wellbeing has become critical to teams. 29:00 What I've learned as an employer during lockdown (and what I'm doing differently now). It was a hit to my confidence as a founder to be someone who is known for helping people turn their businesses around, to find that overnight, business dropped so heavily. To see clients going into administration. It was hard. We needed to work very hard to do things differently and as a training and coaching business, to deliver service online. It was a stressful and worrying time. What we're seeing now is that for many who have worked hard, listened and learned from lockdown, the silver linings have been very much in our grasp. I've now got a business that is much more robust and stable. We have embraced technology and have developed new products that leverage technology for delivery. 34:00 The Life Work Effect - the concept and how it frames Daryl's view of life-work balance. This transformation program brings together 19 years of business experience into a program. Four main pillars; Improve strategy and planning, productivity mastery, life-work balance skills and routine, and wellbeing. Working across all these at once brings in a multiplier effect to improve balance and life. Statistically we have been found to forget 75% of what we learn on courses within 24 hours. Why? Life is busy. We have a lot on, there is a lot to do. If we haven't developed the life-work routines (they aren't taught in school), it's hard to balance. Related episode: Edward Fenech on Carbon Trading. If we aren't teaching the next generation of leaders about the importance of developing healthy daily routines at school, when do we expect them to develop them? The power of an app when taking a more agile approach to training and coaching. It allows people to learn in their own time, in their own place. It opens up the chance to gamify the program and the learning experience. What is a transformation program in this case? Using a range of tools (live coaching sessions, the app, reading and watching recordings), participants are as a result finding 10 hours a week on average to do something else with. 41:00 If you can free up 10 hours a week, you can take 5 hours for yourself for hobbies, family time and happiness, and invest the other 5 hours in high value tasks (like making a better strategy). Measuring time usage using the app means that people can gather their own data and identify how are are living, so they can change it. A pre-recorded program as a very scalable way to share knowledge. It can scale to helping a million people easily! 45:00 The motivations to bringing the program out to the world in this way, and now. To help as many people as possible. To help people avoid burnout. We are seeing increases in work-related stress and I'd like to help make a dent in that. To help others learn from my successes and my failures. I now see my own failures as opportunities to learn. If we treat failures as opportunities to learn, imagine how much we could all be learning from each other, all the time! 49:00 If you feel you are too busy, then focus on your motivations. What would you do if you had more spare time? If you spared some time? 50:00 An example for leaders - eliminate operational and administrative tasks. It is super-effective to hire someone to help automate or complete these tasks so that you can Free workshops: Daryl's free monthly workshops If you just change just one thing a week for 12 weeks, each thing adds up to a lot of improvement over time. Some things you can do differently today: 53:00 If your typical meeting is an hour long, try out capping them at 45 mins. Keep that 15 mins to do any follow up after the meeting, or better yet, have a break. Pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and blueberries are top tips for a snack that's good for your brain. Specifically build into your diet foods that are particularly good for the brain. Another tip: When you wake up every day, drink 500mls of water straight away. That's the amount of water the body needs to flush out any toxins from the previous day. Ollie and Jonathan learning a lot from the podcast and the guests. Thank you podcasting for bringing us so much wisdom! What can leaders do to help support healthy life-work balance? Lead by example, bring in people like Daryl to help give lunch n learn tips to teams and make time to understand your team. It's important to lead by example and look after yourself better, sharing the benefits of that with your team, and bring in help to run lunch and learn sessions to help share some tips and benefits of wellbeing. As a leader, it is vital to make time for listening to and coming to understand your team. This leads to insights into how they are and how you can help them. Related episode: Nik Haidar Daryl's YouTube channel for more free tips and tricks Daryl's website: https://darylwoodhouse.com Who do I most look up to in the world? My wife. She's my best friend, she's strong and she has been patient and supportive with my during good times and tough. I take a lot of inspiration from her and the way she goes about things. What film inspired me? Pay it forward. A film that demonstrates how much an idea can change things in a positive way. A nice idea Ollie founded: Ask it forward. If we all asked two people questions, and then they answered to help us, then went on to ask two questions to others themselves as a result, we could all learn so much from each other. Movement: I am seeing a trend of more individuals and organisations talking about conscious capitalism. In my interpretation, putting people and planet before profit. Not instead of profit, but before profit. To move away from a traditional approach to profit at sacrifice of planet, staff and even customers. It is great to see more people giving more attention and resources to planting more trees, removing plastic from oceans etc. It's important to me to know that my children will have a healthy planet to live on. Apple using a lot more recycled materials. The automotive industry shifting with the introduction of electric vehicles, some moving to materials made with recycled plastics from the ocean. Bacteria that eat plastic as a great idea for helping clear up the oceans. What tech is improving my life? YouTube. I subscribe to YouTube Music for £9.99 a month and it gives me an abundance of music. I love music. I also love YouTube for there being so much great content and people we can learn from. Topics we can upskill on. I am a visual learner and I like to both listen and see people. YouTube as a great democratisation of information. Anyone can create and share information. 1:14:00 What is one thing you'd like to change in the world? For there to be no poverty, for global warming not to be an issue, for animals not to be endangered. Perfection for the planet. How can people find out more about you? My website, my YouTube channel, Twitter or Instagram. Happy to have a private message and to give advice. A show special: Daryl has set up a special 10% of our listeners, to get 10% off Life Work Effect programs, use promo code: ProblemBusters by clicking here . Credits: Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Becoming a product company with Jason Knight 58:20

