The Politics of Everything: Recent Episodes
Amber Daines
A weekly podcast series asking newsworthy experts and leaders the tricky questions about the politics of everything that matters to mankind in the 21st century. Host Amber Daines is a former journalist turned media trainer, speaker, and author who is also devoted to raising her young family.
My guest today Naby Mariyam is an achiever.
She is a fintech pioneer, thought leader, advocate for greater diversity of ideas in fin services and tech, and a keynote speaker. Her accolades include:
- Host of #hustlechat podcast
- Finnies – for excellence in business insurtech finalist for 3 years in a row.
- Fintech leader of the year finalist 2021 and 2022
- Insuretch of the year 2021 and 2022 finalist
- Emerging insurtech of the year 2021
- International Speaker at big name events like Forbes, Insuretch insights, Insuretech Connect to name a few.
Naby says she loves salsa dancing, poetry and InsurTech (in that order). When not exploring my side hustles, she runs Coverhero an embedded insurtech start up focusing on evolutionary insurance services focusing on the needs of Millennials and GenZ. Coverhero Launched our First product Hustlecover.com, designed to fill the gap of financial insecurity for the growing Gig Economy and self-employed generation.
Coverhero was selected to the first cohort of Qantas AVRO accelerator program competing with 500 other start-ups. Coverhero was a finalist of the top 15 companies of TechCrunch Start-up Battlefield Australia and recently completed the Plug and Play Insurtech program (Batch 7) in Silicon Valley. Coverhero has been featured in Global Insurtech news, and a range of business and technology media as an emerging start-up in fintech.
Graduating with a Masters of Philosophy in Management at the age of 22, she has 18 years of experience in a wide range of industries across Senior level positions spanning across Academia, Management Consulting, Documentary production, Travel & Destination Marketing and Technology.
Naby's Research background is in social science where she deeply studied human behaviour in her Academic career. She has pressed pause on her PhD to focus on building technology-driven solutions that solve community problems. Prior to her current businesses, Naby has run a few other start-ups, and business ventures working closely with founders and catalysers of innovation in the Australian Start-up Ecosystem.
She has also advised the United Nations Development Project on building start-up ecosystems and designed accelerator programs to drive innovation in developing Nations. Naby was an Australian delegate at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs conference in Berlin in 2017.
In this podcast, Naby discusses:
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Fintech is a term that didn’t exist say 20 years ago. How do you define it and what examples have you to showcase what it does and for whom?
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The gig economy is definitely the new way of work for many of us in 2023 – from food delivery to freelance writing. It has lots of risks and benefits too. What made you start your two insurtech platforms coverhero and hustlecover?
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What are the 1-3 biggest challenges you faced starting these fintechs?
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What is the main ways you were able to find your niche, and scale these businesses – surely finding it sometimes tough going against the major established insurance companies?
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Some of the trends you anticipate for 2023 in the sector?
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Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Fintech?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn (1) Naby Mariyam | LinkedIn
Websites· coverhero.com
hustlecover.com
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Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don't align with your internal standards. Self-awareness sometimes feels uncanny and a bit intangible. I feel like my own self-awareness, my moral compass and all its EQ friends have become stronger and louder in my late 40s.My guest today Michael Bunting is a best-selling author and leadership expert who has worked with global brands such as Qantas, Novartis, HSBC, Kellogg’s, OMG, Swarovski, Hilton Hotels, CSIRO and the big 4 accounting firms. He believes that less than 1% of the population is truly self-aware and would like to share his top insights for how people can grow vertically to cultivate more self-awareness in their lives. Michael has also recently written a book called Vertical Growth, published by Wiley.He also has written other #1 bestselling books, The Mindful Leader and A Practical Guide to Mindful Meditation and co-authored Extraordinary Leadership in Australia & New Zealand with Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, the world’s premier researchers in the field of leadership. Michael is a global expert on the integration of transformational leadership development, mindfulness, adult development, mental health and culture change.
His latest book focuses a lot on self-awareness. For Michael, the answer to improving how we work, and lead is called ‘vertical growth’- growing beyond your self-sabotaging patterns like self-doubt, insecurities, fear of failure, or impostor syndrome, to reach your full potential and ultimately becoming the sort of person that leads others authentically and stays true to your core values no matter what life throws at you!
We chat about:
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How do you define self-awareness and why does it matter?
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What is vertical growth and how does self-awareness lead to this growth? A few examples please!
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The issue with workplace image management and you say that 40% of the time we spend at work is focused on managing our image rather than on core tasks that add value to the company. If you’re someone who struggles with perfectionism or imposter syndrome, this could be exactly the issue that’s holding you back from achieving your career and life goals. How does that create issues for us and isn’t that part of working with others in a company or organisation?
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What are the best ways to kick aside imposter syndrome and make self-awareness a core part of our success story every day?
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Takeaway: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Self-Awareness?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn Connect with me on LinkedIn here.
Book: Order my new book here.
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Empowerment can be defined as promoting one’s sense of self-worth, an ability to make choices, and the right to influence social change for us and others. It is closely aligned with female empowerment – a fundamental human right that’s also key to achieving a more happy, healthy, and wealthy state of play!
In Western countries, female empowerment is often associated with specific phases of the women’s rights movement in history. This movement tends to be split into three waves, the first beginning in the 19th and early 20th centuries where suffrage was a key feature. The second wave of the 1960s included the sexual revolution and the role of women in society. Third-wave feminism is often seen as beginning in the 1990s.
Women’s empowerment and promoting women’s rights have emerged as a part of a major global movement and is continuing to break new ground in recent years. Days like International Women’s Empowerment Day are also gaining momentum.
But despite a great deal of progress, women and girls continue to face discrimination and violence in every part of the world and the idea we women can “have it all” – a career, a great relationship, a family that thrives, and our own wellbeing - has even lost some sparkle in 2023.
My guest today Alison Wheeler is a true powerhouse in life and business. She is kind of a superwoman! Or as her book is titled Living from the Inside Out: How to Become a Modern-Day Wonder Women. One that is bound to spark some passionate discussion! In it, she advises women on how to unleash their superpowers to create the health, wealth, and happiness they desire.
Alison is a world-renowned confidence and business coach, multi-disciplined award-winning performance athlete, and celebrated entrepreneur. Her success as an athlete and entrepreneur is magnetic, and her presence is real, raw, and authentic.
Alison discusses with me:
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How do you define female empowerment and what is an example that you have that really shows that in reality?
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The other F Word feminism has mixed connotations for many of us – it may even be generational. The 1970s version of a feminist marching for the right to work once married may be less relevant to what female role models talk about today. What is your feeling about that term and how we apply it? Has it become weaponised?
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You talk of female superpowers, through three steps: Reflect, Decide, and Act. How do these work and is it something every woman at any age can achieve? Explain this more.
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What is your #1 non-negotiable in your own life’s journey to be your best self and why?
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Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Female Empowerment?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: (10) Alison Wheeler | LinkedIn
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Welcome to the first episode of my 2023 season of The Politics of Everything. Today’s topic is one close to my heart and well, let’s be honest, my business life! We are talking about The Politics of Media.My guest Nic Hayes knows the media game (despite being a former police officer!). He is a 20-year veteran of media, with a broad range of experience covering all aspects of the media cycle; from public relations, radio/TV broadcasting, and media intelligence to now providing Australia’s media with content and expert talent. Nic launched Media Stable in 2012 after he recognised the increased pressure producers and journalists were under. There was also a need for a different approach for businesses and experts to get their messages, stories, and opinions in front of the media.Nic is a great connector and true relationship builder, and the success of Media Stable has been built on the strong ties and contacts he has developed and nurtured during his two decades of media industry experience. The media landscape has changed so much in the past two decades and what worked in 2003 is not as likely to lead to coverage in 2023. However, some hard and fast rules still apply whenever we engage with journalists, producers, and editors.We hear from Nic on:
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What are the hardest things about 24/7 media cycles and is that something that may shift in the near future, maybe as audiences want, for example, less screen time now we are not locked down at home anymore?
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How does social media interrupt or complement traditional media and are they really different beasts? Explain the insider view!
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What trends in media are you seeing?
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How do you advise people to measure median success or ROI?
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Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Media?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: (23) Nic Hayes | LinkedIn
Website: https://www.mediastable.com.au
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A warning that is episode mentions some themes that may not be suitable for all listeners. If you’re in Australia and experiencing domestic violence or need to speak to a counsellor, please contact 1800 737 732.
As the winner of AHIA’s Australia's Best Eco Salon in 2020 & 2021, sustainability and low-tox living is a huge passion for Tenille Lawrence. She is a multi-award-winning hair stylist that has been fortunate enough to travel the world as a global hair educator for over 15 years.
While spending years styling hair at runway shows, fashion week events, and magazine shoots was an incredibly fun and exciting lifestyle, this mum of four slowly started feeling sick, stressed, and run down. Tenille was told that during three out of four pregnancies she had developed chemical poisoning from being exposed to harsh chemicals over the years in the hair industry.
Tenille’s experience with chemical poisoning motivated her to follow her heart and build the business on sustainable, eco-friendly and vegan ethos, free from harsh chemicals and nasty ingredients while still creating gorgeous hair. She set up the salon and decked it out with upcycled furniture and plants to give it an elective look and feel. A concept that was very popular with the community and environmentally conscious locals and quickly grew into a seven-figure business with 30 staff and another 3 QLD-based salons in a matter of a couple of years.
In addition to this, seven years ago Tenille had to file for bankruptcy after leaving a domestic violence relationship, and this inspired her to set up a hair salon from home to be able to pay off her debts. This small salon in her garage quickly snowballed with people knocking on her door saying that “A little birdie told me you’re a hairdresser” and she quickly got busier and managed to open up her first Brisbane-based salon, called Little Birdie Hair Co, in a large warehouse.
Tenille is now a spokesperson for sustainability within the hair industry, and she is passionate about the local community and making sure victims of domestic violence are supported in the workplace, being the first hair salon in Australia to work towards getting a White Ribbon Accreditation.
We discuss:
- What parts of hairdressing have the most toxins and how easily can these items be replaced for less toxic options? Please give us some common examples – from hair colour to even the things like the tools you use.
- How long were you working in hairdressing before your started to feel unwell from being exposed to chemicals?
- What are some of the short- and longer-term health problems these exposures can create and how prevalent is that these days?
- Do clients need to be as aware of this when they visit a salon or products we use at home?
- What are the main challenges to making a hair salon successful in 2022 and how do you tackle these?
- Where else can the salon sector help protect its people better?
- Takeaway: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Salons?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: (48) Tenille Lawrence | LinkedIn
Website: Little Birdie Hair Co - Australia's Best Eco Salon
Mentoring can change your life and your career if done right. One of my standard guest questions asks who their #1 mentor has been and their impact. Most of my formal mentors have been local, as in the same city or at least country ad global mentorship has been limited perhaps by staid ideas of commonality, access and relevance in decades gone by.
Today I chat to Sahera Sumar, the Founder of a social enterprise (profit for purpose) called Worldwide SHEroes or WWS. It focuses on leadership capacity building, by empowering women of diversity and disadvantage to rise to their leadership potential. Their global mission is to support women to achieve economic equity and inclusive leadership and to measure our impact using the UN Sustainable Developmental Goals.
In Sahera’s words, this is not your mainstream women’s mentorship program. They provide mentorship through global mentors within 10 Industry categories, connecting women in the developed world, with women who are from emerging economies. These Mentors are senior women in C-suite, or senior mgt roles who are passionately working with aspiring / emerging leaders from countries such as Egypt, Syria. Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Malawi, Kenya, South Africa, Tajikistan and many more. Their mentees come from international developmental agencies such as Aga Khan Foundation, HOST International and Migrant Resource Centers.
The global vision is for WWS to grow, establish meaningful and aligned partnerships so they can fully digitize our platform; strengthen our learning and development programs and build a greater awareness.
She is drawing upon her own many years of global corporate experience in talent and leadership development to strengthen leadership capability for international development projects and capacity building projects. She Sahera utilises neuro-leadership, positive psychology, and values-based leadership to develop emotionally intelligent leaders and a well-being culture.
Inclusive mentorship and a global vision is what has resulted.
We discuss:
- What are the main ways the way we access leadership development changed in your experience?
- How exactly does global mentorship work best at a practical and impact level from your experience?
- What led you to form SHEroes and why focus on female leaders only?
- SHEroes recently celebrated its first birthday, and you now have 550+hours of mentoring under your belt, 60+ mentors and working in 35 countries. How do you plan to expand your reach into new geographies, industries and to begin working with First Nations Women globally.
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Global Mentors?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/saherasumar
W: https://www.worldwidesheroes.com
Customer service is everything for most businesses that last the distance. Our customer loyalty to a brand or business leader can be shaped by our experiences every day and sometimes our feedback is heard, noted, and more importantly positively acted upon, and sometimes, well it is not and the results can mean the end of the road for that business if that is a recurrent theme. After all there is always another airline to fly, another makeup brand to use or another car we COULD buy.
My guest today is Winston Tu, the Founder and CEO of Luxo Living, Australia’s leading online boutique furniture store. A trailblazer in the e-commerce sector, Winston has been selling products online since 1999, before the arrival of Ebay in Australia. Winston was an early facilitator of ground-breaking customer-service tools including built-in shipping platforms, which saw Luxo Living save over $300,000 within the first year.
As he commemorates 21 years at the helm, Winston has grown Luxo Living into a leading online retailer that boasts an annual turnover of $22million. Luxo Living offers impeccably made, comfortable home styling pieces at an attractive price point.
The brand has used its customer complaints as avenues to pinpoint areas of growth, allowing it to compete against top brand names within the Australian market such as Amazon, Catch.com.au and Temple & Webster.
We discuss:
- Customer feedback and customer service are interlinked – what is your view of each as a valuable way to manage your business (or essentially any business)?
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Is the customer always right?
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Customer complaints can offer ways to unravel pain points and make some decisions faster such as what stock to carry or delete and also how to do better for more customers. With online sales now such a mainstay for many products and services, is that harder or easier than ever?
- What systems are needed for excellent customer feedback to actually drive change?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Customer Feedback?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-tu-26a0353b/?originalSubdomain=au
W: https://www.luxoliving.com.au/
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Shyness is something we rarely talk about let alone elevate in our loud, often brash, TikTok-fuelled all singing and dancing world.
Meet Melbourne-based Kaley Chu, the founder of 100 Lunches with Strangers, a movement she founded off the back of her best-selling book of the same name where Kaley shared her journey from a shy immigrant to a confident TEDx Speaker in just 2 years by getting out of her comfort zone and arranging 100 lunches with complete strangers.
When COVID hit she turned virtual and has arranged over 350 lunches with strangers (ranging from CEOs, billionaires and even celebrities like Shane Jacobson), and now works with others to help build their confidence, grow their network and unleash their potential.
Kaley has spoken at over 200 events, both in-person and virtual, over the last 3 years to spread positive energy and help others grow and connect. She’s also created two strong communities with over 4,000 members combined, with weekly events to help people connect and grow. (One targeted at personal development and the other supporting Asians in Australia). Kaley is in her 30’s, happily married and a proud mum of two boys.
Kaley shares in this podcast her responses to:
- Shyness is the tendency to feel awkward, worried, or tense during social encounters, especially with unfamiliar people. Is it a superpower because it can help us get prepared in a way, or something that we need to “fix” to succeed in careers, business and personally? Explain with some examples.
- Do you think shyness is cultural or in our DNA somehow? Share your view and why.
- For someone shy how do you convince yourself to meet 100 strangers for lunch? What did that teach you?
- Has your experiment meant you are now longer shy?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Shyness?
To connect (and maybe have lunch!) with Kaley go to:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaleychu/?originalSubdomain=au
Website: https://www.kaleychu.com/
Workplace wellbeing matters more than ever, as people from all sectors are making health-led decisions that are more valuable perhaps than power, money and status.
Having experienced her own life-changing burnout, Sally describes herself as a Burnout Survivor now Thriver, her own journey to recovery inspired her health coaching practice, Health that Heals. Sally McGrath has not one experience with burnout but three. She beat each round and remains so far.
Sally has a lifelong passion for health and wellbeing and has guided and supported individuals and teams to treat burnout and prevent burning out, sharing resources that empower the individual to identify what needs to change to reduce the risk of burnout. Sally also shares strategies that support "mental health hygiene", something that can be ignored when a person is experiencing the spiral into burnout.
Sally has combined her 30-plus years of managing and training teams with her preventative health beliefs & expertise to deliver sustainable workplace wellbeing programs that engage and empower individuals. Sally also coaches burnt-out self-employed and professional women, to restore their joy, energy, and focus for work and life. Sally is a published author of the book Health that Heals, Transform Your Life Before It's Too Late and is a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, in New York.
Sally's joy comes from empowering individuals and teams to create what she terms "work and life in synergy".
We cover off: 1. Burnout treatment and prevention is what you talk a lot about on social media and in your work. How much is burnout about our workplace vs our greater lives outside what we do for money? 2. I like your email signature that says:” Experiencing Burnout isn’t a reflection of your personal worthiness. It’s a culture that encourages people to put work ahead of their personal needs. What has been your experience with managing your wellbeing long term as a businesswoman? 3. Workplace wellbeing has changed a lot over the years. Staff post-Covid restrictions, many seem to have empowered themselves more than ever – through quite quitting and resigning from workplaces they aren’t happy in or determining hybrid work arrangements before the boss offers them. How has that been facilitated do you think and will it last? Explain your view. 4. What types of modern workplaces doing well overall when it comes to managing stress, fatigue, burnout and unhealthy habits, and are there a few examples of truly innovative workplaces that have made wellbeing #1 goal, and how. Must be more than leaving work early on a Friday or free yoga classes at lunch! 5. Takeaway: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Workplace Wellbeing?
Contact details:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sallymcgrath/
Website: www.healththatheals.com.au
Tel K. Ganesan is a self-made serial entrepreneur, engaging public speaker, philanthropist, mentor, film producer, and world traveller with a globally recognized reputation across multiple industries. He currently serves as Founder/CEO of multiple thriving enterprises, including Kyyba, Inc. - a Michigan-headquartered global IT company with over 700 employees and millions in annual revenue - Kyyba Films, Kyyba Wellness, Kyyba Innovations, Kyyba Fashions, and Kyyba Music. Infectious enthusiasm and courageous determination power his drive to do what others are afraid to do as he blazes a trail for the next generation of entrepreneurs with a simple secret to success: do what makes you happy.
Ganesan earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from Wayne State University before getting his start at the Chrysler Corporation. Over 13 years, he earned multiple awards and promotions in manufacturing and product development. The desire to make a bigger impact and build something of his own then took Ganesan in the direction of entrepreneurship with the establishment of Kyyba, Inc.
Ganesan is fuelled by a belief that entrepreneurs make the world a better place for everyone, founding TiECon Detroit - the largest entrepreneurial conference in Michigan. Today, TiE boasts over 56 chapters in at least 13 countries, with a specific focus on supporting women in male-dominated industries such as manufacturing, automotive, and financial services. Additionally, the Kyyba Kidz Foundation uplifts underprivileged women and orphans, providing vital education, skills, and on-the-job training opportunities.
Over a 30-year career, Ganesan’s ground-breaking work has earned him consistent national recognition, including: Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year finalist (2012, 2013, 2014) and a place among D Business Magazine’s “Detroit 500” most powerful business leaders.
On any given weekday morning, Ganesan can be found in deep meditation and yoga poses before heading into his business ventures. He actively “levels up his comfort zone” with tennis, kayaking, and traveling to new places. After everything he has worked hard to achieve, Ganesan is still convinced that his biggest potential is yet to be realized, and he works hard daily to push the limits of what’s possible synonymous with the tagline of Kyyba, make impossible, possible.