לפני 4 years58:20

58:20

Jason Knight takes the Problem Busters through the ins and outs of Product. What is Product as a function and why is it so important? What do businesses stand to gain from becoming "Product companies" and why does doing it your way matter so much? This episode answers the "what is Product anyway?" question and will leave you with a solid understanding of the product-driven mindset that permeates modern companies and has resulted in the products you love, and the apps you use every day. Jason is a straight-talking Product leader who hosts the One Knight in Product podcast, and we talk about how to start a podcast, what is involved in podcasting and why we all love it so much. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Jason Knight is a Product Leader, Podcaster and speaker. He is Product Director at RegTech startup DueDil, and is host of the popular One Knight in Product podcast. Jason lives with his family near London. Jason's podcast: One Knight in Product Contact Jason on Linkedin Follow Jason on Twitter Show mentions: Starting out with 19 years in big corporate, from research, to analytics, to product management and now product leadership Transitioning to a Fintech startup 02:15 Doubling down on the growth journey and ensuring you don't go stale by keeping learning and getting to understand things you didn't understand before. Podcasting as an interesting ride - and a way to talk to interesting people. A way to talk to up and coming product leaders Podcast: One Knight in Product 03:00 Anyone could start a podcast. Anyone can! As with most things, just go for it, try it and get started. Apply the Lean startup terms to learning podcasting - test and learn. Just get started with a cheap mic, plugged into your laptop. You will meet some really interesting people. Book: Lean Startup There are now well over a million podcasts out there in the world. 07:45 It being easy to set up a podcast means that many people have. That also means there are many - and it's hard to get attention of people who you want to have tune in. It can be an emotional rollercoaster YouTube as the second largest search engine on the planet and a great place to get into podcast promotion and discovery 09:00 One Knight in Product as a podcast focused on Product Management themes Inclusion and Diversity as important topics in our world today Themes in Product, things people are struggling with and focusing on. 10:00 Aspirations of becoming a Product company don't always match with reality of a business. Need to find your own way. 11:30 Top down, setting of culture is vital for becoming a product company. Having the correct mindset and alignment is absolutely critical. Enabling the culture and the cross-functionality and the teams that are needed to have discussions and make difficult prioritisation decisions. 12:30 What is a product? Something that solves and important problem in a scalable way, for as many people as possible, in a profitable way. 16:40 What is a product company vs. what is a professional service company? A product is something you can buy in a standard way, a professional service is a service that is customised for you. As a product person, you will be asked to do a lot of things and many times you will have to say no You cannot rely on your customers to identify the biggest most important problems in your market - because they only care about their own problems. 19:30 The difference between a large corporate and a plucky startup in culture and being product-led. Starting with a simple piece of technology and backfilling with human effort is a valid first step, a valid business model. But you must then step beyond this in order to become efficient and therefore scale in a sustainable way. Scaling in people is slower than scaling in process and technology. Becoming a product business is not the only way, it's just different. Growth is fueled by getting the right people in, people who can multiple their own effort by building the tools you need to scale rapidly. It's not always worth automating things, and that's fine. But generally, things can be improved and focusing on this will lead to things working better and faster across the board. 26:30 Tools now allowing not only simple, but also complex tasks can be automated. 28:00 Making an amazing product is always the north star, but there are plenty of successful products out there that aren't amazing - but they solve a need. You don't have to be the best technical product, but you have to be the best general product Find something that you can own and own it in the market. 30:30 Common pitfalls to avoid in Product. There needs to be alignment across the company. Avoid disconnects. When you start to see disconnects between teams in a company, they need to be reconnected. The alternative is to be pulling in different directions. It's easy for Product people to refer to Sales and other divisions as "the business". This needs to be bridged. We are all part of the same company and need to be on the same page. Trying to get product thinking into all elements of the business is really important. 24:00 How to get product alignment across the business. Product people have to demonstrate leadership here. Run experiments to prove/disprove a point and demonstrate it to anyone who is misaligned. You need to have leadership level alignment at the very least. Book: Inspired by Marty Cagan People don't have to get along all the time, or even agree all the time - they need to be aligned on the direction, on making important decisions and following them through. It's very easy to please the current customers because they are want are in front of them. But it's important to treat your portfolio as a portfolio and put money aside for key tasks. Salesforce.com as an example of a Product business that also has a successful professional services business alongside it. 41:00 One thing Product people need to realise is that we work for real companies. With real politics and ideas. It's not just for people to bend to our will. This is a discussion. We are talking about people working together better. You want people to recognise each others' needs, and be as aligned as possible, I don't think I have many heros, I'm not into idolising people but I respect many. Steve Jobs, Elon Musk. I respect a lot of Product people, Marty Cagan, Gibson Biddle, Jackie Bavaro. Greta Thunberg Anyone who isn't Boris Johnson Movie - the climb Book - just work by kim scott (defeating bias, prejudice and bullying in the workplace) Book - Empowered by Marty Cagan I have ultimate respect for Greta Thunberg for the efforts she is going through to raise awareness of the climate emergency BLM Black Lives Matter and the Me too movement. These conversations need to be had. Episode: Educate for Climate with Hakim Evans Better is better, so while these movements take time, I like to think that at least the fact these conversations are being had, and people are being held to account, that things will get better over time. Tech that is improving my life right now: Laptop, a fancy microphone for the podcast. Tools for podcasting: Squadcast, Zencastr, editing tools. Canva for online design and creating pictures, free What one thing would I like to change in the world? Racism, sexism, homophobia would be wonderful to turn off. If we could somehow make the default reaction when confronted with a new idea, to be open to that idea (rather than putting up barriers). So many problems in the world come from not listening to and accepting other people's ideas. System 1 thinking (what you do automatically) vs. System 2 thinking (what you do consciously). The idea of things getting better by each generation. Not everything new is bad or scary We need people to have the ability to understand other people's point of view. Jason's podcast: www.oneknightinproduct.com Twitter: jsnknght . Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Invest in yourself first with Heather Rooke 54:13

לפני 4 years54:13

54:13

How do we make the most of this new normal? How do we break out of habits we no longer need? Growth and Mindset coach Heather Rooke of St Albans Holistic Therapies takes a practical and straight-talking approach with the Problem Busters - encouraging us to investing in ourselves, dispelling common myths along the way. Heather has a no-nonsense, down to earth way to explaining phrases and terms we hear often, but may not understand (such as Mindset, Therapy, Meditation, Yoga, or the concept of Perception vs. Reality). We look at the current situation many of us find ourselves in, as we emerge from consecutive lockdowns, and uncover a healthy list of practical advice that can be applied to many areas of life right now. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Heather Rooke is a Growth and Mindset Coach, an NLP Practitioner; a Psychodynamic Counsellor and a Holistic Therapist. Heather believes that we all have an innate ability to achieve our dreams and grow far beyond our perceived potential and in listening to her explain so many of life's realities, we fully agree. St Albans Holistic Therapies on Instagram Contact Heather on LinkedIn Show mentions: What is a Multi-hyphenate? A person with several sets of skills, several strands to their career. What is a Holistic therapist? Someone who works with different therapies that support the mind, body and soul 03:20 Have we lost touch with ourselves as a society? We have tech, we are connected, but some of these tools have disconnected us from ourselves and others. So we have an opportunity to reconnect. 04:00 90s babies that can't even have a meal without watching something. Jonathan growing up with screens all around him. So how do we help people who have grown up with screens all around them to get to know themselves? 05:20 I work with people to help them listen, to their mind, body and soul, so they can optimise their lives. By truly listening, people come to identify who they really are and what they really want. Mind, body and soul? What does that mean? How do we differentiate between them? The Mind is our thoughts and our reasoning. The soul is far more intuitive, the emotion and how we feel within ourselves. The part that knows whether we are feeling joy or not. Mindset and coaching people to help them change it. 08:00 It starts with learning to listen, to emotions, to your body, to your thoughts and to pay attention to what is happening. This leads to understand ourselves and to think about how they want to be. Heather's passion: to support people in investing in themselves and helping them to optimise their lives. Things to try: Meditation, journalling and focusing on your general healthy 09:30 The different types of councelling and psychodynamic councelling as a way to understand the present. 12:00 Councelling looks at the past and impact on the present, holistic therapies around about living the best life in the present and coaching is looking at the future. What is self-care and what tips could people apply to their daily lives? 13:00 Self care is about more than downtime. It goes a lot deeper to really focusing on ourselves internally. Book: Miracle mornings by Hal Elrod 13:30 Savers: Silences (e.g. meditation), Affirmations (positive thoughts, songs that lift you), visualisation (dreaming about what you want), exercising (needed daily), reading and scribing (journaling your thoughts). Drawing is a form of meditation as you are focusing and stilling the mind. Teaching a friend to draw as if it is tai-chi! Drawing as a similar type of meditation, as the movement of the pencil being a flow of a meditation. 20:00 Meditation is about steadying the mind and being able to notice our thoughts, but not feel that we need to take action on them. Meditation is not about stilling the mind, and the calming of the nervous system can come in many forms; running, yoga, sitting quietly, walking. We have become so busy that we have forgotten how to just be still. Anything we can do to slow the mind is so helpful in our daily lives. Meditation being similar to a prayer, where you focus daily on what you are thankful for in the day, to assess what has happened, what is about to happen and what you would like to have happen. Yoga as a nice way to bring prayer into a busy life Podcast: Feel better, live more Book: Feel better in five by Dr Rumney If all you can do every morning is lie on your yoga mat for 5 minutes, that is still a practice. That is still helpful. 22:58 How to take the first steps in breaking an unhealthy cycle. The first step in change is recognising that you are not happy with an element of your life and then start to look at ways you can seek to improve it. There are so many different reasons people come to councelling. Recognise that there is something in your life that you want to change, and find people to help you. 24:00 How to look for help from a coach or councellor. Be sure of what you are looking for when looking for help. Spend some time researching, understanding what is being offered, and once you have a testimonial from a friend or make a choice, then take time to speak with that person to ensure you both feel that it is the right partnership. 25:10 How do you identify what your perceived potential is. If people have a limit to what they think they can achieve, how do they start to be coached through that? The first thing is to be curious as to why that perception is there, and together to explore where it might have come from and if there is any evidence to support that. Then start to explore questions that open up new possibilities. 26:00 The difference between belief and reality. There often comes a time when long-held beliefs no longer fit reality. E.g. the 4 minute mile was not believed possible, because there was no evidence it was possible. Then along came someone (Roger Banister) who believed they could, and he did. And beliefs changed. It is a question of working out whether it is a belief or reality. About coming to believe you can go a bit further, so that you can. Heather's favourite quote: Audrey Hepburn: Nothing is impossible, the word itself breaks down into I'm possible. 28.20 Feeling so much better when going for the daily walk. What is causing that? Research: The Harvard power pose. How a power pose can impact on our confidence. Doing a power pose for just 2 minutes changed the body's procductive of hormones reducing stress and increasing confidence. 30:00 Jonathan fully supports the power pose and the difference you feel when standing in different ways when coping with anxiety, new situations at work. 31:30 Showing up in the manner you want to continue. Dress and get into a posture and therefore a mindset that sets you up to succeed. 33:00 The importance of changing your state. Creating change in a way that is resetting the body, so that it becomes automatic. The Harvard power pose, opening up your chest and getting your Buzz Lightyear on. Lifting shoulders back, breathing in and changing the physiology in your body. If you are sitting down and are feeling stuck, just by standing up and walking around to change your state and break through it. Going to the gym during your lunch break as a great coping mechanism for stress in the day. 34:00 We often make things more complicated than they need to be. create a change in a way that is resetting the body to make it automatic 35:00 Something from neuroscience that will surprise you. Our understanding of why we are the way we are and why we do what we do. One of the amazing findings of neuroscience recently is that our idea of the ego (sense of self) developed once babies were born. We now realise that it starts when babies are in their mum's belly. 36:00 There are so many ingredients that go into the bowl of life, that two people born at the same moment can turn out completely differently. 37:00 Heather's mantra: I truly believe that if we truly focus on what is inside us, everything outside us will take care of itself, and what doesn't won't matter. Think about how you invest in yourself and make that investment. 37:45 The sharing section People Heather admires: 37.55 Person: Dynamo the magician - who came from a background where he was bullied and has been such an inspiration in how he pushed through Crone's disease, and continues to push the boundaries of magic. He has such a grounded, kind way about him. 39:40 Person: Stacey Soloman - won the X-factor, now on Loose Women. She is extremely authentic and presents herself as exactly who she is, is very thoughtful and is so honest for one so young. She is a young mum, and is very accepting of how life has turned out. She always shows up. 41:25 Book - The untethered soul by Michael Singer. He has an incredible way of explaining what the inner voice is and where it comes from. Of understanding that the voice that criticises and knocks you down, isn't your inner voice at all. 42:00 Book - The source by Dr Tara Swart. The connection between neuroscience and harnessing our full potential. 42:43 Movement - The Sober curious movement. E.g. One year no beer and doing amazing things for reducing the stigma for people who want to reduce or stop drinking. Because they realise that life can be so much more opportunity filled when they chose to drink less, or to drink less. 48:00 One thing I'd like to change in the world - our investment in mental health across the globe. We have Let's talk and other programmes, but we still don't have enough resources or tools to help people when they have taken that first step to saying "i'm suffering and I need help". I'd like to change it from from mental health awareness to mental health action. The most important thing you can do to help another person is to be curious. Ask them what they are feeling, actively listen to them and don't put your story in it. Ask them later if they have spoken to their GP, then suggest great organisations like Mind, The Samaritans etc. Organisation: Mental health first aiders. They train people in organisations how to be there at that first point where people show a sign of trouble. Getting in touch: Listeners can contact me via Instagram using the St Albans Holistic Therapies account. Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Movement and healing with Eszter Ivan 48:17