We discuss:
- The term ‘comfort zone’ is firmly embedded in our everyday cultural discourse – say the metaphor of ‘leaving one’s comfort zone’ became popular in the 1990s, coined by management thinker Judith Bardwick in her 1991 work Danger in the Comfort Zone: How do you define a comfort zone and surely it varies depending on your risk appetite? Please explain your view and why.
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Within the comfort zone, there isn’t much incentive for people to reach new heights of performance. It’s here that people go about routines devoid of risk, causing their progress to plateau. Is that always a bad thing?
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Can you enhance your own sense of comfort zones and how do you push that beyond your basic level of comfort?
- How can we make the impossible seem possible and still remain balanced in how we live our lives and not say burnout?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Comfort Zones?
Connect via @TelKGanesan
www.TelKGanesan.com
www.Kyyba.com
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Steve Hui was one of my early guests on this podcast back in 2018. How our experience of business, life, and travel has changed in four years. I wanted to invite Steve back as a refresher of how our experience as a society has evolved, for better or worse maybe, in a world battered by Covid19 and all the border closure pain that has plagued the airline sector. Airlines are posting record losses as we enter year three of the pandemic but also, lost experienced staff due to layoffs and restructures. Many of us just want to fly and not expect extensive airport delays or endless flight changes to do so.
A recap of who is Steve is probably in order. For over 17 years, Steve applied his skills solving complex problems in senior finance roles in corporations including Macquarie Bank but made the brave move to leave the corporate world to start his own business inspired by his innovative thinking, his passion for travel and a burning desire to optimise things. Steve is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales.
Then a new business idea evolved. It all started when he flew for the very first time in business class over 14 years ago on a business trip, and he was hooked. Since then, he has religiously researched and tested his knowledge in extracting the best ways to maximise the points to fly (and ideally fly business class).
Established in 2012, iFLYflat is the leader in reward points management. They are the experts in Points Advice and Flight Bookings. iFLYflat provides a fully managed service helping businesses and individuals to uncover the true value of their airline and credit card points.
So let’s explore what that looks like in late 2022 including:
- How did iFLYflat survive and maybe even thrive in the past few years when the pandemic changed travel in many ways for a very long time?
- How have flyer points programs you work with changed and is that better or worse for most travellers?
- How can we maximise our flyer points if we travel less now that say Zoom meetings replaced a lot of business travel in particular?
- How else have reward programs had to create more value that we may not be aware of?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The NEW Politics of Flyer Points?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/uas/login-submit
W: https://www.iflyflat.com.au/
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Sustainable architecture is also referred to as green architecture or environmental architecture. It challenges architects to produce smart designs and use available technologies to ensure that structures generate minimal harmful effects to the ecosystem and the communities. And with a world in the midst of climate change emergency, it has a big role to play. However, it no doubt has it challenges such as cost and accessibility.
To find out I am speaking to Ninotschka Titchkosky, an architect who has more than 25 years' experience leading major architectural projects, and developing innovation and research opportunities working with architects, academics and industry partners.
She co-CEO of BVN Architecture where she steers the firm’s research into robotics and digital fabrication. She wants to realize smarter and more creative solutions that are better for the planet, especially by using robotics, advanced technologies and new materials. Ninotschka is passionate about the role architects play in shaping our interactions, communities and cities. She is a whole systems thinker and approaches a brief from unique angles resulting in award-winning design.
Ninotschka is also co-leading the design of one of Sydney’s most famed projects, Atlassian’s future headquarters at Central Station. This low-carbon project will be the tallest hybrid timber building in the world at 40 stories. She is a commissioner on the Commission for the Future of Sydney CBD, which is tasked with examining the changing nature of the city in a post COVID-19 world.
We discuss:
- Decarbonization is a big deal. Explain how much waste there is in traditional building processes and how that contributes to climate change?
- How do you define sustainable architecture and why does it matter? Is it more than 7-star energy ratings and why?
- What role does 3D printing play in future architecture? Maybe this is something that can work for developing nations as well?
- Robotics are also important in sustainable architecture – give us an idea of what role they play.
- The new $1.4 billion Atlassian office building in Sydney is one of your high-profile projects. What makes that building so unique?
- Takeaway: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Sustainable Architecture?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: (42) Ninotschka Titchkosky | LinkedIn
W: BVN
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Everyone loves a comeback story. From the late Steve Jobs being fired from Apple the company he started and then returned and then launching iconic products like the iPhone to basketball GOAT Michael Jordan coming out of retirement to lead the Chicago Bulls to championship glory not once but three times.
There is something magical, inspirational, and remarkable about any underdog coming from behind to knock down Goliath and become an icon.
My guest today has the classic comeback story that involves struggles, personal demons, and corporate glory, then failure and today an ultimate success.
Sean Castrina is a serial entrepreneur, speaker and author, He is the Founder of The Weekend MBA and host of The 10 Minute Entrepreneur Podcast a top 10 entrepreneurship podcast as well as the author of 4 bestselling books. He has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Money Magazine as well as an Instagram account with over 300k followers.
We discuss:
- How did your addition to prescription medication become your secret weapon when it comes to business?
- You have gone from a dream job to bankrupt and now a millionaire. How did that transpire?
- What does a comeback really involve and is it something we can all maybe also achieve? A few examples, please.
- What is in your business planning that you rate as vital, especially in the volatile start-up world?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Comebacks?
To connect with Sean:
W: https://seancastrina.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seancastrina/
Anyone of my vintage growing up in the 80s and 90s knows my guest today, Alison Brahe. As a teen who wanted a career in journalism, I consumed magazines like oxygen. Alison was the epitome a Dolly magazine cover girl everyone wanted to be. Even as I posted on my socials, I was speaking to Alison today childhood friends instantly messaged me in excitement and gushing recollections of how much they recall loving Alison Brahe. She was fresh faced and golden skinned with a naturally beautiful smile. Alison was as well-known as Aussie supermodel Elle Macpherson and was on covers everywhere.
Better still was that she fell in love with and married another Australian icon, former model, singer and actor Cameron Daddo in their early 20s and are together today.
The recap on her story is this. Alison Brahe began working as a model at 16 years old. She was an instant hit in both the magazine and commercial worlds and soon found herself in demand in Australia, London and Tokyo.
Big name clients like Coca Cola and Speedo came calling, as well titles like Cosmopolitan, Cleo and Dolly. In 1992, she graced the cover of Dolly seven times and in Cleo was voted among the "Top Most Influential Women of the Century" by its readers. Alison was the face of Portmans through their most successful period and later became the face of the Jacqui E clothing label. In the 90's Alison became the host of one of Australia's most enduring and successful children's television programs, Here's Humphrey. She went on to host her own afternoon show for the NINE Network, Guess What?
Then Alison and Cameron moved to Los Angeles in 1992. It came as a shock to Alison's management when one day she walked away from lucrative modeling and acting career to follow her heart. In 2013, she achieved her degree from UCLA in Early Childhood and embarked on a successful career in childcare. Alison returned with her family to Australia in 2016 to spend time with her parents and unite her children with her homeland. She still teaches and has created a popular podcast called "Separate Bathrooms" with her husband and produced by Nova Entertainment.
Now in her 50s, Alison has experienced a lot of the changes every woman of a certain age does. Menopause. She wrote a book ‘Queen Menopause’ in fact. For a very long-time menopause was treated like a deeply hidden secret – my own mother barely talked about it in the company although she suffered through symptoms for a long time while working, raising me, and just trying to navigate life.
Hear from Alison on:
- Do you recall when you started to feel “the change” and how you managed it day to day?
- Communication is key when it comes to managing menopause – like all life matters really. You recommend choosing a time when you’re in a good headspace to share with your partner what you’re feeling. This can be hard for some of us independent types. Any examples of how you have done this successfully?
- Did you get help from a GP ad what did that look like in terms of treatment options?
- When was the turning point for you to want to make menopause a cause and even a book? A short story of how you wrote the book and what made you think it was something worthwhile?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Menopause?
CONTACT INFO:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alidaddo/?hl=en
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In the 80s and 90s legal dramas ruled TV viewing in my household. Liability law and litigation seemed to be where the action was at least in that genre.
What is the state of play today when it comes to being a successful lawyer?
Meet Jamie E. Wright one of the most highly sought-after millennial lawyers and crisis communicators based in Los Angeles, CA. Being at the intersection of the law, business, pop culture and politics, Wright has made a name for herself in legal and business circles as an expert in managing multidimensional businesses and clients with keen insight on the law and a forward-thinking flare.
She is an attorney and principal in the J. Wright Law Group, P.C. Wright, who is licensed to practice law in the State of California, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, she worked for the mayoral campaign of the former Mayor of Berkeley, Tom Bates. Due to her commitment to the campaign and work ethic, Wright was appointed to the City of Berkeley, Peace and Justice Commission at age 19.
After graduating from UC Berkeley, Jamie attended the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. While at Hastings, Jamie was a member of the Negotiations Team and won second overall Mediator and second overall team in the National Negotiations Competition in Chicago. Additionally, she was the President of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, and the Competitions Co-Chair for the Western Regional Black Law Students Association, a sub-division of the National Black Law Students Association. Wright was awarded a scholarship from the American Bar Association Business Section, as well as the Charles Houston Bar Association for academic excellence.
She has gone on and had a successful career to date. Jamie is a recipient of the LA’s most influential under 40 award and the Legacy Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the 2nd Supervisorial District.
Most recently, Jamie was appointed to the Marijuana Task Force where she is one of three Board members who draft regulations for physicians prescribing cannabis. Wright currently serves as the Secretary to the Board of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Southern California and Chairs the Emerging Leaders Committee which is comprised of young adults ages 18 to 35 who are engaged in combating social injustice in communities of colour. Additionally, she was the former Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Inglewood Airport Area Chamber of Commerce. She is also a volunteer lawyer for a collective of minority cannabis growers in South Los Angeles.
We hear from Jamie on:
- The most common type of liability lawsuitin which you stand to lose assets is one resulting from an accident, according to one article I came across. Clearly, your work is more than the art of “ambulance chasing” – explain what you do in a typical day.
- Quite simply, liability means legal responsibility for one's actions. Failure to meet this responsibility leaves a person open to a liability lawsuit for any resulting damages. In order to win a lawsuit, the claimant must prove that the accused party is liable. What role does the lens of liability law play in any successful legal practice in the USA and perhaps the world?
- What are some of the biggest challenges in this area of law today in 2022?
- What aptitudes make a great lawyer, especially in the liability practice arena?
- Medicinal cannabis is very mainstream these days but not always. How has that area of law evolved as society has become more accepting of its benefits for chronic pain sufferers, and what are the challenges you face?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Liability Law?
CONTACT INFO:
Web: About Jamie - The Wright Law Firm Employment Lawyers (jamiewrightesq.com)
LinkedIn: (15) Jamie E. Wright | LinkedIn
If you are a podcaster who wants to record quality sound with ease, sign up to Zencastr Professional account today for a 30% discount. To reclaim this amazing Zencastr offer designed for The Politics of Everything audience, just use the Link: zen.ai/thepoliticsofeverything and use Promo Code: thepoliticsofeverything.
Truth matters but in an era of social media curation and leaders who can lie and remain in power, it can sometimes seem like it doesn’t.
We all hold conflicting views of self, and multiple perspectives of who we are and how we should act. As leaders, juggling these selves is a constant tightrope walk as we negotiate our personal and professional lives, a balancing act that often leaves us unsatisfied and unable to lead effectively. Something needs to change.
In the new book, my guest today taps into the truth conundrum. Joe Hart has authored True Perspective: Why leading with the truth always wins. As an organisational psychologist, coach, mentor and facilitator, Joe Hart provides an insightful, holistic guide for leaders on how to get your best results as a leader by embracing your truth and mastering self-awareness.
Drawing upon extensive experience working with organisations such as Samsung, Chandler Macleod and Gallup, Joe takes a deep dive into his own life story, showing the value of being vulnerable and applying true perspective to your most tightly held beliefs.
In 2017, he founded ‘True Perspective’, a practice specialising in enabling people to improve their performance, reach their full potential and achieve balance. His core mission is to help people create meaningful changes to their lives.
Joe shares with us: 1. Truth is something applauded when it creates justice or shines a light on news that is deemed in the public interest. However, it can also hurt and alienate others depending on the content of that truth. Why does truth matter and do we need to always tell it? 2. How do you believe we can better align with your purpose, so you have direction and clarity to do work that matters and be true to ourselves? 3. What role does having greater self-disclosure have on our sense of self and how does that help us be more honest with the greater world? 4. Businesses can generate an image that appeals to their customers, then when things go very wrong and they fall short – think of things like major banks collapsing during the GFC or products being recalled because of a health hazard, there’s a truth gap. So what advice do you see being overlooked and why? 5. Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Truth?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: Joe Hart | LinkedIn
W: Joe Hart
If you are a podcaster who wants to record quality sound with ease, sign up to Zencastr Professional account today for a 30% discount. To reclaim this amazing Zencastr offer designed for The Politics of Everything audience, just use the Link: zen.ai/thepoliticsofeverything and use Promo Code: thepoliticsofeverything.
Content creation is sometimes seen as the “fun” part of marketing for businesses and leaders. That said, it takes a degree of vision, commitment, and even some failure to get traction with your target market. My guest today knows how to make content that is both content-rich and money-making!
LaTisha Styles is a marketing expert, mentor to high-achievers, and the Founder & CEO of You’ve Got Clients®. She is an Online Marketing Certified Professional®, and a Psych-K® Facilitator who helps entrepreneurs shift subconscious blocks to establish the beliefs that form the foundation of their dream as well as shift any limiting beliefs or subconscious blocks standing in the way of that dream.
She is an avid content creator who produces content-rich videos about marketing strategy, online business ideas, personal development, manifestation, and other thought-provoking short speeches.
Leaning on her expertise she has helped hundreds of coaches build their businesses into multi-6-figure businesses, and has consulted and partnered as a content producer, ambassador, and expert for high-profile companies including Progressive Insurance, The National Association of Realtors, Beazer Homes, and PNC Bank. She has also been featured on Forbes, Business Insider, Credit Suite, Part-Time Money, and more.
In the podcast, you will hear:
- What makes great content creation in 2022 and how has that changed over the past few years?
- What is your favourite way to distribute content – maybe a social media platform or something in real life – and why is that the case?
- What rules do you set for yourself and your clients before they create a video or share an idea online that lands and creates noise?
- How do self-limiting beliefs perhaps block creative content for some people and what is the way to overcome that fast?
- Your most challenging content creation experience and what did that teach you?
To connect with LaTisha:
https://instagram.com/latishastylestv
https://facebook.com/latishatv
https://youtube.com/latishastyles
If you are a podcaster who wants to record quality sound with ease, sign up to Zencastr Professional account today for a 30% discount. To reclaim this amazing Zencastr offer designed for The Politics of Everything audience, just use the Link: zen.ai/thepoliticsofeverything and use Promo Code: thepoliticsofeverything.
Persuading others to think, feel or do something is part of human nature.
My guest today has written a book entitled ‘How to Persuade’ – showing us the skills you need to get what we want. In it. Michelle Bowden provides readers with research-proven techniques to master the art of persuasion. Through engaging, real-world examples, Bowden shows how to transform your weaknesses into strengths to move people from 'no' to 'yes' - every time.
Michelle is a Certified Speaking Professional and communication skills coach. Over the past 23 years, Michelle has delivered her Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass more than 950 times for over 12,000 people. Her client list is a Who's Who of international business, from banking and finance to information technology, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, and retail—and her coaching has helped those businesses win multi-million-dollar bids and projects.
She is also the best-selling author of How to Present: The Ultimate Guide to Presenting Your Ideas and Influencing People Using Techniques that Actually Work.
We discuss:
- We hear terms like coercion which is largely negative and influence which seems to be more on trend as a term, but persuasion is not the same right? How do you define it?
- Every day we’re faced with moments where we either win or lose - whether it’s trying to convince your boss to approve your leave, secure a business deal or even win an argument with friends. So, what’s the key to winning more of the time?
- How can we tweak our communication style to be more persuasive in everyday life?
- Is there a process we can adopt to get more strategic on the art of persuasion?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Persuasion?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellebowdenenterprises/
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Software as a service (or SaaS) is a way of delivering applications over the Internet—as a service. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware management.
SaaS applications are sometimes called web-based software, on-demand software, or hosted software. Whatever the name, SaaS applications run on a SaaS provider’s servers. The provider manages access to the application, including security, availability, and performance. Many of us use these applications daily!
Today I speak to Nathan Gampel, the CEO of Simpel and Associates, who are known as business transformation specialists. For more than two decades, Nathan has advised leading organizations on their most complex change programs. From private equity led mergers and acquisitions to modernizing how global organizations work, Nathan helps companies win at change. Nathan is also the inventor of Kinetic Transformation; a patent-pending algorithm for understanding change at scale and creating actions that beat the 70% challenge.
For anyone who wants to understand the world of SaaS, this is your episode.
In this podcast, Nathan will share: 1. SaaS platforms involve software that is available via third-party over the Internet. Examples of popular SaaS providers include BigCommerce. Google Workspace, Salesforce. These are household names but not always! How did this happen? 2. Can you define what Saas is and how it has evolved over time? 3. What role does SaaS play in business transformation and how? Some examples would be great! 4. What kinds of SaaS products do you see in the next few years and who can benefit? 5. Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of SaaS Products?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: (1) Nathan Gampel | LinkedIn
I met Kristofer Rogers some 15 years ago, when I was a lobbyist, and he was working for an online fundraising platform. Nearly two decades have rolled by, and how the world of work, play, tech, online sales, and everyday transactions have very much changed!
Kristofer is a highly regarded technology leader who is recognised as a thought leader in emerging payments and technology innovation. He is currently Australia's CEO of EonX Services, part of a publicly listed fintech growth company (CSE:EONX) focused on developing their new account-to-account payments solution.They are the local subsidiary partnering with Mastercard to develop their new account-to-account payments solution.
Prior to joining EonX, Kris was General Manager ANZ at Mambu, the $5 billion-valued core banking platform provider. In November 2019, he was announced as the Start-Up Executive of the Year at the CEO Magazine’s Executive of the Year Awards for his work as CEO of Zepto (formerly Split Payments), which he led from launch to becoming a market leader in direct debit and real-time payments solutions leveraging open banking.
Kristofer is also a Non-Executive Director and board member of Feros Care, a disability and aged care provider helping people ‘grow bold’ with better care and technology. Kris presents on future trends in technology across the globe and is also a strategic advisor on fundraising and social impact for corporates and non-profits.
A keyboard warrior the piano playing kind, he also is father to three kids, and lives with his wife in balmy Byron Bay, one of the most popular sea change destinations in Australia.
Hear Kristofer’s insights on:
- How would you describe the modern payment system in 2022 and what has fundamentally changed over the last few decades? Examples please.
- Banks are still powerful holders of mortgage loans and seen as mostly stable businesses that customers can rely on for their savings and credit cards etc, but has the rapid rise of a raft of new players upended that?
- Is the appeal of disruptor payment systems perhaps generational?
- How much ethical and fiscal responsibility do these disrupters have to their customers?
- What do you foresee as the next big trends for payments globally?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Payments?
To connect:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristoferrogers/
Free will is something we all perhaps don’t think a lot about in our everyday lives.
My guest today David Lawrence is the author of Are We Biochemical Robots. He is a social critic and animal rights advocate, and philosophical proponent of free will, opposing the determinist views held by many new media personalities. David wrote his book as a response to the 10th anniversary of another author Sam Harris’ book Free Will, in an effort to expose the flawed thinking that Harris’ book and determinist ideology present - and to address the central arguments against the existence of free will.