לפני 4 years48:17

48:17

Dance movement Psychotherapist Eszter Ivan talks movement, breathing and how we all need to take time to reconnect with ourselves. This is a far-ranging episode and covers a lot of interesting and helpful ground including mindfulness, meditation, many types of therapy and of course - the joy and value of a jolly good dance. Eszter is straight-talking, genuine and both Jonathan and Ollie left this episode glowing (while holding their Buzz Lightyear power poses). Over stunningly varied career, Eszter has learned a great deal and is kind enough to share a lot of practical wisdom in this episode. At this moment in time, after a year of lockdown for many of us, Eszter's message of the need to pause, to rest and to shake your arms and legs to the beat if it takes you has never been more vital. May this episode warm you up and get you smiling. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Eszter Ivan is a Dance movement Psychotherapist, student councellor and Somatic coach. Eszter's wide-ranging career has centred around the themes of movement and therapy. More recently, she became a transformational coach at the Animas Centre for Coaching. She is currently Head of People for Gregorian House Hotel , a student councellor for Irie Dance Theatre company and is currently building her own practice. Eszter's LinkedIn Show mentions: 02:00 Dance movement psychotherapy as a dream career, combining the two passions of psychology and dance. Dance as something in my life that helped me to deal with many problems and conflicts in a positive way. Somatic coaching as a way to deal with conflict in the workplace Somatic coaching believes that body and mind are connected. I see the person as a whole, body and mind. 03:22 There are always observations of the posture and body that when awareness is raised, clients can notice, initiate change on a body level and this can help both behaviour and emotional level. If a client shares an experience, and I notice they don't breathe, if I raise this to their attention, just starting to breathe can help let go of tension and have positive downstream effects. This goes for muscle tension and many other areas of life By picking up on the physical signs of clients (or indeed anyone around us), we can learn more about their state of being, can share it as feedback and they will improve things for themselves. 06:30 Clients once they realise what they are doing in their body, can use this understanding as a way to regulate their emotions and their reactions to situations, for example a stressful moment with their manager. 08:50 If someone comes to me that they are always tired and really exhausted, I help them to see the signs the body is showing, so they can notice and prevent their suffering. Reconnecting with our body's wisdom as a concept - learning to listen to the signs, to where I feel tension and this helps to better understand our state and to be able to do something about it. My field is more about non-verbal communication. 10:30 wanting to use non-verbal communication led me to Somatic coaching, but dance was always there for me. 11:30 Applying a somatic approach to grief recovery. This helps when clients need help with self-regulation (perhaps getting up in the morning or managing at work due to grief). 13:00 Self-regulation relates to the need to regulate the reactions of our nervous system. Our nervous system responds to the world around us but we can take action, such as touching our own skin or regulating the way you walk. 13:30 Lying on the ground can give you so much benefit, to feel the support of the floor to relax you and to connect with your body, to feel more ease. 15:00 The society message about being alone to grieve is not helpful. In a supported community way, grief can be shared and processed more naturally. 17:30 Working as a student councelor at Irie Dance Theatre company , founded in 1985 by Beverley Green. The bachelor course aim is to promote diversity through dance. 18:00 One of the biggest challenges of remote dance councelling was that students did not feel comfortable accessing the service from home. Councelling is private and you don't anyone to hear the session. The second lockdown being so much easier, where students had accepted remote sessions and had found their own way to make it work. Some sat in cars, people found creative ways of coping. 20:00 Observing dance students and seeing that they still have the same challenges as before the pandemic, but now they also had this locked down situation to deal with. Many students questioned their career path due to being trapped in hospitality careers while studying, while waiting to dance as a group again. 21:30 The approach to trying to help students to deal with their doubting of their career choices. Giving them space and asking them to remember back to why they chose this path in the first place. To reconnect with the fun and happiness that dance used to give. Reconnect with the happiness and joy that led you to a current choice and path, see how that feels in your body and posture and then ask yourself what is now stopping you to keep that hope and direction in place. 23:30 The many inventive ways students tried to make space and to use technology to continue to dance. Using video in the park to make recordings, but not being fans of being online for sure. Being able to work to a certain point online, but really preferring to be in person when wanting to really help people. 26:10 Advice on how to reconnect with yourself - whatever you are doing, be really in that moment. Really experience that moment. Feel the clothes on the body. Find something that you enjoy about this moment. Focus on that. 28:30 Listen, feel and experience what is going on for you and in your body. Sense what is going on around you. You have a whole body, so don't forget certain body parts. 29:30 How somatic coaching has helped; A feeling of ease, from feeling really lost to a feeling of inner peace. To be OK, to feel OK within whatever they are experiencing, or however they are feeling. To own your feelings as yours, as something under your control. To give back this feeling of control over self. Kimchi and the value of fermented foods 33:00 Emotions needs space, to process and for you to get through it. If you ignore it, it is going to come back. It is important to stay with it, to stay with emotions until they go. 34:30 What can we all do, in order to help our loved ones? Invite them to try some of the things you also do (e.g. standing tall, breathing deeply), so they can try it out together. Experience it together. 36:00 What is dance movement therapy ? Using dance as a way to express emotions, to express in movement how you feel. This can tell us way more than words. Our muscles can bring things up we have forgotten. With movement, as we change position, we begin movement internally. Jonathan's mum as a Child Psychologist, realising that he was very shy. She booked him into Stagecoach drama classes and then to dance classes on a weekly basis. This got him out of his shell and really helped. Dance helping me too find my identity as a woman. To accept my body, my identity and being seen. 43:00 As a woman, there being a moment when my body started to change. I couldn't process it yet, but I found others noticing, I started to feel shame and to hide. I started to hide my shape. Dance helped me to find a safe way to show it in an appropriate and protected way. Having clients who after many years, struggling to wear a business costume and to "be pretty", both men and women. Gregorian House Hotel and starting as a waitress, learning and becoming supervisor and F&B manager. Implementing a free program of health and wellbeing for all the staff. This leading to a Head of People role - looking after employee wellbeing. 49:00 Helping the team to handle difficult situations and also to facilitate the discussion between Management and the Team. I see both needs and expectations, and then try to help each see the others' perspective. Head of People as finding a balance between the needs of the team and the needs of the business, to run for a profit. 52:00 Who do I most look up to in the world? My mum. She is a single mum, who has written books and is a doctor of psychology. She always fights for what is right for her. There is this energy and this unstoppable being about her. Book - At the pond swimming by the Hampstead ladies . Short stories about the experience of being at that pond. My research project: Moving pieces (by Charlie Blowers), investigating the approach in supporting people living with disabilities. A long-term project. Project: Moving Pieces Eszter's website Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Learning to lead with Dave Martin 1:07:46

לפני 4 years1:07:46

1:07:46

Dave Martin of Right to Left and the Problem Busters talk leadership and how to do it right. Whether you are a first-time leader or an old hand at it, there is plenty to learn here from Dave's experiences as a Software Engineer, Product Leader and eventually, as an Executive coach. Dave shares plenty of practical advice for remote working, running effective meetings, the styles of leadership and of course his own model for Product leadership: The Product Leader Map. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Dave Martin is an Executive coach with a background in Engineering, Product and as an Executive himself. Dave coaches leaders to grow SaaS companies with Product Led Growth, via his Consultancy Right to left. Dave's Consultancy: Right to left Show mentions: Starting as a Software engineer in the days of C++ A couple of decades in Product leadership, even before it was called product 15 years in roles of transformation from the old world to becoming product-led (and unlocking product growth) Tes global (Times Education Supplement) and time spent helping Tes transition to a subscription-based revenue model. 03:00 Moving Tes global from a transaction-based business to a subscription-based business. 04:20 The decision to move into Executive coaching - as the thing I enjoyed the most. The first job, at 16, teaching windsurfing and sailing - and loving that the most. 05:00 enjoying watching individuals grow and prosper. Learning a new skill and controlling a boat on their own. Teaching people and helping people grow and reach their ambition being the biggest kick. 07:00 Today we develop our skills and are measured individually. As you become an expert, the journey to leadership eventually emerges as the way to grow your income and your impact. <------ 08:00 Having to relearn your job when you become a leader. To delegate and yet still be responsible <----- 09:30 The key mistakes many make when moving from doing to leading <---- It's hard when your message isn't landing, that you aren't communicating well and that folks haven't heard what you said. There is too much pressure on the word "great" and being a "great leader". We are not all going to be charismatic leaders who will change the world, but we can all help people achieve their goals and the business along with them. 11:00 Give yourself permission to not be the very, very best. Be open to don't knowing everything. To being vulnerable and accepting you'll get some things wrong. The best leaders don't protect their teams like some sort of military leader. Empowering teams to fill the gaps you leave with your own ability and limited time. 12:00 You are not a leader just because people have to follow you. That's a Manager. If people choose to follow you, then you are a leader. What makes a competent leader? What about a competent coach? 14:30 Leaders of leaders and the Situational leadership model. The first box is about telling. Be clear when you have to tell non-negotiable things to your team (quality, core principles, contractuals). The next box is supporting. Supporting is helping individuals with their tasks, their problem to solve. Helping, showing, and knowing when to stop supporting. Coaching is guiding them to work it out for themselves. Finally delegating is sharing a task, making it clear and stepping back to let them do it. Coaching in it's truest form is questioning and helping people work it out for themselves. Guiding, but not telling or supporting. 19:00 As a leader the key is to know when you need to step in, or step back and which situation needs which type of leadership. Too often the more immature leader gets stuck in a box and forget to switch style when necessary. 20:00 What is the goal for a leader? To get the most out of your team. Sometimes this will mean putting them in challenging situations and letting them have a go at it. <------ It's important to push people outside their comfort zones, but in a safe and supportive environment. If you create a culture that feels a safe space to make mistakes, they will push themselves out of their comfort zones more and will lead to a more performant team. <------ What goes into building a high performing team? 22:00 Autonomy and being an empowering leader as the key to developing high performing teams in technology businesses. <------ 23:00 How to help teams focus, three big things; Be clear on big strategic bets (define them, explain them clearly and prioritise them), have great team objectives (individual contributors propose these), run healthy meetings. Engineers are problem solvers, that's their job. Empowering them to come up with solutions to deliver on strategic bets is part and parcel to success. As a rule, as you become a leader with more responsibility, you want to become less and less a cog in the workings. 26:30 How to run a healthy team meeting. Start in the same way - launch control (especially remotely) - go around the room, everyone gives FOE (focus, openness and energy level 0-5). This can start before everyone arrives. This gets the team in the room and creates a supporting environment. Avoid status updates (they just aren't helpful). What help is needed (go around the room asking for help). Celebrate successes and celebrate together. Plan where shared resources should be (do they need to move?). This gives you all the information you need as a leader to help, focus, re-focus the team. <-------- If your meeting is a status update, you may as well put it in an email. There isn't enough celebrating of success in most organisations and this is absolutely critical in a remote environment. Having an established meeting template is helpful as the team can run through it with or without you. 33:00 Take control over your time. There are several keys to getting control over your diary. Have a roadmap for improving how the team functions - driving your priorities and what you focus on. <----- A roadmap, even one for your own priorities, helps you know what you say no to. Time management is the one thing leaders often forget when under strain. 36:00 How to build a business to have a healthy profit and secondly how to build a business to sell at some point. When you are thinking about building a business to sell, you have to focus a lot more on what the multiplier is. Doubling down on monthly revenue and demonstrating a roadmap to lead to future growth as factors to improve the multiplier. Revenue multiplier as a way to value an organisation. E.g. take profit and multiply by 6 is a common one. To achieve product-led growth, the importance of demonstrating product-led growth. Either via introducing new products and cross selling, or introducing new capabilities, or entering new markets. Some conflict between Product and Engineering being healthy. Product need to bring the problem to the table, so the engineers can solve it, and they can evaluate the fit between them. When engineers are empowered to solve problems, then growth is unlocked. Agile in it's original form, where Product orders work to be done, rather than presenting problems, created a spoon-feeding of engineers, instead of product finding the most valuable problems to solve and letting engineers get on with it. Marty Cagan: If engineers are not given the space to solve problems, you are losing 50% of the value of engineers. 44:30 Don't bring solutions to your team, bring problems that need to be solved. Bring good strategic bets in the form of problem areas we want to solve but leave the how to the team. <------ A good strategic bet defines a problem, a solution space with guardrails and then empowers the teams to do the amazing work to solve it. 48:30 The Product Leader Map. There are 3 circles; Products, Culture and Team. You want a team that's empowered, cross-functional and capable. You want products that deliver value to the business and are sustainable. You want a culture that is supportive, can-do and a positive place to be. The Product Leader Map helps you evaluate where you are, and pick an area of Product, Culture and Team you want to improve next. As a leader, you can't just focus on one thing at a time, but keep your eye on several Organisation - Mind the product Article: The Product Leader Map on Mind the product When to disconnect from daily involvement and to step back and let the team run. Knowing when to delegate and to empower the team to go and find answers themselves is really important. There is a transition point in training where I ask a question back - "what would you do" and help the team member come up with a solution as a way to learn. 55:00 When in coaching mode with your team, remember to ask questions and don't tell them how to do it. Avoid questions starting with "why" - a judgemental word. Focus on "what" and "how" questions and actively listen. Listen hard and talk less. Help them consider their options, then help them select an option proceed with. <----- Listen hard when coaching and reflect back what you are hearing to help trigger their solving of the problem. Book: Gallop - First break all the rules ( https://store.gallup.com/p/en-us/10286/first-break-all-the-rules ) Know when to support your team in growing out of your team and on to other things. It's important to realise when an individual is not aligned to the team or their position and to helping them to identify what they would rather be doing. Authenticity is absolutely critical on your path to becoming a competent leader. Book - Chris Foss: Never split the difference A brilliant writing style when talking about negotiation and running the negotiation department for the FBI. Not only is the process he describes really interesting, and full of integrity. Not only do they seek a win-win, Chris describes how he was exposed to very sophisticated negotiators (particularly Lawyers). He had none of that background, but through trial and error, his process won hands down when under pressure. Chris foss has a lean approach to negotiation and found the best ways through in a very pragmatic way. A shout out to Tes (Times Education Supplement) and their ed tech work. Movement: Made by Dyslexics 01:05:00 Made by Dyslexics as a movement that talks about all the super successful who are dyslexic and how this disability doesn't need to stop anyone. Covid has driven us to all be more remote. For some that won't be an improvement but for me, that means a much better work life balance. Spending fewer hours a day stuck on trains. Health tech - Apple watch and the biometrics it generates. Making us more aware of what we are up to, eating and doing. Technology in mountain bikes and composites and suspension as taking the sport further. The child-like fun of cycling. E bikes - Electric mountain bikes and the purity of avoiding the battery-assisted ride to ensure you get the pain of accomplishment and getting the most out of mountain biking. The lead singer of Iron Maiden as a person to look up to. He's still the singer of a band from the 80s, what a legend to still be doing it. But in the middle of his career, he learned to fence and fenced for Britain. He went to Sarajevo and performed for people to raise spirits. He became a pilot for British Airways, owns a jet plane company. He's made a career he really enjoys and hasn't harmed anyone along the way. Idea: To make career politicians illegal. Career politicians being a conflict of interest. If you could only be a politician for 8 years, you'd probably be in it for the right reasons, before ending up in positions of power and doing thing to win the vote. Righttoleft.io - Dave's business. Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Taking charge of your career with Rick Veronese 58:43