David holds a B.A. in Philosophy from UCLA as well as Jurisdoctor Law Degree from USC.
So this is an episode for the thinkers among us as we discuss determinism, free will, and why the great debate between them matters more than ever.
We talk about:
- How can free will be defined and is it something most humans take for granted? Please explain your perspective in a few sentences.
- What is determinism and what does that have to do with free will?
- In your words, determinists have markedly grown in number over the past decade, in large part due to a misreading of neuroscience studies seeking to link prior neural brain activity to the exercise of choice. At the same time, the moral importance of the free will debate has been increasing in intensity due to other scientific findings, which demonstrate that determinist beliefs promote cheating and other anti-social conduct. For many successful people and those who aspire to be say wealthier or smarter or more goal-orientated that may seem like the natural way to reach their goals in business or sport, for example. What is the counter argument to this and how can it help society function better?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Free Will?
CONTACT INFO:
https://www.biochemicalrobots.com/
biochemicalrobots@gmail.com
Free will is something we all perhaps don’t think a lot about in our everyday lives.
My guest today David Lawrence is the author of Are We Biochemical Robots. He is a social critic and animal rights advocate, and philosophical proponent of free will, opposing the determinist views held by many new media personalities. David wrote his book as a response to the 10th anniversary of another author Sam Harris’ book Free Will, in an effort to expose the flawed thinking that Harris’ book and determinist ideology present - and to address the central arguments against the existence of free will.
David holds a B.A. in Philosophy from UCLA as well as Jurisdoctor Law Degree from USC.
So this is an episode for the thinkers among us as we discuss determinism, free will, and why the great debate between them matters more than ever.
We talk about:
- How can free will be defined and is it something most humans take for granted? Please explain your perspective in a few sentences.
- What is determinism and what does that have to do with free will?
- In your words, determinists have markedly grown in number over the past decade, in large part due to a misreading of neuroscience studies seeking to link prior neural brain activity to the exercise of choice. At the same time, the moral importance of the free will debate has been increasing in intensity due to other scientific findings, which demonstrate that determinist beliefs promote cheating and other anti-social conduct. For many successful people and those who aspire to be say wealthier or smarter or more goal-orientated that may seem like the natural way to reach their goals in business or sport, for example. What is the counter argument to this and how can it help society function better?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Free Will?
CONTACT INFO:
https://www.biochemicalrobots.com/
biochemicalrobots@gmail.com
Israel is an entrepreneurial powerhouse and a hotbed for pioneering technologies, profitable business opportunities, and high investment returns. For these reasons, it is no surprise that the world's leading multinational companies have all chosen Israel: Microsoft, Motorola, Google, Apple (three R&D centres), Facebook, Berkshire-Hathaway, Intel, HP, Siemens, GE, IBM, Philips, Lucent, AOL, Cisco, Applied Materials, IBM, J&J, EMC, and Toshiba are just some of the names in a long list of over 200 MNCs who realized that Israel is their ideal investment opportunity
Furthermore, many multinational corporates such as Tata, Kodak, Citi bank, and many others have established innovation HQs in Israel.
So how does Israel manage to stay on top of technology in a variety of sectors? Moreover, what makes it so unique that so many international players come and seek the next innovation here?
To find out, we hear from Yoel Israel an Israeli-American tech entrepreneur who has been at the forefront of the Israeli marketing ecosystem.
He founded WadiDigital, Israel's leading technology marketing agency, and Cyfluencer, a cybersecurity influencer & distribution platform as well as Israel Unfiltered a social platform that highlights the culture and the people of Israel, to the English-speaking world.
Yoel's extensive background in marketing and technology is matched only by his passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. He has been able to establish himself as a leader in the industry, both through building WadiDigital and founding Cyfluencer.
Today, Yoel lives in the Haifa District of Israel with his wife and two daughters. Shalom Yoel.
Hear from Yoel about:
A FEW QUESTIONS TO PREPARE FOR: 1. How did Israel become the self-proclaimed tech start-up capital of the world? It must be more than just government support?
-
In 2016 alone, Israeli start-ups raised a record $4.8 billion from investors, while high-tech and start-up companies were sold for $10.02 billion through acquisitions or IPO's. Israel is also home to the highest number of engineers per capita and has the world's 2nd highest R&D expenditure as percent of GDP (4.3%). Has the pandemic and factors like wars and inflationary pressures in the USA for example dampened this in 2022?
-
One recent article I read says “Israel’s tech ecosystem is strong and vibrant, but areas of vulnerability could pose challenges to the industry and possibly to the wider Israeli economy” – this was warned the outgoing executive director of tech-focused organization Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), Wendy Singer. What do you think of this perspective and how can that be overcome?
-
Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of the Israeli Tech Sector?
CONTACT INFO:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoeltisrael/
https://twitter.com/YoelTIsrael
Israel is an entrepreneurial powerhouse and a hotbed for pioneering technologies, profitable business opportunities, and high investment returns. For these reasons, it is no surprise that the world's leading multinational companies have all chosen Israel: Microsoft, Motorola, Google, Apple (three R&D centres), Facebook, Berkshire-Hathaway, Intel, HP, Siemens, GE, IBM, Philips, Lucent, AOL, Cisco, Applied Materials, IBM, J&J, EMC, and Toshiba are just some of the names in a long list of over 200 MNCs who realized that Israel is their ideal investment opportunity
Furthermore, many multinational corporates such as Tata, Kodak, Citi bank, and many others have established innovation HQs in Israel.
So how does Israel manage to stay on top of technology in a variety of sectors? Moreover, what makes it so unique that so many international players come and seek the next innovation here?
To find out, we hear from Yoel Israel an Israeli-American tech entrepreneur who has been at the forefront of the Israeli marketing ecosystem.
He founded WadiDigital, Israel's leading technology marketing agency, and Cyfluencer, a cybersecurity influencer & distribution platform as well as Israel Unfiltered a social platform that highlights the culture and the people of Israel, to the English-speaking world.
Yoel's extensive background in marketing and technology is matched only by his passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. He has been able to establish himself as a leader in the industry, both through building WadiDigital and founding Cyfluencer.
Today, Yoel lives in the Haifa District of Israel with his wife and two daughters. Shalom Yoel.
Hear from Yoel about:
A FEW QUESTIONS TO PREPARE FOR: 1. How did Israel become the self-proclaimed tech start-up capital of the world? It must be more than just government support?
-
In 2016 alone, Israeli start-ups raised a record $4.8 billion from investors, while high-tech and start-up companies were sold for $10.02 billion through acquisitions or IPO's. Israel is also home to the highest number of engineers per capita and has the world's 2nd highest R&D expenditure as percent of GDP (4.3%). Has the pandemic and factors like wars and inflationary pressures in the USA for example dampened this in 2022?
-
One recent article I read says “Israel’s tech ecosystem is strong and vibrant, but areas of vulnerability could pose challenges to the industry and possibly to the wider Israeli economy” – this was warned the outgoing executive director of tech-focused organization Start-Up Nation Central (SNC), Wendy Singer. What do you think of this perspective and how can that be overcome?
-
Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of the Israeli Tech Sector?
CONTACT INFO:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/yoeltisrael/
https://twitter.com/YoelTIsrael
Entrepreneurship is often lauded with stories of skyrocketing success which inspire us to think about our own careers and business experiences. This success and public profile sometimes come after one or two big setbacks, maybe in the wake of business lessons learned hard way and bankruptcies even.
My guest today is both an entrepreneur and someone who leads scores of budding entrepreneurs. Jack Delosa has personally trained, mentored, and presented live to over 245,000 entrepreneurs and companies including ASX200 companies, SMEs, governments, athletes, NRL and AFL clubs, celebrities, and some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs.
Jack has a string of accolades like being a five times AFR Young Rich Lister, a two-times-selling author, and the founder of Australia’s largest business coaching and training provider for entrepreneurs, The Entourage, which has a community of 650,000 members. Since 2010, The Entourage has helped members add over $2 billion in value to their businesses. Under his leadership, The Entourage has been awarded the 4th Best Place to Work in Australia, and the Top 50 in Australasia, by Best Places To Work.
Jack is also a high-profile investor, having invested in companies spanning biotechnology, luxury real estate, finance, e-commerce retail, recruitment, and even aviation, including one company that became what’s known in Silicon Valley as a ‘unicorn’; as in a business that goes from $0 to $1 billion within ten years.
Hear from Jack on:
- Are entrepreneurs born or made or is that too simplistic?
- What made you start The Entourage and how has that program changed and kept pace with what entrepreneurs need and want to know over the past 12 years?
- What qualities does a true entrepreneur have and who is your pick of the crop (favourite entrepreneur and why)?
- Do most entrepreneurs have to take big risks or fail fast, or can there be a slow-burn version of entrepreneurship that works well too?
- Takeaway: What is your overarching message for anyone facing The Politics of Entrepreneurs?
To connect:
LinkedIn: Jack Delosa | LinkedIn
Website: https://www.the-entourage.com/
At one time or another we've all had a bad boss – whether it’s through bullying and intimidation, unfair feedback or unrealistic workloads. Their behaviour sets the tone for what's acceptable in an organisation and can cause major issues for productivity, staff turnover and wellbeing, especially during difficult times like we’re experiencing now. In a tough or toxic work environment, how can you challenge your thinking and shift perspective to make relationships work? I
My guest today Michelle Gibbings has written a book Bad Boss: What to do if you work for one, manage one or are one where she draws upon decades of experience in corporate leadership to provide a practical transformation guide. In this book she covers all three perspectives: the direct report, the boss and the boss's boss, helping readers quickly identify where the issue lies, along with actionable steps to turn things around. Michelle says that bad bosses aren’t always bad people, and it takes work at every level to create an environment where everyone can flourish.
Michelle’s previous books include ‘Step Up: How to Build Your Influence at Work’, and ‘Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate your Career’. She is a global keynote speaker, on a mission to help leaders, teams and organisations create successful workplaces - where people thrive, and progress is accelerated.
- Has the pandemic and The Great Resignation trend meant less willingness to accept a bad boss?
- Does remote or hybrid work shift the ways the “bad boss” dynamic operates and make it easier or harder to shift for those relationships?
- How can an employee improve their own voice and action change in a toxic workplace?
- How do you know if you are a bad boss in 2022?
- How can a business make sure that having an eye on simply creating profits and outputs are not the key to their management success?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Bad Bosses?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellegibbings/
Website: www.michellegibbings.com
If you are a podcaster who wants to record quality sound with ease, sign up to Zencastr Professional account today for a 30% discount. To reclaim this amazing Zencastr offer designed for The Politics of Everything audience, just use the Link: zen.ai/thepoliticsofeverything and use Promo Code: thepoliticsofeverything.
At one time or another we've all had a bad boss – whether it’s through bullying and intimidation, unfair feedback or unrealistic workloads. Their behaviour sets the tone for what's acceptable in an organisation and can cause major issues for productivity, staff turnover and wellbeing, especially during difficult times like we’re experiencing now. In a tough or toxic work environment, how can you challenge your thinking and shift perspective to make relationships work? I
My guest today Michelle Gibbings has written a book Bad Boss: What to do if you work for one, manage one or are one where she draws upon decades of experience in corporate leadership to provide a practical transformation guide. In this book she covers all three perspectives: the direct report, the boss and the boss's boss, helping readers quickly identify where the issue lies, along with actionable steps to turn things around. Michelle says that bad bosses aren’t always bad people, and it takes work at every level to create an environment where everyone can flourish.
Michelle’s previous books include ‘Step Up: How to Build Your Influence at Work’, and ‘Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate your Career’. She is a global keynote speaker, on a mission to help leaders, teams and organisations create successful workplaces - where people thrive, and progress is accelerated.
- Has the pandemic and The Great Resignation trend meant less willingness to accept a bad boss?
- Does remote or hybrid work shift the ways the “bad boss” dynamic operates and make it easier or harder to shift for those relationships?
- How can an employee improve their own voice and action change in a toxic workplace?
- How do you know if you are a bad boss in 2022?
- How can a business make sure that having an eye on simply creating profits and outputs are not the key to their management success?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Bad Bosses?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellegibbings/
Website: www.michellegibbings.com
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If nothing else, the past few years of a pandemic, has proven that many businesses rely on the global landscape – shutting borders during the Covid19 pandemic meant that many suffered from a lack of qualified staff, from missed trade opportunities, from not travelling to events, and from being unable to make quality connections beyond the realms of their laptop. While many organisations have perhaps shifted their focus domestically perhaps derived from necessity, there is no doubt that many still want to operate on a global scale.
My guest today, Cynthia Dearin is the Founder of Dearin & Associates, and she has launched a new book Business Beyond Borders: Take Your Company Global international. The book provides a step-by-step, accessible guide for business owners and entrepreneurs who want to amplify their impact on the international stage. Drawing upon decades of experience in international business, including extensive stints working abroad in global roles, Dearing brings a unique perspective on international expansion and guides readers on how to execute the right strategy to ensure their success.
With 23 years of international experience, Cynthia is on a mission to empower business owners and CEOs to scale internationally and amplify their impact in the world. An Australian-qualified legal practitioner, Cynthia worked in the UK, US, Europe, and Middle East, as an Australian diplomat and as a management consultant. She also spent three years as the CEO of the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Cynthia is proficient in Arabic and French, both of which she uses professionally. Her previous book is Camels, Sheikhs and Billionaires: Your Guide to Business Culture in the Middle East and North Africa.
Hear from Cynthia on:
- Can you explain what the biggest barriers are for businesses to get global expansion done right and how that can be remedied?
- Not all business is a type suited to global expansion – thinking of your local café that is not a franchise or even my PR business is probably limited in that way. Are there hallmarks of who can scale up globally and who can’t?
- Cultural divides exist and not all international markets are the same clearly – what is the best way to navigate the cultural challenges and for example, do you need to have a local team to guide you?
- How can you go global cost-effectively and remain market price sensitive to your global customers? Any hacks and ideas?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiadearin/
W: https://dearinassociates.com/
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Business development is the lifeblood of any organisation. It is in many ways about building connections and capitalising on that as well as finding new ways to expand your product or service offering to existing customers. However, with sales being something many people find challenging or even off-putting what does the gold standard of great BD require?
To find out, I am speaking to Victoria Butt, who I met around 2013 in a networking group – the perfect BD environment perhaps. Victoria is the Founder and Executive Search Consultant of Parity Consulting, serial entrepreneur, Founder and Chief Training Officer at Evolve Sales Training, Board Member for Entrepreneurs Organisation Sydney and Angel Investor for BIPOC women. In 2021, BIPOC angels was created, an angel investment fund exclusively working with and supporting females who are Black, Indigenous, People of Colour.
A decade ago she founded Parity Consulting, a recruitment organisation specialising in placing diverse and capable talent in Product, Pricing, Digital, Marketing and Data Analytics. Parity was founded to reshape how the industry saw candidates and lift them to be equal to the client. In 2017, she joined Entrepreneurs Organisation in Sydney and lead the first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative the organisation had seen in the APAC region, and now sits on the Sydney Board for member success.
In 2020 at the height of COVID-19, Victoria set up Evolve Sales Training, an online sales training platform specifically for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses. Based on long term sales mentoring, this B2B platform provides processes, accountability and frameworks for busy entrepreneurs and sales professionals to drive sustainable higher revenue.
A mother of two young children, wife, blogger, and self-confesses wine snob, Victoria is passionate about anything to do with DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging). Let’s discuss the Politics of Business Development.
Questions that Victoria canvasses include:
- As someone in executive search, I imagine business development has been a key part of your career and business life. Give us a snapshot of how you approach BD?
- Great products and services don’t always mean money spinners. My career is in PR and strategic comms and I am always amazed when businesses focus on the shiny stuff like fancy content or social media images on say Instagram and then find that alone won’t convert to sales. What is the secret sauce you see missing in many business’s sales training practices?
- More than 40% of actual salespeople say prospecting is the most challenging part of the sales process, followed by closing (36%) and qualifying (22%). How can BD be done organically and authentically – many people who love their business still find “sales” approaches challenging?
- Is there a tried-and-true way to create a funnel or sales or similar that lands with the right target audience more and converts to sales faster?
- What role does automatic and tech play in business development and ultimately sales? Can you share an example or two?
CONTACT INFO: LinkedIn: (15) Victoria Butt | LinkedIn
W: (15) Parity Consulting: Overview | LinkedIn and Evolve Sales Training – Evolve Sales Training
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The tech field lags far behind on workplace gender equality: There’s a stark difference in hiring quotas, salary, and retention numbers for women in tech compared to their male counterparts – pointing out deeper inequalities and foundational problems in the industry.
I am in conversation with Paula Bratcher Ratcliff. She is the force behind Women Impact Tech, a community for collaboration, professional growth, and belonging to inspire, educate, empower, and advance women in technology. This is her big goal!
Paula argues that just because a company has a good diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statement doesn’t mean they follow through. It’s about building support systems – having an active and purposeful mission to elevate your employees – especially women or other under-represented groups in your office.
A few months ago, Women Impact Tech released its first-ever Women Impact Tech 100 list, honouring the 100 top organizations where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements go above and beyond to foster an equitable and thriving workplace environment for women. Coinciding with International Women’s Day earlier this year, the Women Impact Tech 100 highlights the most innovative, ground-breaking tech companies that prioritize DEI initiatives in their company foundation—making it clear through tangible action that diversity is a key contributor to overall company success. The best of the progressive companies who prioritize DEI make up the 2022 Women Impact Tech 100. The list was compiled after extensive research and review using public data, including employee feedback on workplace culture for women and other under-represented groups, company benefits, and perks, and dedicated DEI efforts.
Hear from Paula about these areas: 1. Women in tech seem to still face so many challenges. Inequity across the board, underpaid and underrepresented. Studies show female managers at tech companies make 10% less on average than their male counterparts across major cities. Women make up just 28.8% of the total tech workforce while women of color only make up 4% of the computing workforce and almost no senior leadership roles. How can this change faster? 2. Why should more women want to work in tech? Sounds like it may not want us! 3. The pandemic’s impact on women in tech was stark. Women in the tech industry were twice as likely to be furloughed or laid off than their male counterparts throughout the pandemic. 54% of women say that the pandemic is making it harder for them to break into the tech industry. Meanwhile, 38% of those who do break in, plan on leaving in the next 2 years, and many report dissatisfaction with the industry. Why are many qualified women leaving the tech industry and what can businesses do to retain them?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: Paula R. Bratcher Ratliff | LinkedIn
W: Women Impact Tech | WIT
https://www.linkedin.com/company/womenimpacttech/
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Bev Andrews is a change management expert. For several years now, I have worked with and witnessed the rise of the change management function in a range of organizations – from utilities to banks and all kinds of businesses. Usually communicating change takes patience, time, and a lot of nuanced approaches to get it going.
Change management draws on theories from many disciplines, including psychology, behavioural science, engineering, and systems thinking. And there are many different models to choose from. A central idea of all change management theories is that no change ever happens in isolation. In one way or another, change impacts the whole organization and all the people in it. But with good change management, you can encourage everyone to adapt to and embrace your new way of working. Sounds easy enough.
My guest Bev has devoted the past 20 years of her career to delivering business solutions across a broad range of services in a diverse set of industries. Bev has extensive experience in Organisational Management – managing, developing, and facilitating change to achieve organizational improvement and transformation.
During her career, Bev has worked within organizations of different shapes and sizes, including those shown below. Bringing this experience to her business now, ASPIRE Change Management, Bev continues to provide the highest level of practical and empowering change management support, training, and advice to Australian businesses.