לפני 4 years58:43

58:43

Career Coach Rick Veronese shares his story from Italy to England, from pre-career to UX Designer to Career Coach. Most importantly, he and the Problem Busters discuss how all of us can reframe our views on our careers and having identified what matters to us, take charge of our careers and next steps. We also talk tech, FIRE (Financially Independent retire early) and how keeping expenses low can shave years off your working life (and how retirement for many is not stopping, merely starting to do only what you love, for the love of it). About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Rick Veronese is a Career Coach currently based in Valencia, Spain. He built a successful career of his own in UX (User Experience) Design in the thriving Bristol startup scene and is now taking all he has learned, adding a healthy dose of living within your means, and helping others take control of their careers. Rick's LnkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickveronese/ Show mentions: Growing up in a small town in Italy, and realising that travel was the passion Moving to the UK, to Bristol and studying design After 7 years working in Design for Fintech in Bristol, moving to Valencia Spain 03:42 making a life change based on google search - to Bristol London not being the only tech hub in the UK, Brighton, Bristol and others now included in the mix. 05:45 Self-taught design and how getting on google helped to understand the fundamentals of design, online resources etc. 06:30 Why Design? Wanting a creative career and just simply searching for jobs that you could do on a computer Web design with Adobe PhotoShop and Adobe Fireworks Moving into HTML and CSS Then moving into a pure play Design role and into UX, then into research and strategy UX and going into the rabbit hole with learning more about design. 09:00 the journey from google search into web design 09:30 What is UX? User Experience. And why should we and our organisations care about it? <----- Good UX and Bad UX and how UX has emerged from Design over the years. 11:45 What is the role of the Designer and the Design team in a digital business? The Designer as a connector of sorts, between the product and how it should work, and the business objectives of the company. Designers connecting different elements of the company The sociology and psychology behind exploring the human psychy. 15:00 The career problem - and realising that life is short and not wanting to go on spending it in a job doing something they don't like. The fulfillment question - are we entitled, unique snowflakes who expect too much from our careers and wanting it all right now? Or do we all deserve to be fulfilled and to have a choice? 17:00 The fulfillment gap and there being a stressed out, burned out state for so many people (and wanting to help them find their place). 18:45 The unrest that comes from a misalignment between what I want to do and what I am doing, leading to stress. Career coaching as a way to help people find their way to their own path 20:30 Summing up the concept: The person comes before the professional. Career growth as a by-product of growth as a person. When I focused on my career, I didn't see career growth, when I focused on me as a person, the career grew. <---- The painful realisation when understanding that for there to be growth, there needs to first be a period of non-growth. Of stagnation. 22:00 Career progress as similar to the creative process. You struggle but you know after this will some kind of epiphany, eventually. Lay-offs and lockdown creating a period of stagnation and struggle for many people. The role of guilt in realising that a well paid job may not be what you love to do, especially if you have it all on the surface. 26:00 Lockdown as a catalyst to change for people, as an accelerator for change. <------- Zoom calls are not the same thing as real human connection. LinkedIn as a way people start to reach out to folks they'd like advice from 27:00 What mistakes have been made along the way in your career and what have you learned? Scrolling job boards not being a great way to find the right job for you. It's important to be picky about the jobs you apply to 28:00 the biggest mistake I made - not focusing on my mindset enough before focusing on technical career. Taking care of myself first, would be the first thing I'd do going back now. 29:00 If you are in a place where you know you need to make a move and you aren't sure what to you, focus on your vision, what you dream about (within realistic expectations) and begin to move in that direction. <----- A focus on your values and roles in life, set your own standards and then take your actions based on that. Don't take actions based on society's rules, or what your parents say. If I'd done that introspection, I would have got where I am today much quicker. 31:00 What steps anyone can take to being to make a start on change in their career? 32:30 Steps for the overworked professional or someone who has found themselves outside of a job. <------- Working out what you want to do requires real work, sitting down and putting pen to paper to establish what you want and how to go out and get it. Contribution as one of the main drivers of people It is hard to set a vision that is just for yourself - it is always going to be stronger to include those around you. 35:00 Setting a deadline - where you want to be in 10 years' time. Most people miss this and get 10 years down the line before they know it. Financial security as not worrying about money. Not worrying about bills, about going on holiday, on running out of cash. Having enough to cover your expenses. 37:30 Financial independence as taking it a step further, getting to a point where you don't really have to work anymore. Expenses are covered based on having saved and invested in the years beforehand. 39:00 The school system not providing personal finance education. Financial education should not be a secret. 42:00 Getting charge of your finances is painful but simple and also important. Look at your expenses, see where your money is going. Hold up a financial mirror and identify areas you can save money (spend less, save more). Do the math - Measure Money in at beginning of the month, money out at the end of the month. Get educated on how personal finance works. Certainty of finances (some savings) as a springboard to making a change. The Sharing section: Book - Jordan Peterson's 12 rules for life Takeaways from the book - Diving deep into human interactions, how we think and what consequences our actions have. The ultimate self-help book, with some science backing it up. Reading books is good, and listening to them on Audible is also great. Article - Rick's review of Jordan Peterson's 12 rules for life (6 rules for design life) The 6 rules of design life; You're a bad-ass (be an expert in the way you act), Take care of yourself before thinking about others (take care of the person before the professional) 50:45 How do we take more accountability for our actions in our career? Having a coach or a third party (friends/family) ensures you are held accountable to making change. Having a coach as a way to ensure you invest in support, take action and get held accountable The idea of a job club - an environment where a group of people help each other and hold each other accountable. Ask each other about it constantly. Find an environment that inspires and empowers you Sports teams as a powerful force for taking action. Teammates hold you accountable if you don't train. The FIRE movement - Financial Independence Retire Early and a big community of people out there who are working on their personal finances and are focusing on also enjoying their lives. We have the means to invest and make money, we just need to get focused, get organised, and get started on making steps towards retiring early and doing something they love. It's not about not working any more, it's about reaching financial independence, so you can go and do something you really enjoy. The love and hate relationship with the laptop and phone in this modern world The fitness tracking (a huawei tracker) that keeps track of calories burned and considering an upgrade soon. Nora ring - a ring you wear, which gives you all kinds of stats about your sleep and how you as a person are doing health wise. Using sleeping stats to work out best time to go to bed and best time to get up. Garmin as a fitness tracker. A lack of a commute as a tough choice - when do we try to find the motivation. 01:03:00 What change would I like to see in the world? Wanting to see more people fulfilled, a society that actually works. A society where people can contribute to something greater than themselves. A society to be proud of. <------- Rick's program - the FIRE career. The FIRE Facebook group Rick is a part of: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefiremovement Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Making remote work for you with Zoltan Vass 47:37

לפני 4 years47:37

47:37

The Problem Busters talk remote work and how to do it well with expert Zoltan Vass of London Tech Advocates. What do teams and individuals need to focus on in order to do remote working right? And does remote work hold more promise that simply a way to get through consecutive lockdowns? Are geographically-diverse teams the way to driving business growth and diversity of knowledge? From his London home, Zoltan reflects on his Serbian background and pan-european experience of over 20 years building and running highly-functioning remote teams across multiple geographies. He brings a unique perspective to the concept of remote work and how to do it well. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Zoltan Vass is a remote delivery and innovation consultant with over 20 years experience in sourcing and growing remote teams. His background in project delivery brings a unique perspective to the logistics of effective management in a remote setting. Zoltan is a co-founder and active member of Tech London Advocates (TLA), a unique collection of tech leaders, experts and investors who form a combined strength of opinion in tech. Zoltan believes strongly in the potential globally-distributed teams offer to both economic growth and diversity. Zoltan's Website Zoltan on LinkedIn Join the free Tech London Advocates group on LinkedIn Show mentions: Many companies think that remote working is just sitting with a computer at a desk, but there is a lot more to remote working than that. 04:32 It's important to realise that remote working is the future and is underlined by issues including cyber security, work life balance and more. Most companies have been forced to work remotely and this is why the experience to many are not as expected. It wasn't planned. Once people know how to operate in a digital space, they can connect with talent outside their home market 05:45 Remote working and digital collaboration is crucial for the UK economy Studies indicate a large number of CEOs see a proportion of their workforce continuing to work remotely after the pandemic. 07:45 Advice for moving towards remote working and recognising that people need greater flexibility - leading to some companies offering a more hybrid environment There are companies that will offer great flexibility post-pandemic and that will attract more talent The hybrid environment we are likely to see will be a bridging state to a future, more fully remote working environment The effect of remote working on people and businesses depends on the business and their working culture. I see that if remote work is done carefully, then productivity can increase significantly. Survey with Loughborough university and collaborating on research around remote working challenges We are seeing remote leadership emerge as one of the key issues with running remote teams 12:00 The Zoltan Vass framework to help understand the remote working. You need dedicated space to work. You need dedicated space to work, a desk, lighting and this is the bare minimum. Need to look at body and soul - as employees as humans. Mental fitness, physical fitness are so important for productivity. If productivity drops for someone, it could be due to many factors at home as well as at work in this new working world. The hard pillars of need the basic technology standard, cybersecurity and policies and procedures Soft pillars of ownership and collaboration. 14:30 The future of work. Diversity is critical to innovation. If we bring in people who have different perspectives, it helps innovation. Tech London Advocates Remote Working Group bring different perspectives to the topic and this is critical to bring innovation and to think outside the box. When it comes to diversity, it's really important that we understand that there are really talented people who are disabled and just can't go to the office. Now these people become available to us and our teams. How can we help unemployed people to be re-employed? 17:00 How can we upskill and retrain people from industries such as hospitality, into tech and digital industries? Take the customer service industry. It's just training people on the tech that is needed to help people transition into the industry. How leadership and management needs to change to facilitate remote working. 19:45 Leading in a digital space is not enough. You need to manage and also deliver. If you are a leader in a remote company you need to make sure that people can approach you and that they can see you are doing something. <---- Doing and delivering becomes so important. Staying close to employees and creating a culture where they can reach you. 21:00 The three levels of communication and getting things done Slack as a really powerful tool and I really believe many companies underestimate the need to have this in the mix of communication tools. There is a need to centralise and keep everything in the cloud. You can't store data on different platforms and different places. Having something in email is not centralised and is a lot harder to hand over between people Version control is so important and can waste a lot of time. Building a truly remote team unlocks access to a truly diverse group of talented people across the globe. Engaging with talent across the globe is what unlocks the potential to innovate. 26:00 How we live our lives and our work is certainly changing. How we lived until 2 years ago is now going to be different. 27:00 Advice to help avoid pitfalls of overwork and burning out. I realised that I need to set boundaries and set a routine. Waking up early, spending 15 minutes thinking through priorities, some meditation, push ups and then starting the day. Looking into emails, then having breakfast I really recommend a 10-20 minute nap after lunch to help increase productivity. We all have to set boundaries, and at a given time, close your laptop and stop. How you close your day is really important. This could be going to a walk, walking the dog, doing exercise. Set crystal clear digital boundaries and don't check emails on your phone after work. Companies need to learn not to expect people to respond after hours Covid is adding a lot more pressure, as is the temporary home-work environment but I strongly believe as we move out of this phase we will see a lot more benefits. Companies need to open up and embrace mental health, mental fitness and the very high possibility that issues will come up in the next few years due to stress. 32:00 It's important to train hiring managers around hiring people from different cultures, so that we understand diversity and can better identify talent. It is really important that cultural differences are on the agenda and that people are talking about how to help diverse groups work together Companies that have never had globally remote teams are truly entering new territory here and it's vital they understand how to build and support remote teams. The double whammy of not seeing people face to face any more, combined with not seeing friends and family face to face during lockdown. 36:00 There is a trend towards companies starting hubs in distibuted locations, perhaps in co-working spaces, so that teams can gather at a local base. There is an interest in redesigning workplaces to make them less dry and more interesting. Tech companies like Google have been leading the way with £1,000 per employee to set up their working space from home. Book - Minter Dial - You Lead What book inspired you recently? Book - Minter Dial - You Lead. Minter Dial is a management consultant for blue chip companies and keynote speaker who has had a big impact on me. Who do you most look up to in the world? Russ Shaw - Co-founder of Tech London Advocates (TLA/GTA) had a massive and positive impact on my life. He is both experienced and yet down to earth and is growing an amazing community with Tech London Advocates Movie - Mindhunter series TV series - Vikings DNA testing to find out the mix of your genes Tech - a really reliable laptop Tech - a Jabra corded headset for calls Quest 2 - virtual reality PS4 online gaming and wishing I had a PS5 (if the crypto miners hadn't got in first) Tech - High fi system - Yamaha amplifiers and Odil speakers Earfun uBoom bluetooth speakers People I look up to - Ros shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates Tech London Advocates as a source of best practice and the future of work. https://zoltanvass.com for more detail on my work. My advice for thriving in the remote world? Have crystal clear boundaries, raise your concerns and be open to change. Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Work, health and everything else with Ben Musio 1:23:25

לפני 4 years1:23:25

1:23:25

The Problem Busters explore how to stay healthy while working from home with Ben Musio, health advocate and as with many of us right now, a work from home employee. We discuss how Covid-19 has affected our mental and physical health, the highs and lows of working from home and share the tech and gear we simply wouldn't be without in this new home office environment. We talk home gyms, the importance of getting outside, how JustEat has become Ben's best friend and how the little things are now so important after a year of working from home. About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Ben Musio is a husband, father to be and a Tax Advisor. A lifelong learner, Ben is interested in keeping fit both in body and in mind. He lives with his wife in the South East of England. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-musio-143886174/ Show mentions: Office for national statistics reports that in the UK in Jan, adults staying at home or only leaving for work, exercise, essential shopping or medical needs continued to increase, to 65% of adults this week; the highest proportion since May 2020. Lockdown has been harder for some, and easier for others. Especially more introverted folks Just Eat as your best friend 05:50 Because I didn't have to present in a suit, it was easy to let myself go while working from home and to transition to put on a "winter coat" Sport is good for introducing structure into your life, but when that is taken away, it's important to get yourself back into a fitness regime Walking the dog as a way to have companionship and also to get you out of the house Kids not going in to school is difficult enough in terms of home schooling, but the communication was lax via the school, we found out over the news! 12:30 mental health connected to physical health Intermittent fasting as a way to control grazing on food Making time to exercise is an important part of the day 13:40 Mental health being as if not more important than physical health The ability to say how are you, are you finding this difficult like I am? Has been so important Supporting each other as the way through this. Workmates were the only people you really get to see during the day, even outside of lockdown. 15:25 there has been a positive shift in discussing mental health becoming a normal topic of conversation Intermittent fasting being where there is a window during the day where you can eat, and outside of that time window you drink mostly water. This being a way to extend the period of burning fuel (fat) that you normally get between meals or while sleeping. Flexitarianism is growing (as is being vegan) during the pandemic. People are eating less meat. 22:00 There is no magic bullet to losing weight, if you eat too many calories and don't exercise, you will like me, gain weight <------- When we are hungry, are we hungry or are we just thirsty? You lose weight in the kitchen and build muscle in the gym Weightlifting and compound movements as an enjoyable way to exercise. Building up a very minimal home gym as a long-term investment Winter swimming as a way to get exercise and a worldwide boom in it as time has gone on in the pandemic The cold shower in the morning as a way to boost immunity The pandemic as something that has accelerated the trend towards mental health becoming something that is now OK to talk about 29:00 Mental health has entered the mainstream and is now OK to talk about There is an awareness about the need for mental health and it is vital that people feel OK to talk about it. 31:40 There has been a stigma about feeling unwell mentally and not telling people about it. Now it is becoming a lot more acceptable. <------- Asking about wellbeing in your team being an important factor of leading a team, especially in stressful environments and during lockdown. Outgoing people are really struggling during lockdown, a real struggle for many. Jordan Peterson put it well: Some formats of prayer help you meditate and be thankful for the day. That regime of quietness as a chance to reflect. Book: How not to worry Yoga as a way to remain calm and to repair the back after a weight lifting injury. YouTube: Craig Budsic and yoga for back pain Meditation and setting a habit of finding a moment for quiet as a way to centre the self Yoga at the end of a weight lifting session as a way to warm down Sam Harris as a way to begin to meditate Book: Jordan Peterson - 12 rules for life Avoiding the echo chamber of reading The Guardian and not hearing things outside of your comfort zone. Reading things and listening to things that you don't agree with. YouTube: Slovoy Malesic as a Marxist and a debator with Jordon Peterson 44:00 self-directed learning and enjoying learning YouTube: Wisecrack and the philosphy of things Listening to a podcast as a way to switch off and to continue learning. Episode: Teach the world to code with Alice Lieutier School, home community and home life all have a huge impact on schooling experience. 47:00 Life isn't about school, it's about finding what you are interested in and going and doing it. <-------- Related episode: Teach the world to code Teaching and teachers as such an important part of early life. Needing to attract and incentivise and look after teachers as they are so vital to learning. Religion and the role of bringing a community of strangers together. Religion as a way to bring people together. As a common ground. The healthy habits that underlie a lot of religions. A template of how to live at that time. Faith as the universal thread that unites people of all religions at a base level. Fermented foods and sauerkraut as something important to digestion. Kimchi as a great alternative to sauerkraut. Kefir as a lactose-free dairy alternative. Vitamin D as a great go-to vitamin Cod-liver oil and butter tabs The uptake of vitamins being better (for some) when you have them with something. Mixed race and darker skinned people needing to take more Vitamin D Taking Magnesium for energy when fasting. Multivitamins are good while eating Electrolytes as an essential replenishment during a prolonged fasting period Powdered bone broth as a source of nutrition along with utah sea salts Jamaican oxtail stew as a slow-cooked preparation. If you eat rubbish food, you feel rubbish. 01:03:00 eating leading to how you feel. it is all at our fingertips but it is just turning this to action. It's not complicated but we make it more complicated than it needs to be. Cutting out meat for 2 months as leading to a lower heart rate during exercise or gaming, along with cutting out coffee (as measured by the Garmin). Working from home kit and what to look at to work more freely Flexispot standing desks and standing desk pads An external screen as an important step to lifting the gaze Get yourself a proper office chair instead of being huddled over a dining room chair on a table at the wrong height Garmin watch as a way to remind me when to be active The kettlebell as a way to do short exercises in breaks from working The Apple Watch reminding you to take a walk. An awareness of steps and getting in your steps per day Blue light blocking computer glasses Penguin vertical mouse and wrist pads SAD lamps and the concept of the artificial sun as a way to increase wellbeing and alertness at the desk. Getting outside as the most important part to good health. Would love to see critical thinking introduced into education more widely. The ability to look behind the headline, to investigate and to make up your own mind. Critical thinking as a much needed skill and practice right now. Being able to question things is important, regardless of what your viewpoint is. Questioning, holding people to account and starting with teaching kids this at a young age. Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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Teach the world to code with Alice Lieutier 1:14:32