Unlike other consultancies, Bev’s company ASPIRE specializes only in change management. They provide end-to-end change management, which includes strategy, planning, delivery, and capability development. Working strategically and tactically, ASPIRE leverages your processes and tools and engages your employees on the journey.
In this podcast you will hear:
- What is change management and how does it ideally work for an organization?
- What is the basis of your framework for change management?
- How can a business know if it’s getting change management right?
- A Harvard Business Review found 81% of the projects with effective change management came in on or under budget, according to the study. When change management wasn't as effective, there was a clear negative fiscal impact. The Harvard Business Review suggests 60-70% of all the change initiatives undertaken in organizations fail and a 2015 McKinsey study found the same kind of figures. What common mistakes do you usually see that may interrupt how change managers can bring their best to an entity?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Change Management?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: (14) Bev Andrews | LinkedIn
W: ASPIRE CHANGE MANAGEMENT - Home
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While many of my guests are talking from experience, and often professional prowess is at the heart of these podcasts. But not always – life is more than career or business and The Politics of Everything was never designed to be an entirely “business-minded podcast.”
Enter today’s guest whose new book How to get laid on Tinder – for Men caught my imagination right away!
To set the scene. Maureen Pound had not had a single date in 7 years. She was busy running a business and raising two anonymous sperm donor children on her own. It was after a life-changing Thailand bike ride with 50 other entrepreneurs raising money for orphans that she decided to get back on that horse - and what an adventure.
Over the six years that followed, she matched with thousands of men on Tinder, talked with over 500, and met close to a hundred. She went on walks, played tennis, had coffee, dinner, drinks, and sneaky Rendez-Vous.
She heard stories of frustration and annoyance from a lot of men and decided she wanted to help; to share ideas and strategies to help them meet great people. The idea for her book How To Get Laid on Tinder - For men, was born. She's passionate about supporting men and giving them tools to communicate well, both online and offline. She is practical and fun and not afraid to be direct. This should be one heck of an episode! Perhaps not one for minors or anyone not keen to understand what goes in the Tinderverse!
In this episode hear from Maureen on:
- What is the best thing about Tinder dating, and then, the worst?
- What made you write a guide to Tinder dating for men. We are told that 30 million matches are registered every day on Tinder- what advice do you have for men on the App?
- We also know 76.9% of Tinder users in 2020 were male. So are men still the pursuers of the online dating world or what is your experience? Don’t women need help and a book too?
- What advice would you give anyone wanting to meet new people on Tinder or other Apps?
- Have you found love and connection on Tinder and if so, is that something Tinder does well?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Tinder?
Contact details:
W: www.howtogetlaidontinder.com.au
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Presenting is something we all need to do at some stage of our lives – perhaps for our own wedding speech or making a board presentation, hosting a webinar, or doing an investor pitch. As a former TV reporter turned professional presenter and communications coach, this is in my wheelhouse. But for so many people it becomes something they have to master and sometimes find it hard to manage that all-important preparation and delivery!
While I have my own presentation style, I am always keen to find out how others present and manage their style of presentation whether that be in person or online.
Enter communications specialist Monica Lunin. She is the founder & co-director of consultancy Mojologic - where she works with the best to make meaningful change for their clients. She is also the author of a new book, What She Said, which explores 40 inspiring speeches from women throughout history, delving into how and why they were so impactful in creating positive change and how we can apply these lessons to the workplace. Her fascination with communication can be traced back to school and university when she was an avid debater and public speaker. Her academic pursuits in political science and international relations gave way to a career in business – and the power of persuasion has always permeated her view of the world.
Monica wants to live in a world where ideas flow, leaders are brave, and salespeople don’t make you cringe. As a sought-after consultant, facilitator, and speaker she has worked with companies like AMP, Macquarie, EY, Qantas, and Suncorp to motivate and empower behavioural change.
When she’s not attached to a lapel mic, you can find her swimming at Manly Beach, skiing down a mountain, cramming for a book club, or negotiating with teenagers.
In the podcast, Monica shares:
- How did you decide what speeches made the grade in your new book ‘What she said’?
- Impact is a key feature of being a presenter. Speeches demand a sense of performance and poise to create impact. What is your advice to anyone wanting to master a speech from idea to writing to delivery?
- Do you have a special way to prepare your own presentation for example and walk us through that?
- Do people – say men vs women - really present differently and is that something we can all embrace as a USP for ourselves, rather than trying to change ourselves to be more like someone else? True or false?
- message for us on The Politics of Presentation Styles?
CONTACT INFO:
W: https://www.mojologic.com.au/author/mojologic/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicalunin/?originalSubdomain=au
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A personal brand is widely recognized as the perception or impression of an individual based on their experience, expertise, competencies, actions, or achievements within a community, industry, or the marketplace at large. Personal brands may be deliberately modified to reinvent a public person.
So, when did this become the norm, and do everyday humans really have a personal brand, or do we need to constantly create one to remain relevant and visible? And does having a personal brand make any difference in an already hectic, noisy online world where TikTok and Instagram are flooded with content that can at times seem self-indulgent.
I am speaking to someone who works extensively in this personal brand space. Kathryn Porritt is known around the world as the leading Iconic Strategist for personal brands. She works privately with those destined for greatness to help them take their expertise and turn it into their Iconic Empire.
Following the successful sale of her multi-million dollar eCommerce company, she established Icons Incorporated to represent the world’s elite personal brands - with branding, representation services, commercialization strategies, big-deal PR, and speaking.
Hear from Kathryn on:
- When did having and managing your own personal brand become a norm in modern society? Are there some examples e.g. The Kardashians or a Simon Sinek.
- Does a personal brand differ from your company brand if you are, for example, say Elon Musk – founder of Tesla? How do you compartmentalize that?
- What are the best ways to amplify your personal brand – social media has to be a part of it but does it have to be?
- Are there times when a personal brand can become toxic or not ideal?
- Do everyday folks have a personal brand they may not be aware of and how do we know what our brand personality and value proposition are?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Personal Branding?
Contact details:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-porritt/?originalSubdomain=au
W: https://www.kathrynporritt.com/
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Privacy is something everyone in the modern era must come to terms with. Our digital footprint is everywhere and protecting our identity from theft or managing who can see our personal details online is a hard one. How much information do you have on who knows what about you as you do your daily routine of doing a spot of internet shopping, searching news articles, sending out emails, or posting a few photos on social media from your laptop or smartphone?
My guest today Marco Bellin, is here to discuss The Politics of Privacy. He is currently the CEO at Datacappy, whose VPN protects you from advertisers, data collectors, and third-party agencies with full-device coverage.
Marco has enjoyed a diverse and long career that includes education, bioscience investing, and more recently, privacy.
After graduating from Vassar College in 1989, Marco started work as a research assistant at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. There, he developed a passion and an acumen for studying and analyzing biotech stocks which he continues to do to the present day.
In 1992, he founded Science, Technology, and Teaching, which taught 3rd-grade science after school in New York City public schools. Marco then went on to work for ReadSpeak Inc., a private business focused on education through language acquisition. He received his Master’s in Educational Administration from NYU in 1999.
In 2002, he founded Elephant Hill Organic Farm and after the birth of his children, closed the farm and focused solely on biotech investing. In 2016, he founded Blindcut, LLC, an internet privacy company, and now is at the helm of Datacappy. Marco also plays tennis with his dogs and strives to make the world a better place.
We discuss in this podcast: 1. What drove Marco to lead a company like Datacappy and what problem does the business solve? 2. How do you 100% know the Datacappy VPN keeps you anonymous and encrypted? 3. How has tech complicated our privacy in a globally connected world and is that always bad? 4. What are some of the main ways we are giving up our right to our own sense of pure privacy every time we click on a social media feed like Instagram or order a pizza online and can we do much about it if we want to have the access and convenience of these digital tools? 5. How can smaller businesses keep up with data privacy compliance? 6. Why does our kids’ privacy has to be put first.
To connect with Marco:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marco-bellin/
W: Datacappy VPN & Browser
Inheritance is kind of like anything to do with money, religion, or politics for many people. It is almost taboo when it comes to dinner party conversations or even banter among those who know and love us. It seems rather old-fashioned to me!
To tackle this topic, I am lucky to have here today Vanessa Stoykov is a financial educator and best-selling author. From her 22-year history of owning a financial services education-focused media business, Evolution Media Group, Vanessa has a deep understanding of the finance world and has the unique ability to communicate this in a way that everyday people can understand. She is also the Founder of NMP Education, an award-winning television producer, and an author.
Recent research commissioned by Vanessa reveals that 74% of Australians believe you should be having conversations with family members about inheritance before the person passes away, but only half actually have. The main reason behind why people haven’t, even though they want to, is because they aren’t sure about how to approach the “touchy subject”. They keep putting it off because they aren’t sure about the response they will receive.
In the next 15 years, it’s estimated that the average Australian could receive $320,000 in inheritance[1]. This $3.5 trillion wealth transfer between one generation to the next is being dubbed ‘the economic tsunami’, and it highlights the enormous impact inheritance will have both to the country’s economy as well as people’s day-to-day lives. Interestingly, the data also highlighted that almost half of respondents (48%) believed having these conversations before it’s too late will lead to less conflict amongst beneficiaries after their loved one’s passing, which is a key driver behind why so many people think it’s important. An overwhelming majority (74%) believe it’s up to the person leaving the inheritance to instigate the conversation when and if they choose to do it.
In this episode, Vanessa and I discuss:
- Why do you think people expect an inheritance to be theirs because of bloodlines or marriage? Does this a historical reference?
- What is your take on the idea that inheritance can be planned differently – such as giving it all away for a philanthropic legacy or giving it well before you pass away?
- What mistakes do many people make when it comes to receiving an inheritance no matter their age or financial status? E.g., https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/newsletters/2017/apr/avoid-inheritance-mistakes.html
- Do will disputes often cost more than their worth in legal fees etc? How can that be avoided?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Inheritance?
Contact details:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-stoykov/
W: https://vanessastoykov.com.au/
[1] https://www.nmpeducation.com.au/opinions/reinvention-new-retirement-sizzler/
Terminology always has a season and moment in the sun. If I had to put money on it, I would bet for 2022 it would be this term – The Great Resignation.
The “Great Resignation” was coined and predicted by psychologist Anthony Klotz—and is the tipping point of a nearly decade-long trend of employment dissatisfaction. Also known as the Big Quit and the Great Reshuffle this is an ongoing economic trend in which employees have voluntarily resigned from their jobs en masse, beginning in early 2021, primarily in the United States. Possible causes include wage stagnation amid rising cost of living, long-lasting job dissatisfaction, and safety concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some economists have described the Great Resignation as akin to a general strike.
To get deeper into what this means, I am chatting to Aliza Knox. She is the author of Don't Quit Your Day Job, outlining six mind shifts you need to rise and thrive at work. Aliza built and led APAC businesses for three of the world's top technology firms—Google, Twitter, and Cloudflare. Named 2020 APAC IT Woman of The Year, she spent decades as a global finance and consulting executive and is now a non-executive board director, a senior advisor for BCG, and a regular columnist for Forbes, where she shares her wisdom (and humour) to help professionals who dream of "doing it all."
Aliza now shares her passion and lessons learned with the next generation of business leaders guiding companies across new frontiers while building and maintaining strong connections between teams around the world.
Hear from Aliza on:
- What is The Great Resignation about and what does it mean for employers and then employees alike in a post-pandemic working environment?
- There has since been a huge amount of research trying to work out why this has happened. Are workers quitting work entirely, as the pandemic makes us reevaluate our priorities? Or are they quitting to pursue their dreams in a different career?
- How can one build a culture in a company or entity that attracts and retains the best and brightest talent and stems from The Great Resignation?
- Some recent data worth noting is that the rates of vacancies, resignations and wage growth all slowed in the fourth quarter of 2021, which is a signal that the rebound in labour demand has faded. So, if you weren’t part of the great resignation, you may already be too late. What comes next for business leaders wanting to be flexible but not desperate in their war for taken?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of The Great Resignation?
Contact details:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alizaknox/?originalSubdomain=sg
Cities are amazing – built environments full of diversity, energy, culture, and pace. What makes a city more liveable though as cities get more crowded, traffic intensifies, and people struggle to find affordable housing close to their schools, workplaces, and communities they know and love? Does a city need our refining to truly sing in 2022?
I am speaking today to Dr. Tammy Wong Hulbert – who I met almost 20 years ago when we worked together at Customs House on Sydney’s iconic harbourside foreshore. Now based in Victoria, an hour’s flight from Sydney Australia, Tammy has a real sense of what makes cities liveable.
Tammy is an artist, curator, and Senior Lecturer at RMIT University, School of Art, Master of Arts (Arts Management) specializing in curating. In 2021 she was the recipient of an Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools (ACUADS) Research Innovation Award.
Her research focuses on ‘curating inclusive cities’ enacted through collaborations with marginalized urban communities, to unearth and care for their perspectives and build citizen participation through exhibitions and public art projects. These methodologies stem from Tammy's art practice which focuses on expressing the multi-layered and fragmented spaces between cultures, a result of her position as a fourth-generation Australian of Chinese descent and living in a super-diverse and postcolonial society.
She has remained dedicated to increasing the dialogue around Australia’s relationship with Asian and Chinese communities through arts activity and has worked with a wide range of contemporary artists and communities in Australia and Asia in galleries, museums, and public spaces during her career.
Her most recent curatorial project was Becoming Home: Stories of Chinese Australians at ArtSpace Realm in Melbourne, Victoria (2022). She is currently working on an ARC Linkage project Vital Arts: Skilling young people for their futures awarded in 2021.
Hear Tammy discuss:
- What makes a city liveable and how do we know we are in one?
- Why is inclusiveness such a big part of a liveable city dynamic – any examples of good and bad models you can share?
- As a child of an immigrant family, what do you make of how transferable are “city living experiences” from one big city to another?
- Cities have become in some ways less vital during the Covid-19 pandemic where many people had to be in lockdown ad there was some movement globally away from traditional centres to more space, more affordable housing, and lifestyle changes – tree or sea change for example. How does that affect the viability of cities long term?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Liveable Cities?
To connect with Tammy:
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/tammy-wong-hulbert-107130b4
W: www.tammywonghulbert.com
Online sales rule the world. An April 2021 Adobe study showed that global e-commerce sales were hitting $4.2 trillion that year, with U.S. consumers accounting for close to one-quarter of that spending. Australia has a similar story. The pandemic forced many consumers to rely on e-commerce to get the basics as well as the more one-off items to survive lockdowns, work, home school, set up home gyms, and eat and drink.
Surveys of consumers in the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States showed online shopping is becoming the preferred method of grocery shopping for a growing number of consumers. Over half of the consumers in all three countries said they believe they are saving money by shopping for groceries online.
My guest today Priya Radia is a former lawyer turned serial entrepreneur. She’s the co-founder of four online businesses including two E-commerce brands, and the creator of the Nine to Free Society - a community for E-commerce entrepreneurs to grow and scale their brands.
Believing in a better way to live, Priya left her career behind to build businesses that could create financial freedom, support her lifestyle and give her time with her family. She’s deeply passionate about helping others do the same and contributing to a new narrative around what it means to work.
Priya shares in this show what she makes of these areas: 1. A collaborative research project completed by Forbes, Huffington Post, and Marketing Signals, found 90% of all eCommerce (so online only) businesses fail within the first 120 days of launch. What excites you so much about eCommerce as a business model? 2. Why did she start her first online business, and some of the mistakes you made that many others may relate to, especially if they have little time or money to invest yet in fancy ideas like an influencer campaign to boost sales? 3. How did you make the most of the early growth success of 18 x sales revenue in the first six months? 4. What are some of the ways an online product business can become successful and allow a business owner to have more “freedom” away from the tools? E.g., SEO campaigns? 5. Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Ecommerce?
To connect with Priya:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/priya-radia-b409aa58/
Insta: @iampriyaradia
Celebrity endorsements have been part of the advertising game for decades, and over the past decade that has manifested into a plethora of social media marketing campaigns using famous folks as well as the rise of “micro-influencers” alongside the stable of paid talent promoting any number of products and services for business across the globe.
Influencer marketing has emerged as not only one of the fastest-growing ways to attract and maintain customers for a brand but also one of the most effective forms of inspiring brand loyalty. But it has to be done right. It has to be authentic and ethical – and since July 2020 there has been an Australian code of practice that affects PR agencies, talent managers, influencers, and brands.
My guest today knows firsthand the harsher realities of celebrity endorsements and says that such endorsements are not a guarantee of success for a brand – or even sales. Philip Masiello is one of the founders of CrunchGrowth Revenue Acceleration Agency, one of the fastest-growing marketing agencies in the nation. He is renowned for his e-commerce and Amazon selling expertise. He is also well-known for his entrepreneurial talent, having launched five unique international brands since the age of 25.
In addition, Phil is an investor in several interesting startups as varied as digital games, the circular recycling economy, real estate, and personal care products. In addition to providing capital, Phil uses his marketing expertise to help these startups to scale faster.
Phil tells a cautionary tale – sharing a view many brands get enamored with celebrities and think that is the key to success. But it can work against you as much as it can work for you.
In this podcast, you will hear: 1. How Phil founded a skincare line with a supermodel for one of the shopping channels but while she had credibility in the space–she had written books on the concept and was genetically blessed, this business partnership wasn’t a slam dunk. 2. In a more cynical consumer world, is there any way to ensure these endorsements can last beyond one campaign? 3. Are new regulations going to make using celebrity endorsements harder for brands to create financial value in? For example, someone getting in a celebrity one-off paid endorsement that has millions of YouTube or Instagram likes but no sales does happen. 4. Does using influencer-style paid posting take away from the authenticity? 5. Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Celebrity Endorsements?
Contact details:
W: https://philmasiello.com/ and https://getuplifted.com/)
Corporate innovation is at the heart of any business success.
Bruno Pešec helps business leaders innovate profitably He is one of the rare innovators who can claim that he has worked on a regulation-defying freight train and an award-winning board game for teaching entrepreneurship and innovation.
With ten years of experience in different industries—including defence, manufacturing, education, entertainment, and financial services—he has delivered projects that had positive impact on GDP of several countries, succeeded and failed inventing and innovating, and overcame several problems and challenges with no obvious solutions.
In addition to his corporate experience with brands like DNV, DNB, and Kongsberg Group, Bruno is deeply involved with the global entrepreneurial community. He co-founded Norwegian Lean Startup Circle, Norway's largest Lean Startup community, and Founder Institute Norway, the world’s premier idea-stage accelerator and startup launch program. He often serves as a mentor and judge at various accelerators, incubators, and events across the globe.
His academic credentials include a master's degree with distinction in industrial engineering and management, specialization in production and quality engineering, and an advanced management diploma with specialization in strategy and innovation. He has also been trained by Toyota in corporate value creation and innovation. Bruno is currently undertaking a doctorate in organizational change, with a particular focus on the issues with innovation in large enterprises.
He has been a passionate practitioner of martial arts since 1997, having trained in karate, wrestling, and muay thai. Bruno resides in Oslo, Norway, with the love of his life, Tamara. We are here to discuss The Politics of Corporate Innovation.
We cover off in this podcast:
- Corporate innovation can be defined as the process of enterprises implementing innovation opportunities into existing business models. Established companies who engage in corporate innovation typically have a dedicated team towards innovation efforts. Is that always the case or can innovation be embedded in a business culture, so everyone has a chance to do it inside a company?