לפני 4 years1:14:32

1:14:32

Alice Lieutier of Makers Academy discusses the issue of retraining with the Problem Busters, and explains how teaching the world to code (in perfect harmony) is so important right now. As Head of Coaching, Alice describes the boot camp model for learning to become a software developer and contrasts semester length courses with the traditional route of 3 years at university. She shares what she has discovered about the process of teaching, talks diversity and we discuss how we need more women in tech. Finally we discover how anyone can learn to code and break down perceived barriers to "becoming a software engineer". . About the show: Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide. About our guest: Alice Lieutier is a software engineer who after a career including a role at Facebook and time spent as Chief Technical Officer at a start up, turned her attention to being a software coach at Makers. She now leads the coaching team and lives in London UK. Show notes: maths and it leading to an interest in problem solving, then engineering and finally software engineering coaching as a way to do something completely new, but related to engineering 03:30 Winning a hackathon at Facebook and then joining their team Facebook and the Women in tech hackathon The role of a good pain au chocolat as a way to entice new potential staff Burn out and the need to rebalance your life SheCanCode as a women-run business The shortage of women in technology Why are there so few women in technology? 09:30 The experience of being a co-founder and the difficulty in solving a problem for users Trying to grow a business as a life lesson in business and diversity 11:00 The problem: the tech industry needs more people and more diverse people at that 13:37: The core of the problem: the idea that you need a computer science degree and if you didn't have it early in life, it's too late The problem of representation in technology Makers.tech as a training option for people wanting to learn to code. 14:00 The role of Makers and making a career change a reality for people wanting to get into tech The fact that there are self-taught developers, unlike doctors! Coding bootcamps as a way to learn in a year, what might take 4-5 years via the computer science degree alternative Mental health and maintaining balance in your life as key to the successful software engineering career An alumni community and a Slack workspace as a way to support people in their new career 23:00 Learning so much about education and how people learn since becoming a coach <---- Moving beyond teaching and beyond the idea of knowledge transfer 24:00 The learning concept: That people build their knowledge based on their own experiences Modelling as a method of observational learning Coding challenges as a method of experiential learning Pairing as a method of team work, of two people working on a problem together. 26:30: Pairing as a way to get more done, to do your best work and a way to learn together 99% of bugs as a beginner developer are going to be typos. They are hard to find when you are new, so pairing is a great way to avoid them. Powerpoint and death by powerpoint as something to avoid in the learning process 31:30 As a developer you have to learn throughout your life, learning about new technologies is a constant thing. So learning to learn is the key. 34:00 The levels of mastery of a concept in software development The need for people to complete their studies and to feel ready to work. To have the skills they need to start work immediately, and not be full of abstract knowledge. You can learn so much on the job 40:30 The idea of Makers: to get people to the level they can get their first job, be productive from day one and know how to solve a problem, along with the context to understand the job straight away. A reason to teach yourself: to learn to know how to ensure you know what you need to know, when you need it Software engineering as a second career being a great way to go. 43:00 The most important thing to learn when you are young Imposter syndrome and the need to keep things in perspective when comparing yourself to more experienced people. Tech as a futureproof job 45:00 What I'd say to people considering the tech industry right now The tech industry needing to represent the entire population, needing people of all types, people like you People in the tech industry are quite privileged and perhaps this derives in part from a lack of diversity Tech is interesting as their is a shortage of people but not a limit of attractiveness. Tech has a unique combination here because it is such an attractive industry Jargon and the use of it as something that makes them sound smart but actually excludes people. 54:00 Humility being so valuable and the ability to say that you don't know being so important in personal growth. What often blocks junior developers is being afraid to ask questions, and realising that it is the sign of a good team to be willing to help each other. 56:00 A team is always best when we just trust each other Project Management as an example of a profession that is full of jargon and the concept of stripping jargon out leading to getting a lot more done. Imposter syndrome and the name given to the feeling that "they must have made a mistake in my interview, do they know how little I know?" and the need to help people overcome it and become empowered 1:00:00 As soon as you share your feelings of imposter syndrome, it lifts the weight and you are accepted by others, and are then able to grow The idea of learning in public - to as you learn it, share it through publicly. Such a powerful way to improve yourself and to help others also Instagram: samanthaming https://www.instagram.com/samanthaming/?hl=en Book/Article: Laziness does not exist by Devon Price https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01 A lot of the time what we may write off as laziness, when someone doesn't do something, there are just things that are blocking them. There are a number of reasons that might prevent people from doing things. Focusing on the removal of obstacles as a way to help overcome them means you can do just about anything. Zoom and Slack as tools for communicating 01:09:00 Slack is underrated as an idea of a place where all your conversations exist. Slack actually gives you a community and I've really seen that value in lockdown. Reclaim.AI as a tool that helps to plan time for deep work and breaks. https://reclaim.ai/ . Telling reclaim that you want to go to yoga a couple of times a week, leads to it blocking time out for it. www.Makers.tech and looking at boot camp options Medium.com as a great way to blog and to learn Switchup.com for reviews comparing different boot camps Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor…

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