- A 2020 McKinsey study shows innovation is in crisis. Quote “COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of life, from the personal (how people live and work) to the professional (how companies interact with their customers, how customers choose and purchase products and services, how supply chains deliver them). However, more than three-quarters also agreed that this crisis will create significant new opportunities for growth, although this varies significantly by industry.” What are some ways you have seen that happen so far and will that continue to happen longer term?
- Do larger organizations tend to have a harder time innovating vs leaner, smaller businesses, who can be nimble, try new things faster, and be agile in hard times, or not? Examples, please.
- What are the tried-and-true best ways to execute corporate innovation and why?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Corporate Innovation?
Contact details:
LinkedIn: (23) Bruno Pešec | LinkedIn
W: Bruno Pešec (pesec.no)
Voice acting sounds like a pretty niche career, right? It reminds me of the radio ads I grew up with, in the 80s and 90s – the familiar voices whose faces and names I probably never would see or know. However, through my media and PR career, I have employed scores of voiceover actors to narrate videos and more recently, even be the face of a campaign and usually through connections I already had over an agency.
I'm speaking today to experienced techpreneur David Ciccarelli, the Founder, and CEO of Voices.
His business is for anyone who has been told their whole life that they have a great voice and should be on the radio, considering the exciting world of voice acting.
More than just talking, voice acting requires the ability to connect with an audience and bring a script to life, the technical capability to record, edit and export high-quality audio, and the business know-how to reply to jobs, negotiate gigs, and follow up for future work.
Income potential ranges from US$100 to $10,000 per job depending on if the work will air on broadcast television or for non-broadcast uses such as phone system recordings or internal corporate training videos.
David’s company has been written about in The New York Times, CNNMoney, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Fast Company. He has appeared on Business News Network and The Globe and Mail TV. He is currently attending Harvard Business School and is a frequent guest speaker at industry conferences.
A big warmed-up voice welcome to David as we unpack The Politics of Voice Acting.
In this podcast, we chat about:
- How has the voice acting sector changed over the years?
- Do you need formal training to succeed and what about customized areas like accents?
- What specific role has new technology played in enabling anyone to become a voice actor? E
- Who was the best voice actor you ever worked with and why?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Voice Acting?
Contact details:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidciccarelli/?originalSubdomain=ca
W: https://www.voices.com/
Many of us have heard of the term metaverse, perhaps firstly when it came to global attention in 2021 when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg publicly changed its parent company name to Meta. According to one definition, a metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection.
Meet Sam Joel, the founder of GiveTree, a virtual game world built on top of an NFT marketplace, where a portion of every transaction goes to a real-world charity and helps make the world a better place. His own story is very inspiring and not like most tech-preneurs we know. Sam originally started GiveTree as a simple charity directory over three and half years ago, while he was homeless and suffering from mental illness and addiction. For most of that time, he lived in an internet cafe in Sydney Australia & relied on the support of local charities to help him survive.
In June 2019 the government granted him 'emergency access' to his superannuation. He accessed 'up to $ $6000 from his super & rented a room in North Bondi. That solved the shelter problem. That did not solve the mental illness and addiction problems. He really struggled with adjusting back to normal life – for example, drinking over 30 standards a day, every day as he tried to manage PTSD & mental health problems.
In April 2020 due to excessive alcohol consumption, he had a brain seizure. That was the turning point for Sam getting the medical attention he needed to make it. After being discharged from the hospital, over the course of the next few months, his mental health issues slowly started subsiding because I had stopped drinking, got a part-time job, started building new relationships, and started to become healthy again. Originally, just a simple charity directory, fast forward three years & GiveTree is now evolved into Australia's first NFT marketplace “for good”.
Hear from Sam on:
- What was the hardest part of starting this tech business especially as you were overcoming some very hard personal circumstances?
- How have you made GiveTree Australia’s first NFT (non-fungible token) marketplace that really gives back? What steps has that involved from a business planning and financial investment view?
- You say that NFTs are an incredible new fundraising resource for charities both in Australia and around the world. You now look forward to helping charities adventure into the metaverse world of blockchains, cryptocurrency, NFTs, 3D avatars, VR, AR, Gaming, and more. Why has this been not done yet do you think?
- How can more charitable organizations get involved in this metaverse so they can also be a part of this brave new world?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of the Giving Metaverse?
For more:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samjoel/
Website: https://www.givetree.io/
I am always in awe of designers and architects who actually create tangible projects that stand the test of time and make communities come together – whether that be in the form of sky-high buildings, bold bridges, and public artwork that often harmonizes and reflects who lives and works in that neighborhood. Clever design can literally change lives and make us all happier and safer. Just picture the Eiffel Tower in France or the Brooklyn Bridge in New York or even the Hills Hoist clothing line, and you can quickly get what I mean!
Today I am speaking to Jayne Harrison. She is the Founding Director of JDH Architects and has been at the helm since its inception in 2003. Through her leadership, and pioneering vision, her business JDH has delivered an extensive portfolio of education and community projects and a hard-earned reputation as one of Australia’s most creative and dynamic architecture firms.
She also leads JDH Ed, a forum for Speakers, Thinkers, and Dreamers to come together in the exchange of knowledge and ideas. Specializing in educational architecture has allowed Jayne to combine her love of creativity and lifelong learning. With a unique holistic approach to engagement and in-depth understanding of pedagogical practice, Jayne’s thirst for knowledge has established the practice as leaders in educational architecture, planning, and design.
Believing in a better way to practice her profession, where people and the environment are the cornerstones of good design, she looks towards long-lasting solutions that support a responsible and resilient thriving future, the built environment, and the communities they serve.
As an engaging communicator, Jayne frequently speaks at educational conferences both in Australia and overseas. Harrison is also an avid supporter of gender equality in the architectural and construction space and regularly calls out the industry through speaking opportunities and seminars. She is also extremely passionate about supporting other female entrepreneurs and would love to see more women working alongside her in leadership roles.
In this episode you will hear:
- What does educational architecture entail?
- What is the biggest error people make when it comes to designing a statement building and even bringing a design to life?
- Is great, sustainable design subjective and of its era, or are there generally some tried and true ways to build structures that have form, function, and some generally agreeable design success in there?
- Women in architecture and construction are still today outnumbered – what solutions are there to attract more women to the field?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Design?
To connect with Jayne:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdhjayne/?originalSubdomain=au
W: https://www.jdharchitects.com.au/
Today’s guest wears a lot of impressive hats: Former Socceroo | Broadcaster | Adjunct Professor, Sport & Social Responsibility | Author | and Human Rights Activist
Who else could this be but Craig Foster AM?
Following a decorated football career as Australia’s 419th Socceroo and 40th Captain, Craig has become one of Australia’s most respected sports people as a broadcaster, social justice advocate, and human rights campaigner.
Craig represented Australia in the Junior National Team at age 15 in the first FIFA Under 16 World Cup in China, 1985 where he was selected in the FIFA Team of the Tournament. He would later go on to represent Australia at senior level on 29 occasions including as Captain.
Following retirement, he quickly became one of Australia’s most respected sports broadcasters with an 18-year, triple Logie-winning career with Australia’s multicultural broadcaster, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) as part of The World Game (TWG) team which included five FIFA World Cups and four FIFA Women’s World Cups as well as the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League and domestic competitions.
He is a vocal supporter of a higher humanitarian intake by Australia and particularly an increased intake for Afghan refugees.
A smidgen of his relevant humanitarian work efforts includes being:
- A member of the Australian Multicultural Council under the Department of Home Affairs, Immigration and Citizenship division
- An Ambassador for Amnesty Australia, the Affinity Intercultural Foundation, and Addison Road Community Centre including their #RacismNotWelcome campaign for Local Councils across Australia, Pushing Barriers, an Australia Committee member with Human Rights Watch, Advisory Council member of the Australian Human Rights Institute, UNSW and a Director of the Crescent Foundation.
His humanitarian activism extends to several, high-profile campaigns including #SaveHakeem to free Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi from a Thai prison for which he was a Finalist for the Australian Human Rights Commission Medal.
He is a former columnist for the Sun Herald, author, and co-author of several books including ‘Fighting for Hakeem’ by Hachette Australia, and writes for the Guardian, The Age, and other publications and holds a Professional Coaching License and helped guide dozens of Australia’s finest young female and male talents, many of whom graduated to Australia’s National Teams.
In 2019, the Australian Financial Review recognized Craig as a ‘True Australian Leader’, the Sydney Morning Herald as one of the ‘People that Defined 2019′, he was the recipient of the 2020 NSW Government Humanitarian Award for his work with sport and human rights, an Australian Human Rights Commission Medal finalist, was awarded the Australian Muslim Council 2020 Abyssinian Medal and was a finalist for the NSW 2021 Australian of the Year.
In 2021, Craig became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Australia Day Honours List which he dedicated to and shared with his refugee friends and all refugees seeking safety around the world.
In 2020, Craig contributed to the acquisition of Humanitarian Visas and evacuation of around one hundred predominantly female Afghan athletes from Kabul escaping the Taliban including the Afghan National Women’s Football Team and Taekwondo athletes, as well as Afghanistan’s several Paralympians who went on to compete at the Tokyo Paralympic Games weeks later.
Working with Australia’s Immigration Minister, Alex Hawke, and Foreign Minister, Marise Payne as well as trusted members of the Australian Parliament, Craig used his sporting and political connections to secure the safety of many Afghans.
Shortly after the Kabul airport was closed to evacuation flights, Craig also assisted 15 young girls to escape a Kabul safe house while the Taliban searched from house to house for them and acquired the Humanitarian Visas for them to resettle in Australia.
Somehow, Craig was nominated as one of Australia’s Best Dressed Men despite spending his life in ripped jeans and board-shorts and still plays football for the Waverley Old Boys Over 35’s in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Australia where he tries to relive old glories.
Today, Craig advises on athlete activism for some of Australia’s most prominent sportspeople and is an Adjunct Professor of Sport and Social Responsibility with Torrens University, Australia where he has developed an online course called ‘Sport for Good’ which teaches athletes and sport practitioners how to utilize sport for social justice and progressive issues around the world.
Craig holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), a Master’s Degree in International Sports Management, and a Postgraduate Degree in Football Management.
In this episode, Craig discusses:
- How do you define human rights? Maybe a practical example of what that is in practice. Is it just about equality of opportunities in a legal and moral sense or much more?
- What prompted you to become a human rights advocate? Was there a trigger for you that made you focus on this and what keeps you going when issues like Manus Island detainees among other cases must sometimes feel like they will never go away?
- Many of us witnessed through the consistent media coverage your role in freeing footballer Hakeem al-Alraibi in 2019. That was a relentless campaign and one that I imagine you had to pull on every lever you had to make that case stay front of mind in not just the media but the government’s agenda. Reflecting on that experience, what did that reveal about Australia’s human rights approach?
- We have a problematic human rights record in Australia and the First Nations people have suffered and continue to suffer – for example, ABS figures from 30 June 2021 stated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners made up 30% of all prisoners and 78% had experienced prior adult imprisonment. And life expectancy remains much lower than non-Indigenous Australians. How can we rectify this huge and relentless situation faster and in a way that is humane?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Human Rights?
To connect with Craig:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-foster-am-69b9a72b/
W: www.craigfoster.net
Negotiating is part of our every day – from business deals to romantic relationships, we all need to be able to create outcomes that work well. Hopefully meeting our needs and those of others who we may work, transact, live and socialise with.
My guest today Simon Russell is the founder and Director of Behavioural Finance Australia (BFA). At BFA he provides specialist behavioural finance training & consulting. His services are designed to improve financial decision-making, communication, and engagement. He mostly works with fund managers, major super funds, financial advisers and other financial services professionals.
Simon is at the forefront of how behavioural finance research can be applied to improve financial decisions and outcomes. His own research has demonstrated the efficacy of a number of relatively simple psychological strategies – such as how changing the order that investment returns are presented can help investors make better long-term decisions, how ‘anchors’ can impact perceptions about the value of financial advice, and how category labels and graph axes can influence investment choices and risk perceptions.
Simon is the author of three books on behavioural finance: Behavioural Finance - A guide for financial advisers, Applying Behavioural Finance in Australia and Cyborg, and is currently writing his fourth: Behavioural Finance - A guide for listed equities teams. He is a regular speaker on behavioural finance and financial decision-making at industry and academic conferences.
Simon holds a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) & Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) both from the University of Adelaide, Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance & Investments from the Securities Institute of Australia, Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University, Diploma of Financial Planning from MLC Advice Education and a Graduate Certificate in Management from the Australian Institute of Management.
Hear from Simon on:
- Why is negotiation so important and how can we get better at it?
- What is the #1 mistake most organisations make when it comes to addressing deeply ingrained issues with the way their leaders negotiate and how do you go about remedying this?
- Most businesses want action that generates higher returns, to lower risks, and winning as well as retaining more clients. However, when they are doing well enough with the status quo how do you advise they improve to future-proof their entities?
- What is anchoring about – how does it work in action?
- Has Covid and more widespread remote operating for most businesses changed what works best when it comes to negotiating? Explain with a case study or example, please.
To connect with Simon:
LinkedIn: (5) Simon Russell | LinkedIn
W: Home - Behavioural Finance Australia
Emotional Intelligence has been talked about for a few decades now. It is for many, more important than IQ to succeed and feel connected, fulfilled, and thriving in business or personal pursuits.
Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is defined as the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict.
Nikk is a born leader and entrepreneur and is in demand as Australia’s leading expert in Scalable Emotional Intelligence Frameworks. Her hyper-logical approach to emotional intelligence has led to ground-breaking insights and delightfully practical applications. She has created world-leading EQ training programmes that show leaders and their teams how to synergistically combine IQ and EQ in order to take themselves to extreme heights in both their business and personal lives.
Her business InspireTribe provides strategic and insightful mentoring, coaching, and training that uncovers the unconscious limiting patterns of individuals who are seeking to be successful.
This episode covers off:
- What is EQ really about and why does it matter?
- What is the biggest error people make when it comes to harnessing their EQ and what can we do to help overcome this?
- What is your Scalable Emotional Intelligence Framework able to do for people, and how to operate it?
- Conflict is part of life and workplaces especially – what does an EQ mindset do to help overcome conflicts more easily?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of EQ?
CONTACT INFO:
LinkedIn: (9) Nikk Hughes | LinkedIn
W:
https://www.inspiretribe.com.au/
Most of us know that Vitamin D is important to our health. Many of us stuck inside offices are actually deficient in Vitamin D, which in a nation where skin cancer is still a major issue, seems ironic.
Meet Mathew Collett. He is CEO, director, and co-founder of Solar-D, a Sydney-based company reframing how we experience SPF in the form of revolutionary sunscreens. Growing up on Sydney’s iconic coastline Mathew enveloped himself in a beachside lifestyle and the Emerald City’s outdoor culture from a very early age - starting as a young nipper (junior surf lifesaver) on the famous sands of Bondi Beach and later on taking up an array of sports including cricket, rugby and his passion for surfing.
Growing up in Bondi, where Solar D Derma Tech’s life began, Mat has instilled his active lifestyle and passion for outdoor activities to his three teenage kids who spend any spare moment following in their father’s footsteps by taking on water sports, surfing, team sports and becoming volunteer Surf Life Savers at the Bondi Surf Bathers Life Savers Club.
Solar D Derma Tech is hailed as the biggest development in SPF technology in over 50 years, the technology is formulated to allow through more of the UVB light that our bodies use to naturally produce Vitamin D, whilst still offering broad SPF protection. After securing patents in territories all around the world, Mat began to build the Solar D brand, spending the last several years re-educating and shifting the public mindset toward using the new sunscreen which benefits from the Activated Vitamin D SPF Technology, while continuing the overall importance of a ‘slip slop slap’ mentality.
Mathew has over 30 years of experience across startups, Banking, Corporate Advisory, FMCG, and Business Development. Mathew spent over 20 years in corporate banking and financial markets where he developed a key understanding of financial instruments, business management, and client relationships. Mathew was a former Director at JBWere (now Goldman Sachs Australia) and Managing Director of ICAP Australia where he specialized in fixed income, private equity, venture capital investments, and corporate advisory for early-stage business across multiple sectors.
He was also co-founder of Australia’s oldest and largest Lime Farm, Lime Grove, which created a large range of Lime-based FMCG products which sold over 75% through Australia’s largest grocery chain, Woolworth’s. Prior to Solar D, he helped fund, build and commercialize Cocoon Data (now Covata), a data security company now listed on the ASX (CVT).
Mathew discusses in the podcast: 1. Why solar in terms of your business focus? What do you like about this business most? 2. How do we safely use sunscreen and still keep producing a natural level of Vitamin D? Explain why this is so important. 3. What is a “vitamin D promoting SPF technology” about and what should we all understand it to mean in terms of products? 4. Why do we need more of the “good Vitamin D” and has your business found differences globally given different climates and environmental conditions for people? 5. Who have been your greatest mentors (1 or 2) and what has made them have such an impact in your life 6. Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Solar?
For more about Mathew:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-collett-728b6012/
W:
http://www.solar-d.com/
Who else feels the weight of the life administration burden? For me, two businesses, two kids under 13, one busy husband, and my own needs and goals in fitness, academics, so-called work/life balance, and beyond often seem to be a bit much to triumph over consistently and also get some decent sleep.
Enter Dinah Rowe-Roberts. She is a streamlined, systemizing and time and money savior! After her second child was born, she found herself overwhelmed with paperwork, complicated logistics, and to-dos. She knew she needed a new approach and so together with an old friend Mia Northrop they decided to conquer the problem and the Life Admin Life Hacks podcast was born. Their mission is to minimize, automate, share and delegate life admin.
This experience has now resulted in a book - Life Admin Hacks, a step by step guide to: saving time and money, reducing the mental load, and streamlining your life which was published by in January 2022. She has an accounting and finance background and was previously a Director at PwC and the Chief Operating Officer for a national mental health provider. So. let’s get her nuggets of gold as we discuss The Politics of Life Admin.
In this episode, you can hear:
- What is the #1 life admin task Dinah avoids and why?
- The mental load is talked of a lot, and especially for modern mothers. How does that ongoing flurry of “things to do, places to be” impact our effectiveness to get anything done and how can we change that load?
- Online tools are great but there are lots out there - how do you find the best ones that suit your needs and goals?
- How can people become better at saving money or spending less?
- Decluttering is easy for some, but it is mostly boring and hard for some of us. Do you advocate for professionals to come in?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Life Admin?
To connect more with Dinah:
W: https://www.lifeadminlifehacks.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/life-admin-life-hacks
Workplaces of all types have changed considerably since I started my newspaper journalism career in the late 1990s. Inclusion at work was not even thought of but it is a wonderful thing it has become a major goal for offices, factories, and political environments the world over.
My guest today is an expert on workplace inclusion. Gloria Tabi is an Author and the Managing Director at EVERYDAY INCLUSION and Founder of Voice Everyday Racism. Gloria’s research specializes in Social Analysis on Race, Social Inequalities, and Anti-Racism. As a Black African-Australian woman, Gloria brings well-grounded knowledge and experience of the impacts presented in race and gender identities.
With over 30 years of experience in Project Management, Employment Services, Professional Mentorship, and Business Coaching Gloria’s ability to engage, negotiate and build worthwhile relationships across diversity, clients, and demographics are her greatest skills. Gloria provides proactive, relevant, and impactful training frameworks that are tailored to your business for a safe, productive, and sustainable future.
Hear from Gloria on:
- Why has workplace inclusion become such a major focus for companies who perhaps even a decade ago? Is it about profit as much as people – why or why not?
- It can start with hiring and having a D&I policy but how does everyday culture in an organization need to operate to succeed with having a more inclusive workplace that thrives financially as well as socially?
- The Diversity Council of Australia has a yearly index they share. We began tracking the state of inclusion in the Australian workforce in 2017. The stats don’t lie! It appears to be workplace inclusion and diversity means success. What is holding companies back from making such changes or keeping them up in your view?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Workplace Inclusion?
To connect with Gloria:
W: www.voiceeverydayracism.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriatabi/
Given we can all benefit from fresh ideas, I chose to kick off my 2022 podcast year with Donna McGeorge. This is someone super passionate about enhancing the large amount of time we spend in our workplace or home offices (too much, for many) to ensure it is effective and productive, as well as enjoyable.
Donna has worked with managers and leaders throughout Australia and Asia–Pacific for over 20 years. She delivers practical skills, training, workshops, and facilitation to corporates such as Jetstar, Medibank Private, and Ford Motor Company so they learn to manage their people well and produce great performance and results.
Her CV reads like her eclectic record collection (yes, classic vinyl): Manager of Theatre, Sports & Concert Tours for the UK-based Keith Prowse; Asia–Pacific Organisational Development Manager for Ford Motor Company in Shanghai, China; as well as roles at Telstra, Qantas, Ernst & Young and former airline Ansett.
She lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, a region known for its world-class beaches, but her most creative moments come while sipping tea on her balcony, gazing at the meandering waterways, alongside her husband, Steve, and dog, Prudence.
Known as THE productivity coach, she has a range of books, products, and services to help you improve the way we live and work every day and I need some of her magic as much as anyone.
Listen to this podcast to learn:
- How important is routine and what are your top 3 ways you advise people to form one that works for us as not everyone is a “morning person”?
- Brainpower is something we all love to harness. How can we rewrite our brain to be more energized and therefore productive? Does our stage of life or age impact that so we need to readjust this over time?
- Why is being intentional so important in improving our capacity to do more and do things better too?
- Lockdown has helped us all refocus on what we NEED to do more because we became used to not scheduling so much into a day. Explain how you organize your week to be able to ‘win more’.
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Capacity?
To find out more about Donna:
W:: https://donnamcgeorge.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnamcgeorge/
A successful career in asset management requires going beyond your technical skill base to develop business acumen and street-savvy that will take you to the next level.
Enter Dr. Monique Beedles is an internationally recognized thought leader in asset management and best-selling author of several books including Asset Management for Directors. She works with individuals, teams, and companies all over the globe to help them become leaders in asset management. With a Ph.D. in Strategy, a Masters of Finance, and twenty years of board experience, Monique amassed the technical skill and business savvy to guide others on a transformative journey of growth.
In September 2021, she published a new book ‘Leadership Assets: empower your career from the workshop to the boardroom, and pinpoints the smarts you need to succeed in your asset management career. Drawing on more than twenty years of experience as a board director and advisor to senior leaders, Monique has written Leadership Assets especially for asset managers who want to realize their leadership potential, and for leaders who want to empower their teams.
In this podcast, Monique will share:
- What does an asset manager do?
- What are the top 3 leadership assets you believe people need to succeed and why?
- What has changed the most in the past two decades you’ve worked as a board director and advisor for senior leaders? Is about tech or priorities such as ESG that have had an impact or something else? Explain.
- What mistakes are the most common for those who want a career in asset management and how can they be avoided?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Assets?
To contact Monique:
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/moniquebeedles
W: https://www.moniquebeedles.com/
Mentoring has been a critical part of many successful people’s career story. Sometimes it’s done formally and for an exchange of money, but often it is about a more seasoned leader meeting regularly with a less seasoned human and imparting ideas, knowledge, and even empowerment.
I am chatting today to James Sewell, the founder of MentorConnex, a service that connects entrepreneurs and business owners searching for success, with battle-hardened mentors who know how to get it.
James spent the early part of his career in the insurance market, as a Lloyd’s of London broker, until he convinced his then girlfriend, Jenny, to join him on a 9-month trip to Australia as a maternity leave replacement. Fast forward 13 years, two weddings and two kids later, and James and Jenny now call Australia home. After breakfast with his brother-in-law one morning, James decided it was time to trade in a great salary, comfy office, and long-lunches on expenses, for a life of hauling junk in bright pink trucks. And a few months later he (and his brother-in-law) launched PINK JUNK. Whilst the business was not the success James dreamed of, it was a brilliant introduction into the world of business ownership and an incredible experience.
Although the challenges James faced when building PINK JUNK led to it being conceptualized, it wasn’t until a flight back from a visit to the UK when James’ sister laid down the gauntlet with the words “if you don’t do it, I will”, that James finally committed to stepping way outside his comfort zone, and starting MentorConnex. Beyond family and surfing poorly, James thrives on helping other business owners have more success, by making it easier than ever to access 1-2-1 advice and guidance, from authentic experts, who’ve trodden the path before them.
Hear from James on:
- What does a mentor do for someone and how do you know if you’ve met the right mentor to help you in your career or business?
- How is different from a business coach experience?
- How did MentorConnex start and what makes its service different from others that existed prior?
- How do you know when it’s time to break up or move on from your mentor?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Mentoring?
To find out more about James Sewell:
LinkedIn: (12) James Sewell | LinkedIn
Website: https://mentorconnex.com/
I have to admit, I am a sucker for buying merchandise or ‘merch’ as we colloquially say in the land Down Under. Whether it be signed books by authors at their book launch or tea towels from a boutique vineyard on a regional holiday I am handing over that plastic card with joy!
Last year, according to Intelligence Insider, the pandemic fueled rapid acceleration of online buying in several countries that were somewhat lagging—and some of those will continue to see major expansion in 2021. India, Brazil, Russia, and Argentina are all projected to post at least 26% growth in retail e-commerce sales this year. As in 2020, the Asia-Pacific – where Australia is - and North America will lead the regional rankings for retail e-commerce sales this year. China’s size population means that the Asia-Pacific will account for 60.8% of retail e-commerce sales worldwide in 2021. North America will claim a 20.3% share, and Western Europe 12.6%.
My guest today Gwen Blake has managed branding & design projects for some of Australia's best-known brands. She is an expert in branding and design and has a passion for product sales and entrepreneurism.
Today, she is managing director of award-winning Sydney-based branding and packaging design agency, Boxer & co., and the author of a book on packaging design, Packaging a Punch.
Gwen orchestrated the branding behind dynamic serious journalists turned podcaster duo Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales’ successful podcast Chat 10 Looks 3. If you listen to the podcast, like me, it is peppered with shout-outs to Gwen! She consults with them to develop and manage their merch business. At the time of the Australian Federal Government leadership spill in November 2018, Gwen created a meme of a canvas bag with the words ‘Ban the single-use prime minister’ – that was a big moment for her business. She gained quick and widespread media interest and sold thousands of these bags from a company that she literally started overnight at her kitchen table.
In this podcast, Gwen explains:
- In 2018, you were basically an internet sales sensation when I like many bought your ‘Ban the Single Use Prime Minister’ tote bags (and coffee cup) in the wake of former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull being sacked, after many years of a rotating door of leaders. Tell us how you came up with the idea and how it generated you $50K in a short time?
- How quickly does an idea need to turn into merchandise ready for sale to be relevant?
- Tell us how you came up with the branding for the popular podcast Chat 10 Looks 3?
- Is there a ‘secret sauce’ formula to market test before producing items en masse? Share your process!
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Merchandise?
To connect with Gwen Blake:
LinkedIn: (13) Gwen Blake | LinkedIn
Website: Homepage - BOXER & CO (boxerandco.com.au)
Ashley Peverett is the Co-founder & CEO of the Building Communities Initiative (BCI).
A self-proclaimed entrepreneur, he grew up in a family business so had a good start. While working, Ashley studied business part-time and completed an MBA from the University of New England. He climbed the corporate ladder across several organizations to eventually hold an Asia-Pacific-wide management role. Along this journey, he moved from Perth to North Queensland, to NSW then Mumbai. Then the GFC of 2008 hit and his life path and career were suddenly changed forever.
Later, Ashley completed a Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Western Australia and reveled in the history of architecture. In a new career cycle, Ashley was known as a talented designer working for the most part from repeat business or referrals from existing clients. He then became focused on the growing housing crisis in emerging nations, and he set about to create an organization dedicated to meeting this need. The Building Communities Initiative was born.
Ashley used global professional networks to bring together a group of multidisciplinary consultants who shared his passion for this cause. After two years of research and development, they had a design and construction model which can construct a community of 5,000 quality affordable homes in less than six months and within a cost that meets the expectations of these governments. BCI is about to commence our first project in India using this technology and is in negotiations with several countries to construct hundreds of communities within the next five years.
The Initiative’s long-term vision is to drive construction costs to the bare minimum and to create a financial instrument that will enable 1 million of the world's poorest people every year to own their own homes.
Ashley discusses in this podcast:
- How the Building Communities Initiative (BCI) was born, and how Ashley led a dialogue with governments and private developers across Africa and India to understand the key performance indicators we needed to achieve.
- How these sustainable housing designs are rolled out in a way that may be different from what traditional aid organizations or even other governments offer these nations?
- How can developed nations address housing inequity and improve affordability? And why apartment living is not necessarily the answer!
- Takeaway: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Affordable Housing?
To connect with Ashley Peverett:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-peverett-a24b93122/
Website: https://buildingcommunitiesinitiative.org/
Financial literacy is a term that excites some, but many people are hard-pressed to get excited about it, despite its importance in how we all view, manage and maximize our money, from our first pocket money as a kid to making retirement savings last these days for up to 30 years after we no longer earn a wage.
My guest Julia Newbould is Managing Editor of Money magazine, Australia's most-read personal finance magazine. In this role, she oversees all content for the magazine, website, and podcast. In June she started the Friends with Money podcast. Prior to that, she had been Editor at Large for the magazine, where she started as the public face of the publication through podcasts, has led webcasts for corporates such as Westpac and Aware Super, as well as TV and radio segments.
Through her various positions in financial media, it has been her overarching goal to demystify finance for more people and allow those who want to do more with their money to have greater opportunities to access the best information. Julia has spent the majority of her career in media, combining her academic background in economics and practical experience in journalism, she has contributed and led editorial and content teams for financial services publications and Top 20 ASX listed companies for the past 20 years. Since 2000, she has worked extensively with financial planners where she has gained much knowledge about personal finance and an understanding of the role professionals can play in helping people reach their personal and financial goals. In 2013, driven by a desire to see greater inroads in financial independence for women, Julia established and managed the Stella Network, an initiative supported by BT Financial Group to support women in financial planning with the belief financial planners should be more like the people they hope to serve.
Julia is an Advisory Board Member for 1Million Women and a Member of the University of Sydney Alumni Council. From 2016 to 2018, Julia served as Treasurer for Women in Theatre and Screen (WITS) and was a Women of Westpac – Global Trends Committee member.
In March 2020, her first book The Joy of Money was published. The book was written to help women become more confident around money and understand how to structure theirs better to reach life's goals.
Julia Newbould has a passion for writing, equality, theatre, 70s music, and classic film and in her spare time, when not locked down, she attends red carpet events, reads voraciously, acts as a mentor for women in business, and has been known to write reviews under a pseudonym or two.
In the podcast hear from Julia on:
Financial literacy is a term many of us never knew when we started work or had to make decisions about money we have earned – what is it and why does it matter?
What makes financial literacy work best? Is it a school subject we miss out on or is there an ongoing way we can become better at our own financial understanding all the way from first job to retirement and beyond?
The GFC and the 2018 Banking Royal Commission showed many people that trusting the so-called “smartest people in the room” with our money is not always wise. What role do advisors play and what do we as consumers need to understand as well?
Are women needing different financial literacy supports or is it not a gender-led issue? Explain and give some ideas on what financial literacy looks like for us?
Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Financial Literacy?
To connect with Julia:
Linkedin: Julia Newbould | LinkedIn
Water management and the policies behind it is something we all need to get our heads around, whether you live in a big city, small town, a coastal region or a remote community. I am deeply passionate about the water sector having worked closely within the NSW state government during the recent drought of 2018-2020, leading communications in areas such as community engagement and stakeholder management, which set off my thinking about how we approach water policy in the 21st century. A basic human right, access to clean, safe water for drinking and daily use, remains not something many people worldwide lack. Recent droughts in Australia seem to be intensifying as the impacts of climate change make extreme weather events more common.
Today’s guest is the CEO of the Australian Water Association, Corinne Cheeseman discussing The Politics of Water Management. The AWA is Australia's largest water network of professionals and practitioners who manage our most precious resource - water. It offers a platform where members - companies and individuals -share, connect and inspire to drive and inspire a sustainable water future.
Corinne has spent most of her career working in water, including many years at Australia’s largest water utility Sydney Water in roles ranging from environmental management to water quality to community education, and in recent years she led data and analytics teams to build new capabilities, solve problems and create value through data. She has helped develop data strategies and capabilities in large organizations including the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) as well as Not for Profits such as Amnesty International Australia and The Smith Family.
From a young age, Corinne has been curious about health and the environment, and she particularly loved science at school which led to her first degree in Biology and after a few years working in a water laboratory, she completed her Masters in Environmental Management. It was however her passion for working with people who shared a strong sense of purpose that has been a constant thread throughout her career.
We discuss:
- What are the biggest issues facing water policy at this time and what would you like to see happen while you are CEO to improve this?
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What attention does climate change get in the water management debate and how can that be better managed?
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How can water access become more equitable and is it up to wealthier countries to help other nations get that basic human right of clean water access happening faster?
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What about regional communities who by and large have become accustomed to seasonal changes such as droughts, floods, and bushfires impacting their livelihoods and communities’ access to water. How can they be better catered for?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message on The Politics of Water Management?
To connect with Corinne and the AWA:
LinkedIn: (14) Corinne Cheeseman | LinkedIn
Website: Australian Water Association | AWA | Australia’s Leading Water Authority
Buying property is expensive especially in Australia's biggest cities and regional areas now surging too (thanks Covid), with purchasers paying stamp duty, conveyancing, and legal fees, not to mention the huge deposit required.
So, would you really want to pay more for something you could do yourself? Well, recently I did. For the first time ever, my husband and I engaged a buyer’s agent to find us a Coastal family home that had some non-negotiables, a set time frame, and a strict budget – so the agency we used Spring Buyer’s Agency is run by Michelle Tucker and Linda Johnson, and they were worth every cent – having found us the right property in 8 days.
As background, Linda brings a diverse and varied skill set to Spring Buyers Agency, having operated in multiple roles in her 23 years’ experience within the Real Estate industry. Beginning in residential sales, she was mentored by an industry leader and spent 10 years as a successful selling agent in one of Australia’s most iconic and desirable locations - Bondi Beach. She held senior leadership positions, functioning as Director of Operations with Raine & Horne Bondi Beach, Head of Residential Sales with LJ Hooker Lower North Shore, and was General Manager with the Australian operation of LINK Franchising, the largest business brokerage firm in the world. Linda also achieved her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2016.
Michelle’s 15 years’ experience within the property industry is built on an intimate understanding of market conditions and a drive to achieve outstanding results. Beginning her career with LJ Hooker Terrigal, she worked as a specialist property developer on the Central Coast. Most recently, as Head of Projects for McGrath Central Coast, Michelle managed all medium to large scale off-plan development projects.
Buyer’s agents work for buyers to find a suitable property according to the buyer’s brief and often negotiate the purchase on behalf of the buyer. Depending on the service needed, they may charge a set fee, starting from as little as $100 to attend an auction for you. For a full search, inspection, and negotiation service, they may charge a percentage of the property’s sale price, which can be up to 3 percent, plus GST.
When houses in my home city of Sydney now selling well over $1.5 million, that adds up to a lot of money when you pay another service. So, is it worth it?
Like all my guests, I wanted to remind you that they are not being paid nor vice versa.
We cover in this podcast:
- What is a buyer’s agent and how did you become one?
- How did the sector grow and who uses a buyer’s agent? Is it just for wealthy people?
- What has been the hardest thing about being a buyer’s agent – are you ever been unsuccessful for a client for whatever reason?
- How do you ensure they get a great property and not pay too much or feel obligated to say yes faster than normal market conditions?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message on The Politics of Buyer’s Agents?
To connect more with Linda and Michelle:
Website:
https://www.springbuyersagency.com.au/
A disaster brings out the best and at times, the worst in everyday ordinary people. Rarely is it something less polarizing. Thinking of devastating bush fires, major floods, or terrorist attacks and the raw, media images of what disaster looks like -- and the days that follow -- are pretty confronting for many people, let alone those experiencing the incident firsthand.
My guest today is Alison Covington, the woman who brought the ‘Good360’ charity to Australia.
Good360 is Australia’s largest online marketplace, matching surplus brand-new goods to people most in need. It offers the retail sector a sustainable, community-focused option to redirect surplus products from landfills.
In just six years, over 300 retailers and manufacturers have signed on and donated over $192 million in brand new products, including essential toiletries, household items, clothing, shoes, PPE, and stationery supplies to name a few. Their network of almost 3,000 member charities and disadvantaged schools Australia-wide, across 31 cause areas, order the goods they need from the Good360 website with the ease of 24/7 access, saving time and precious budget.
Thanks to Alison’s business model and vision, more than 22 million brand-new items have been matched to people in need, helping to provide dignity and equality. Of this, due to back-to-back disasters over the last two years, including drought, floods, bushfires, and the ongoing devastation of COVID -19, 9 million items have been matched directly to assist communities in disaster recovery.
Good360 Australia is well on the way to achieving Alison’s goal of matching $1 billion worth of brand-new goods to Australians in need by 2025. We are discussing the Politics of Disaster Recovery.
Here she discusses:
- What makes disaster recovery easier – charity, government support, good systems or insurance, or solid communities that can help others? Explain your view.
- Do disaster recoveries ever go wrong and why is that?
- How has Covid19 changed perceptions of disasters and the steps needed to get our lives back on track? It is a two-year disaster with different strains of the virus and many unknowns.
- How can leaders become better at disaster recovery say in a business or their own communities?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Disaster Recovery?
To connect with Alison:
LinkedIn: (16) Alison Covington | LinkedIn
Website: http://www.good360.org.au/
The costs associated with turnover and lower productivity seen in burnout result in a loss of $322 billion annually according to the World Economic Forum stats from January 2021. There is a wave of burnout with many of us trying to stay afloat in a pandemic and find a way to recharge when many of the tools we use such as socializing, group exercise, and even holidays have been taken away.
Today, I am chatting to Wendy Nash, a Meditation and Wellbeing Accountability Coach. Her company name says it all: Kindly Cut the Crap. To avoid burnout, you need to make courageous inquiry but do it kindly. Her interest arose from experiences as a young child, growing up surrounded by family loss. This provided very early experience of situational burnout. Through her training and practice she has gone on to realize a deep understanding of this, and other kinds of burnout, including its ideological and personality-based forms.
In essence, burnout is what happens when we fail to pay attention to our psychological, moral, or physical wellbeing and the result is a ‘crash and burn’. She has a four-year somatic psychotherapy diploma; her Bachelor of Psychology Honours thesis studied the effects of loving-kindness meditation on prosocial behavior, and she’s been practicing loving-kindness and other meditations for almost 20 years. All of these have been profoundly positive on her wellbeing and relationships.
Hear from Wendy on:
- So, what exactly is burnout, and how do you know if what feels like burnout has affected you enough to be real vs just a stressful week or two?
- What are the best ways to recover from burnout especially if you can’t afford to quit your job or run your own business? Some people may feel ashamed to say they are burnt out!
- Your business is called Kindly Cut the Crap - what does that mean and how can you leverage that into the help you give people?
- When does burnout usually hit people hardest?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us today on The Politics of Burnout.
To connect with Wendy Nash:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-nash/
Website: http://www.kindlycutthecrap.com/
Daisy Turnbull is the Director of Wellbeing at an independent girls’ school in Sydney (in fact my own alma mater), where she has also been a teacher for eight years. She has taught across school systems including some time at a behavioral school, working with students from diverse backgrounds. Before going into teaching Daisy worked in interactive advertising as a producer and in strategy roles tapping into demographic changes and running nationwide qualitative surveys.
She is an accredited Lifeline Crisis Support counselor and regularly volunteers on the crisis support line. She is the mother of two children, holds a Combined Bachelor’s degree in Arts/Commerce, a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching, and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies.
Daisy is on the NSW board of the Australian Republican Movement. In January 2021 Daisy’s first book ‘50 Risks to take with your kids’ was released, providing a guide on developing independence and resilience in young children.
Hear from Daisy on:
- Do you think we are less risk-averse as a society now than say when you grew up or just more aware of the risks around us in 2021? Especially with a pandemic! Explain your views.
- As a teacher, what is your biggest challenge when it comes to encouraging sensible risk-taking if that is possible?
- Why is taking risks so important to young people? Is there a cost to not do this? E.g. less resilience later.
- Risky actions and rash thinking and teenagers seem to be Sympatico – the adolescent brain is evolving but has not fully developed into that adult brain and I have heard boys in their 20s are still not always 100% there yet. Do we need to rethink our expectations of teens and younger people and allow them risks but with consequences if they fail or do something foolish?
- Take away: What is your final thought or message for us on The Politics of Taking Risks?
For more from Daisy:
LinkedIn: (4) LinkedIn
Twitter and Instagram: Ms_dzt
The rise of organic food has been steady over the past 20 years and is very much part of many consumer's food buying decision process. Paddock to plate is an in-demand thing too. One of Australia’s best-known organic meat success stories is Cleaver’s Organic meats. Starting from a humble suburban butcher’s store in Sydney, Cleaver’s products are now stocked in supermarkets across Australia. This was achieved by never losing sight of their key aim: providing Australian families with delicious, healthy, and ethical organic meat products.
Paul da Silva has been the Marketing & Innovations Director at Arcadian Organic & Natural Meat Company for over 3 years but has been with the company as a whole for over six years. Paul works across Arcadian’s brand portfolio (Cleaver’s Organic, Borrowdale, and Warilba Organic), repositioning Cleaver’s as the flagship brand and the most successful organic meat brand in Australia.
Paul is responsible for the development and execution of the marketing strategy as well as the businesses’ objectives over the domestic market and export markets from the USA to Singapore. Paul is also responsible for all aspects of Arcadian's industry-leading carbon management programs.
In this podcast, Paul discusses with me:
- We have heard of paddock to plate but what does by ‘gate to plate’ mantra mean in the business you work in?
- What makes organic produce different from non-organic?
- There are plenty of studies arguing red meat consumption is environmentally damaging so how is that balanced out in your view?
- How has organic meat exporting shaped our economy in Australia and how have your businesses managed issues like drought and sudden trade issues with say China?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Organic Produce?
To connect with Paul:
LinkedIn: (5) Paul da Silva | LinkedIn
Website: https://www.arcadianorganic.com.au/ and https://cleaversorganic.com.au/
Freelance writing is a pipe dream for many burnt-out staff reporters, hobby writers, and anyone who wants to achieve work-life balance on their own terms. Alexandra Cain or Ali as most of her clients and peers call her has spent 20 years building and sustaining a successful freelance business writing career.
Ali wanted to be a business journalist ever since her dad used to bring home the Australian Financial Review when she was little. She couldn’t understand a word of it but would still try to decipher what was written. So it’s her privilege now to write for the AFR, as well as a huge number of other publications in Australia and overseas including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and Forge. She also edits ASX’s magazine, Listed@ASX.
An always in-demand freelancer, Ali also writes for many of Australia's and the world’s biggest (and some of its smallest) businesses, regularly producing newsletter articles, blog posts, white papers, speeches, and, more recently, podcasts for her clients.
Plus she has worked with me for a decade now leading hard-hitting media interview role-plays for my clients in communications training workshops. For Ali, it’s all about getting to the crux of why business and money matter and helping people to understand this world.
Hear from Ali on:
- What made you want to give up a steady income for freelancing?
- What early mistakes did you make as a freelancer?
- How do you approach freelance writing business development so you can plan your income and balance your energy levels, so you are not working seven days a week for months on end?
- How do you promote yourself given some clients would want to keep your writing services to themselves vs competitors using you?
- Do you think freelancers should be better supported by the government?
- Take away: What is your final thought or message for us on The Politics of Freelancing?
Contact Ali Cain via:
W: Alexandra Cain
LinkedIn: (7) Alexandra Cain | LinkedIn
In current times, with all the challenges of a global pandemic and what that means for us as we navigate work, family, isolation, sickness and sanity (and in lockdown for some of us), the notion of kindness must be an anecdote for some of that which we struggle with.
I am speaking today to Hugh Mackay, a highly regarded social psychologist and researcher, and the bestselling author of 22 books, including eight novels. His latest book, The Kindness Revolution, was published in 2021.
He has had a 60-year career in social research and was also a weekly newspaper columnist for over 25 years. He is currently an honorary professor in the Research School of Psychology at ANU, and a patron of the Asylum Seekers Centre. Among other honorary appointments, he has been deputy chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts, the inaugural chairman of the ACT government’s Community Inclusion Board and an honorary professor at Macquarie, Wollongong and Charles Sturt universities.
Hugh is a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and the Royal Society of NSW. In recognition of his pioneering work in social research, he has been awarded honorary doctorates by Charles Sturt, Macquarie, NSW, Western Sydney and Wollongong universities. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2015.
We talk today about kindness!
In this episode, you can hear from Hugh on:
- His new book The Kindness Revolution – how did that book come to be and what can we expect to learn when we read it?
- What makes someone kinder? Is it through experiencing it from others and in a non-transactional way or are some of us born kinder naturally?
- Food is a popular way to show kindness, with a recent study showing almost four in five (78 per cent) believing that sharing a meal with friends and family is a powerful way to display kindness. Meanwhile two thirds (62 per cent) of Aussies believe that helping our neighbours is something we should do more of. In your observations, do close-knit regional communities vs urban dwellers where we can share an apartment block and not ever know our neighbours?
- Are Australians known to be kinder than other countries perhaps?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us today on The Politics of Kindness?
To connect with Hugh:
See this Q&A with Hugh on the subject of kindness: https://helgas.com.au/articles/conversation-hugh-mackay-part-one
Book: The Kindness Revolution - Hugh Mackay - 9781760879938 - Allen & Unwin - Australia (allenandunwin.com)
Email: Dr. Hugh Mackay | ANU Research School of Psychology
Around 20 years ago, I did a whole Masters thesis on Philanthropic models that took me to leaders in this arena across the USA and Europe. While most of us take an impulsive approach to giving, a little bit of research into where your dollars will do the most good can make your donation hundreds or even thousands of times more effective! The Life You Can Save, an organization based in Australia and the U.S., helps people do just this by highlighting evidence-backed, high-impact, cost-effective charities that save lives, reduce suffering and empower women. So today I speak to Charlie Bresler, co-founder of Peter Singer’s The Life You Can Save.
Charlie describes his career path as “not exactly linear”. As a college student at New York University during the height of the Vietnam War, he was a political activist. Wanting to share his perspective with secondary school students, he got a Master’s degree from Harvard in Social Studies and Education and taught for three years. For a variety of reasons, he decided teaching secondary school was not for him. Switching gears, he then went on to manage a tennis club and later wandered into a job as a psychology tech, followed in 1981 by graduate school at Clark University where he received an MA and Ph.D in social and clinical psychology. This led to a seven year stint as a graduate professor of psychology.
Fast-forward to 1992, Bresler ran into his old childhood friend George Zimmer, who enticed him to switch career paths and join his clothing company that had just gone public. He eventually became President of the Company, but In 2008 he walked into Zimmer’s office and told his lifelong friend that he was done. Bresler was ready to give up the chance to succeed Zimmer as CEO to make a move that was more in line with his desire to “be a part of producing meaningful social change”.
Bresler feels that TLYCS has a strong proof of concept – namely, The Life You Can Save can move a multiple of dollars invested in organizational infrastructure to the highly effective charities recommended on their website. In fact, for every dollar spent by TLYCS on their operations over the last eight years, they’ve been able to raise an average of approximately 12-17 dollars to their recommended charities.
Hear from Charlie on:
- You say the “The Life You Can Save” is based on some simple beliefs and assumptions. First, through our effective donations, we can save actual lives of people dying every day that would not be dying with the simple interventions available in the ‘developed’ world. Secondly, we have an ethical obligation to use some portion of our wealth and privilege to save lives and reduce the unnecessary suffering associated with ‘extreme poverty’, defined as living on less than $1.25 USD/day (around AUD$2.50).” In Australia, we do have more social security measures for those in need and had universal health care in Australia for 40 years, but poverty still impacts too many people in a ‘wealthy nation’. How can philanthropy start to change that? Is it more than well publicized or strategic hand-outs from the super-wealthy people?
- How during Covid has the idea of giving changed? Many are doing it tough still or have lost their own incomes or homes. What does that mean for giving?
- What role does government tax benefits and other concessions play in improving giving?
- What about ways to know the real impact and do you suggest philanthropists measure what giving can do for those organizations who receive it?
- I once met an Australian business owner who wanted to give away all his wealth before he died and had convinced his family that was the way to go – is that the level of giving you see often?
- Take away: What is your final thought or message for us on The Politics of Giving?
For more on Charlie and TLYCS: The Life You Can Save - Best Charities for Effective Giving
Courage means different things to different people.
I have known Sonia McDonald for close to seven years. Her personal story has much to do with courage in the face of some pretty hard times and she has been able to rise above it all to forge her own successful path.
Sonia is a global leadership executive coach and advisor, thought leader, dynamic keynote speaker, and award-winning author. She’s also CEO and founder of LeadershipHQ, and McDonald Inc. and through this, she empowers and builds great leaders and leadership across the globe.
Named as one of the Top 250 Influential Women in the world as well as Top 100 Australian Entrepreneurs by Richtopia and is internationally recognized as an expert in leadership and strategy, organizational development, workplace diversity, and the neuroscience of leadership.
She has more than 25 years experience in human resource management, leadership, and organizational development and has held leadership positions around the world.
Sonia has written several books on leadership: Leadership Attitude, Just Rock It! and First Comes Courage, and she writes regularly for publications such as The Australian, HRD Magazine, Smart Healthy Women, and Women’s Business Media. She has been published in BBC Capital, The Australian, HRD Magazine, Business Insider, and Smart Company.
Hear from Sonia on:
- Why her book ‘First Comes Courage’ is based on the idea the world is crying out for kind and courageous leadership. How can more of us find these quickest ways to develop, nurture and grow courage within us and our teams or peers?
- Does it take having a hard or bad experience to make us be more kind as well as courageous – why or why not?
- When was a time that you saw a leader change from an old pattern of behavior to real courage and that inspired you?
- Power seems to be left to those who have earned it already. Explain your experience of guiding younger people to be courageous?
- Take away: What is your final thought or message for us on The Politics of Courage?
To connect with Sonia:
LinkedIn: (5) Sonia McDonald | LinkedIn
Website: Leadership HQ | Leadership Programs & Coaching
Holly Ransom is a globally renowned content curator, powerful speaker, and master questioner with the belief that if you walk past it, you tell the world it’s okay.
Named one of Australia’s 100 Most Influential Women by the Australian Financial Review, she has delivered a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama, was Sir Richard Branson’s nominee for Wired Magazine’s ‘Smart List’ of Future Game Changers to watch, and was awarded the US Embassy’s Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Leadership Excellence in 2019. Having interviewed the likes of Barack Obama, Richard Branson, Billie Jean-King, Condoleezza Rice, and the world’s first humanoid robot Sophia, Holly fights complexity with curiosity, apathy with empowerment, and fear with fact.
As a Fulbright scholar and Harvard Kennedy School Class of ’21 fellow, Holly is a recipient of the prestigious Anne Wexler Public Policy Scholarship. Holly has compressed a power-packed career into a decade, spanning corporate, non-profit, and public sectors. As founder and CEO of consulting firm Emergent, Holly has led real-world results with clients such as P&G, Microsoft, Virgin, Cisco, and KPMG.
As a proud champion for diversity and inclusion, Holly is Chair of Pride Cup Australia, a non-profit organization (and movement) devoted to challenging LGBTI+ discrimination within sporting clubs - and make them welcoming and supportive environments for LGBTI participation and fans.
A two-time Ironwoman, Holly loves to cook, dance and sing, she says despite her complete lack of talent at all three. A fellow podcaster, Holly’s podcast ‘Coffee Pods’ was named in the top ten business podcasts to listen to by the Sydney Morning Herald in 2018. In her recently launched book The Leading Edge, Holly brings the real-world leadership lessons of so many diverse thinkers and pioneers she’s met to the fore in her many opportunities such as being Co-Chair at the G20 Youth Summit in 2014 and becoming the youngest Director ever to be appointed to an Australian Football Club, the mighty Port Adelaide.
Hear from Holly on:
- Her manifesto is about three principles – mindset, method, and mastery – that you say we can first lead yourself, then others. You have also had the chance to interview some of the world’s most famous leaders such as Susan Cain and Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, and Malcolm Gladwell. How have their different change-making agendas influenced your own views of what makes someone who can achieve a leading-edge?
- How can positive and lasting change be achieved faster, and does it always come with sacrifices for those making it or impacted by it?
- How can we become more confident in changes we decide to make or happen to us?
- How have you personally carved out your way path, making changes and tinkering around the edges as you went to forge what you define as a meaningful and satisfying career?
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What was the hardest change you ever made and what did that teach you?
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Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Change?
To connect with Holly:
LinkedIn: (8) Holly Ransom | LinkedIn and website: | Be the change you want to see in the world. (hollyransom.com)
Microbusinesses are my passion and in no small part because I run a couple myself. Microbusinesses represent around 25% of all businesses in Australia – a pretty hefty chunk of our business landscape when you think about it.
Today’s guest is a truly inspiring microbusiness leader with a swag of awards. Tina Tower opened her first business at the age of 20, which went from being a small suburban tutoring center and educational toy store to a licensing program and then a franchise. After five years of franchising, Tina opened 35 Begin Bright centers with 120 staff.
After Begin Bright was acquired by an international education company in 2016, she started business coaching other people to scale their serviced based business. Tina found herself repeating a lot of the same fundamentals again and again to people who were paying top dollar for private coaching. So, she put the repetitive content into an online course. It went off!
To put location freedom to the test, Tina set off to travel the world for a year with her husband and two children, visited 28 countries - all while growing the online business in a couple of hours a day.
Since returning from travel, her empire continued to grow and it’s been a revelation to her that this ‘little’ online business that she runs from home with a couple of staff makes far more money and has such a greater and wider impact than she ever did in running a franchise company.
Tina lives on a small farm near me (on the NSW Central Coast) and from there, helps people to develop and grow online digital business empires. Her niche is to help us microbusiness folks package their expertise into an online course and launch it to the world.
Now she has written a new book “Million-dollar micro-business – how to turn your expertise into a digital online course” that has already rocketed to #1 on a range of global bookstore lists.
Hear from Tina on: 1. What are the biggest challenges of running a microbusiness? 2. The tried-and-true ways to create a “million-dollar” microbusiness? 3. How much money do you need to start a microbusiness and what should someone new to microbusiness invest in first and why? 4. What do you like about a microbusiness from your own experience of having run a franchised business when you headed up years ago? 5. Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Microbusiness?
For more from Tina connect:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-tower-b28a5136/
w: www.tinatower.com
I do not know about you, but I find it hard to be consistently productive. It seems like it’s a secret weapon for some and a natural gift for others.
Dermot Crowley is the Director and founder of Adapt Productivity, a Sydney-based training company founded almost two decades ago.
He is one of Australia’s foremost thought leaders on productivity. He is the author of Smart Work and the founder of Adapt Productivity. Building on many years of experience in the productivity training industry, he created Adapt in 2002 with a vision of helping management and staff in Australia’s leading organizations.
Dermot has a highly inspiring yet practical approach to productivity in the modern workplace. His passion is creating real behavioral change. He has developed a system for working productively that is applicable to anyone working in today’s busy, email-driven workplace.
While remaining heavily involved in the training activities of the business, much of Dermot’s time is spent working with senior leaders and leadership teams on their productivity, and their ability to lead productivity in their teams.
His pragmatic approach and wealth of experience ensure that he brings relevant strategies to the table for the leadership level. His focus on productivity technology ensures that executives are getting the most from the tools at their fingertips.
In this podcast, Dermot explains:
- A realistic definition of productivity in a business and beyond.
- How does say behavioral change get measured and why it matters for enhancing productivity?
- How can a leader ensure they teach and reward productivity to those in their team?
- How we manage our own selves better in a tech-led workplace to be truly working smarter, not longer, and harder?
- For other workplaces such as public hospitals or small businesses like cafes, what does their improved productivity look like especially if they are sometimes understaffed or running smaller scale operations?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Productivity?
To find out more about Dermot Crowley:
LinkedIn: (2) Dermot Crowley | LinkedIn
Website: https://adaptproductivity.com.au/
Body image is a topic rife with expectations, taboo, nuance and even debate. Nikki Parkinson is here today to discuss just that! Her career path of journalism, fashion writing and design makes her an ideal expert for this topic. That is because at the core of everything that former journalist Nikki Parkinson has done in her "second life" as a blogger, author and now fashion designer has been aimed at helping women find their confidence through the clothes that they wear and the life they lead.
The 54-year-old jumped out of her 20-year journalism career in her early 40s and was one of Australia's pioneers in the blogging and then influencing space before Instagram was even a thing.
Over the past 13 years, she's built Styling You, an organic, highly engaged community of Australian women aged 35-55, women who have long felt ignored by the traditional fashion industry in an era when more than ever, women in their 40s and 50s are looking for inspiration on how to dress to feel confident for their work and play lifestyles.
As a blogger and influencer, Nikki has represented national and international brands. And in 2019 she launched her own fashion label, Styling You The Label, offering Australian-made, non-boring wardrobe basics designed to simplify a busy women's wardrobes.
Styling You The Label is the first label globally to feature a model for every size that it stocks, making it easier for women to buy with confidence online. Size diversity is only the start. The label features women of different ages, heights, colours, beliefs, and ability because it values women. Nikki wants women to feel seen and included when it comes to shopping for the clothes they want to wear.
Hear from Nikki on:
- How has body image evolving, and has it changed over time for the better for both men and women?
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The rise of “clean eating” and wellness, as well as certain diets have become accepted as mainstream – the goal seems to be weight loss only, although the idea of health is also made apparent when you see the marketing. Are these issues we can combat with more diverse projections of “what is a healthy body?”
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Recently, Australian Fashion Week was applauded for improving the cultural diversity of its models this year, especially when it comes to representing First Nations people. However, you were part of a media article saying the size diversity was missing still. Why does this matter so much?
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Beyond the size representation how can using different types of models in a brand be done well so it does not come across as tokenistic?
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How has social media helped or hindered our body mage battle?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Body Image?
To connect with Nikki: Nikki Parkinson | LinkedIn
www.stylingyou.com.au
www.stylingyoushop.com.au
Emma Heuston is a lawyer, author, and entrepreneur. A passionate advocate of work/life balance and the freedom to work from home, Emma is the Founder and Director of The Remote Expert, a virtual law firm delivering legal services and legal information to online business owners across Australia.
In 2011, Emma was on the traditional lawyer-style corporate path – but a near-death experience changed her views on work/ life balance and brought with it the realization that life is way too short not to do exactly as you please. So, Emma and her family moved from Sydney to far Northern New South Wales in late 2013. After the sea change, Emma worked remotely at partner level in a law firm for a number of years. Which was great, until it wasn’t. While it was flexible, that role didn’t fulfill Emma’s sense of purpose to help other women say, “what if” and take the leap to start a business on their own terms.
In 2018, Emma wrote The Tracksuit Economy, her work from home bible, and founded the Remote Expert in 2019, where it has gone from strength to strength helping those with online businesses and assist people who have businesses run from home. Emma has some interesting views on the overuse of the word “scale” when it comes to businesses, especially online businesses, and seeks to change that as part of her work.
Hear from Emma on:
- What went wrong in your first business post-corporate career and what did you nail early on that still works for you today?
- Can all online businesses scale up and succeed and why do some work better than others? E.g. legal practice vs online jewelry business.
- What common mistakes do many online business people make when trying to scale online and how can we remedy this?
- Where is the future of online business heading?
- Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Online Scaling?
To connect with Emma:
LinkedIn: (1) Emma Heuston | LinkedIn
Website: The Remote Expert | Online Business Lawyer
Dr. Simon Longstaff is the Executive Director of The Ethics Centre and one of Australia’s leading philosophers and ethics commentators, regularly appearing on national radio, broadcast and newspapers to comment on politics, business and culture, including on ABC Radio National, Q&A and The Sydney Morning Herald. Simon has been instrumental in advising on ethical change and corporate social responsibility for some of Australia’s biggest organisations from Cricket Australia to Australian banks.
Simon began his working life on Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory of Australia. After a period studying law in Sydney and teaching in Tasmania, he pursued postgraduate studies as a Member of Magdalene College, Cambridge. In 1991, Simon commenced his work as the first Executive Director of The Ethics Centre. The Ethics Centre is a not-for-profit Sydney organisation that aims to bring ethics to the centre of personal and professional life. In 2013, he was made an officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for “distinguished service to the community through the promotion of ethical standards in governance and business, to improving corporate responsibility, and to philosophy. He has a PhD in philosophy from Cambridge University, is a Fellow of CPA Australia and of the Royal Society of NSW, and an Honorary Professor at ANU National Centre for Indigenous Studies.
In the podcast, we discuss:
- How do you define ethics and its role or relationship to modern society? Has that changed over time?
- How can ethics be universally agreed or can’t they?
- What can be done to remedy what seems to be a rampant distrust in government and legal systems.
- How important is this issue of consent, morally and ethically, why is consent only being made a big deal now?
- Climate change has been described as a moral and ethical issue not just an environmental concern. How do you see it and how can businesses and leaders grapple with the changing climate, so we can all do the “right thing” for future generations as well as the planet?
- Take away: What your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Ethics?
To connect with Simon Longstaff: (16) Dr Simon Longstaff AO FCPA FRSN FARPI | LinkedIn
W: Need Help? Ethi-call is a Free Decision-Making Helpline (ethics.org.au)
Tim Burrowes has done a lot to shape and up-end the modern media landscape. In the decade since its launch, the company he founded (and remains editor-at-large for) Mumbrella earned its stripes as a respected authority on the Australian media and marketing landscape, with Tim becoming a recognized commentator on media issues. In 2017, Mumbrella was sold to the US-owned Diversified Communications in a multi-million-dollar deal.
Under his editorship, Mumbrella was twice named website of the year at the Publishers Australia Awards, while he was named business journalist of the year. He was also twice named Editor of the Year at the British Society of Magazine Editors Awards. He expanded this to a business model driven by running conferences and awards, including launching the icon event Mumbrella360, in which (pre-Covid) more than 3,000 marketers and media executives gather across three days at the biggest event of its type in Asia. While Tim was curator, Mumbrella360 was twice named conference of the year at the Australian Event Awards. Prior to Mumbrella, Tim edited Aussie ad industry bible B&T Weekly. And before coming to Australia, Tim was the Dubai-based launch editor of Campaign magazine, covering advertising and marketing stories throughout the Middle East. Prior to that, he was editor of Media Week in the UK. He began his career on local and daily newspapers, before his first editorship on specialist B2B magazine Hospital Doctor.
Now Tim has a new project as author of a new book Media Unmade, the definitive story of Australia’s media during the disruptive decade of 2010 to 2020, published in July 2021. And today we are discussing the Politics of Unmade.
Tune in to hear:
- What sparked that desire to start Mumbrella in 2008 and was the idea and the reality different to what you expected it to be?
- Do you still love journalism and media as much as ever?
- What does Unmade really mean and does it seem like a negative slant on the disruption we have seen in traditional media over the past 10 years?
- What other industries are being Unmade as we look ahead and are there lessons from media that relate to other sectors – like energy, tech, or manufacturing for example?
- Finally: What is your top piece of advice for anyone wanting to navigate The Politics of Unmade?
To connect with Tim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timburrowes/
To discuss The Politics of Equality I am interviewing Mark Nielsen. He is the Global Chief Executive Officer of Talent International and a pioneering leader with over 25 years of experience. Over the course of his career, Mark has held C-level roles across start-ups, turnarounds, and multinational corporations. This experience spans organizations in Australia, South Africa, China, the United Kingdom, and the USA, and across the recruitment, technology, resources, retail and medical device sectors. Throughout his career, he has held executive and non-executive director positions on listed and unlisted company boards.
Mark is often referred to as a “new age” or “next-generation” leader who truly understands the multiple benefits of a fully engaged and committed team. He is particularly proud of having built an open, respectful, and unique culture at Talent. Mark aims to ensure that each member of the team champions Talent’s core tenets of progressive and innovative thinking, passion for technological advancement and digital transformation, and customer-centered service. Mark’s current role is managing Talent’s $750m+ business, driving both Talent’s global expansion and its cultural and digital transformations. He is also the co-founder and board member of Talent's foundation Talent RISE, which addresses youth unemployment through the mentoring and placement of young people into technology-related roles.
In 2018, Mark was named Australian CEO of the Year (CEO Magazine), Professional Services Executive of the Year (CEO Magazine), and Recruitment Leader of the Year – Australia (SEEK SARA Awards). In 2020, he was on the Deliotte 50 Outstanding LGBTI+ leaders list.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Post Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of Cape Town is a graduate of The Wharton School’s Executive Development Program and is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Mark is highly regarded for his ability to lead and build high-performance organizations with compassion at their core. He is outcome-focused, a long-term thinker and therefore passionate about building strong organizational cultures.
Questions we cover with Mark:
- Can you share your career ambitions – so what you thought you’d do for a living when you were a kid growing up? And did that happen? Your early career story please!
- How do you define equality and moreover inequality?
- Is the notion we are all born equal even realistic let alone what we can do to even out the equality divide that permeates everything such as our income status, education, where we live, and of course gender?
- Is equality above leveling the playfield or compensating when the situation is clearly not equal or fair? E.g. I think of things like superannuation being paid for women who take career breaks for family reasons. Some employers will top it up while they are on maternity leave.
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You grew up in South Africa which, at the time, was a very conservative country and you say you really struggled to express his identity as a gay man. Still to this day, there are a lot of people who struggle with this and don’t have the courage to be themselves. I know you want to change that. As a white male living a fairly comfortable life as far as we know, do you think you have an obligation – maybe more than most – to address equality more than others who may be perceived as less privileged? Why and how do you do that in your work/daily life?
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The rise of “cancel culture” and the idea of canceling someone coincides with a familiar pattern: A celebrity or other public figure does or says something offensive. A public backlash, often fuelled by politically progressive social media, ensues. Then come the calls to cancel the person — that is, to effectively end their career or revoke their cultural cachet, whether through boycotts of their work or disciplinary action from an employer. Is this recent focus on cancel culture a “mob mentality” on steroids, or a long-overdue way of speaking truth to old forms of power? How can it help balance the power the higher profile people have over us long term or not?
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What role does business and government play in improving equality in modern society? Share an example or two of how this can be done better or has been done overseas even.
- Who have been your greatest mentors (1 or 2) and what did they teach you?
- If you could choose a favorite book, song or film what would it be and why? (Can be serious or quirky!).
- Take away: What your final takeaway message for us on addressing The Politics of Equality?
Connection is key for relationships to succeed, in business, in love, in friendships.
For bankable sales success, it is critical to know how to master connections. Enter the role of today’s guest, Rachel Bourke, a Master Sales Trainer. One that understands sales is a service and that confidence comes from clarity. With over 25 years of experience as a business owner, Rachel knows what it takes to succeed. Like a lot of us business people, she knows the tough decisions, exciting highs, and financial pressures.
She says, winging it in sales simply won’t cut it, and there is a structure that works. You must know exactly what to say and when to say it. Rachel is renowned for her practical, inspirational, and no-nonsense style. Utilizing the Neuroscience of Influence, an advanced application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Neuro-Semantics, and the SalesSPACE Buyer’s Coach™ Methodology, she continues to attract clients that are determined to be best.
Her client portfolio includes The NSW Business Chamber, leading small to medium enterprises, prominent influencers, trainers, and educators. Rachel worked internationally for several years teaching advanced skills of influence to senior executives of global banks such as The Royal Bank of Scotland and Morgan Stanley, the general manager of L'Oréal Paris, and many more.
In this podcast, you can learn:
- How do you help make sales less ‘salesy’?
- What does a lasting connection mean in business and even in life?
- How can a connection lead to action in your customer experience journey?
- Connections are sometimes seasonal – is it about a pipeline of networking or about just finding the right tribe at the right time that matters?
- The 24/7 digital world has been us seemingly more connected, even globally now, say through Facebook or LinkedIn, but also more disengaged with real people, real conversations – yes or no?
- Take away: What your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Connection?
For more connections with Rachel go to: Rachel Bourke | LinkedIn
W: www.SalesSPACE.com.au
Also, for all POE listeners a special treat!
Send an email to success@SalesSPACE.com.au (subject line: Affective Influence Index) to register to be one of the first to receive COMPLIMENTARY ACCESS to The SalesSPACE Affective Influence Index. This eagerly-awaited diagnostic will score your ability to connect with, and truly influence others. You will receive a detailed report of the easiest changes you can make to make a massive difference in your ability to convert sales.
I have been watching Amanda Rose’s star rise for a number of years and she is definitely an ambitious woman who gets lots of stuff done fast.
Amanda wears a number of impressive hats including being the Founder of Small Business Women Australia, Publisher of Business Woman Media and Founding Director of Western Sydney Women, Western Sydney Executive Women & Managing Partner of Western Sydney Advisory.
As one of the most influential people on LinkedIn, Amanda Rose (#BossLady) is quoted as an “internet winning blogger” by TIME.com and contributes regularly to ABC The Drum and has a weekly #BossLady Careers Column in the Daily Telegraph.
A passionate keynote speaker, Amanda Rose has worked with organizations such as The Australian Defence Force, CPA Australia, Law Institute, UBER, ANZ, and Western Sydney University on the areas of confident leadership, conflict resolution & relationship building via connection.
Amanda has a degree in Business majoring in Marketing & Psychology from Macquarie University, a Masters of Communications Management from UTS & Post Graduate qualification in Educational Leadership from Macquarie University. She is the non-executive director at Excelsia College and on the NSW Government’s Council for Women’s Economic Opportunity.
If the word ambition had a moniker surely Amanda Rose would be it. Welcome to the podcast, Amanda.
Hear from Amanda on:
- How she relates to the idea of being ambitious and why for many it so hard to say out loud?
- Describe how your ambition has changed over your career and business journey?
- Do you have a view on setting quotas for women to hold senior board roles or corporate positions as well as in public office?
- Career and business ambition are important but what about other life ambitions? Like fitness goals or even hobbies – how do you view that in your own life?
- Takeaway: How would you sum up The Politics of Ambition?
More on Amanda can be found here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandarosemedia/
Age is just a number, right? Much of the modern world revolves around our age – are we too young or too old for a certain outfit or job or can we defy our age with new skincare products and exercise and diet regimes? I met today’s guest, Dr. Catherine Rickwood, on the speaking circuit some years ago. She is a thought leader and subject matter expert on the topic of aging. Among her academic achievements, Catherine holds a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney which she acquired at the youthful age of 48. Her doctoral studies sparked a curiosity about retirement that led to her TEDx talk entitled ‘Retirement is Redundant’.
Dr. Rickwood believes that being curious about how we live, work, and play at any age and life stage is essential. She considers the idea of educate-work-retire an outdated life plan. A useless paradigm given that we live for so long. She says it’s time to get creative about how we use the extra 20+ healthy years we've been given. Using those years throughout our life rather than saving them up until our 60's. Catherine also suggests that gap years are something we can embrace at any age. They do not need to be the sole possession of school leavers. She specialises in working with corporates to enhance their business strategies and adapting them to the changing age structure of our population.
We discuss in this podcast:
- The notion of age being just a number – why?
- How can we overcome the disconnect between living longer, and wanting or needing to be in paid work and the issue of ageism? Older workers seem to be getting younger!
- Why don’t you think we should retire and how realistic is that we age and our mental and physical well-being can decline and impact their skills and ability to work longer?
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How can businesses better adapt to suit a multi-generational workforce? (examples and ideas or case studies please)
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What is her biggest message for us on The Politics of Age?
To connect to Catherine go to Catherine Rickwood PhD | LinkedIn
Energy has become one of the biggest political, moral, economic, and social issues our time – on par with its cousin climate change.
Sally Torgoman is an Australian lawyer and commercial advisor specializing in renewable energy transactions and development projects. Sally is a qualified electrical engineer and lawyer and she was admitted to the NSW Supreme Court in 2015 after 10 years of practicing as an engineer.
Sally has worked at leading law firms as well as in-house including at Origin Energy, Energy Australia, BlueScope Steel.
Today Sally Torgoman is Managing Director at PwC Australia, Energy M&A Practice, Australia’s leading energy advisor on solar, wind, pumped hydro, and more recently hydrogen. Prior to joining PwC Australia, she was Global General Counsel of EEW Limited, a renewable energy developer and operator. She supported projects and activities in Russia, Europe, Australia, South America, and MENA.
At one point in her career, she joined Better Place, the electric vehicle start-up, at its time, it was the third-highest ranked start-up after Facebook and Twitter. She learned a great deal about starting an ideology in a new business, and that a powerful idea can transform nations.
Sally believes Australia has some of the best clean energy transition experts, and she wants them to be heard in shaping a cleaner economy.
Hear from Sally on:
- What role does ‘clean energy’ play and how will that change over the next decade or two in a decarbonizing world?
- Why Australia has a major role in hydrogen as a sustainable alternative to conventional energy production and storage.
- How can governments and businesses make decisive, energy policy changes faster?
- Beyond solar, wind, hydrogen, and other areas what are some untapped ideas on energy that could become big in the future?
- Electric vehicles have become more popular and are becoming more affordable. Are they likely to replace fuel cars any time soon? Why or why not.
- Take away: What your final takeaway message on The Politics of Energy?
To connect with Sally: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sally-torgoman-88527a2/
Ashleigh Streeter-Jones is a speaker, facilitator, writer, and activist. She was named the youngest ever ACT Woman of the Year (2018) and as a listee on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. She has led youth campaigning for World Vision, assisted Plan International Australia’s Youth Activist series, and in 2019, organized and co-hosted the Canberra Women’s March. Ashleigh is the Vice-President of YWCA Canberra, Deputy Curator of the Canberra Global Shapers Hub, and co-founded the Girls Takeover Parliament program in 2017. She has advocated for youth and gender equality on an international level and was invited to run workshops at the Youth Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations before returning as an Australian delegate in 2019 – the same year she was recognized as one of Australian Financial Review’s 100 Women of Influence.
Ashleigh recently launched Raise Our Voice Australia, a training program to boost the presence of young female and non-binary voices in public decision making, and was selected as one of 50 global young leaders to attend Davos at the World Economic Forum virtually in January 2021.
In this podcast hear:
- What is advocacy is and how it can help you support the issues you care about? Is it very different from activism?
- What secret sauce makes a successful advocate in your view and why?
- Being digitally connected has been even more important as we navigate a global pandemic. Do you think that has helped or hindered how advocacy operates? Does online connection like online petitions for example, really have as much power as face-to-face experiences that lead to big changes? Why or why not?
- How can you best cut through the government layers?
- What advice perhaps has helped you remain motivated?
- Take away: What your final takeaway message on The Politics of Advocacy?
To connect with Ashleigh: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleigh-streeter-jones-she-her-87452478/
Manufacturing has changed the world with its focus on faster, cheaper mass production of items we all use every day – from smartphones to coffee cups, cars to modular homes.
Ishan Galapathy has a wealth of knowledge in the field of Operational Excellence (OpEx), working across six countries for nearly two decades, for multi-nationals such as Kellogg’s and Arnott’s. In his last corporate role, Ishan was part of the team that developed Kellogg’s global supply chain excellence program.
Renowned for his simplified techniques, Ishan helps manufacturing businesses to move them from chaos to excellence through productivity improvement and frontline leadership programs. With the pandemic highlighting how global manufacturing relies on more than machinery and technology to keep us all fed, watered, clothed, decked out, and sanitized, now is a great time to discuss what this has meant for us all.
When he is not working, you can find him playing backyard cricket with his sons or sipping a cup of coffee with his wife.
Tune in to hear from Ishan on:
- What did a business career teach you about great manufacturing practices that matter even today?
- Was former President Donald Trump right to try to bring back USA-based manufacturing?
- The pandemic last year meant borders closed for Australia to China and other important supply chains we solidly depend or rely on for so much of the finished items from laptops to phones to even lounges. Was that a turning point on how we think about our self-reliance on the manufacturing world? Explain. (see here too: https://www.abc.net.au/radio/newsradio/is-the-pandemic-a-chance-to-reset-australias/12207774)
- Take away: What is your final thought on The Politics of Manufacturing?
To connect with Ishan:
Ishan Galapathy | LinkedIn
Applied Business Mechanics hosting (capabilityunlimited.com)
Ruth McGowan OAM is an authority on political campaigning and gender equality. She is the author of Get Elected , the Australian campaign guide to winning political office at local, state, or federal level.
Starting her career as an agricultural scientist, Ruth worked for two decades across the public sector managing various STEM projects before standing for her local council and serving as Mayor. Her experience in public office in Local Government inspired Ruth to change her career focus and six years ago she trained as a Councillor Coach and accredited trainer in Political Intelligence.
Through her own consultancy business, Ruth now combines her two passions: advancing gender equality and politics. Ruth delivers Get Elected workshops throughout Australia for women interested in getting into ‘big P, Politics’ on how to successfully plan a winning political campaign. Through her Political Intelligence training, she supports women leaders to master the skills of political savvy and understand the art and science of positive politics.
We discuss on this podcast:
- Why do we need to push harder to get more women into Australian politics?
- Once elected what is the key to staying elected in office?
- What did you learn from your own election experience that led you to write your book?
- Are election cycles of 3-4 years helpful in getting stuff done or is there a sense of spending too much time staying elected then campaigning for another election?
- Take away: What your final takeaway message on The Politics of Elections?
Today’s guest is Sibon Schouten, CEO and Founder of Markd Global, a purpose-driven brand and marketing collective based in Sydney, Australia. Sibon believes purposeful leaders create purposeful companies that are more likely to pursue the triple bottom line - People, Planet, Profit, something she believes is critical to building trust and creating enduring brands, businesses, and societies.
Markd Global's unique approach has engaged clients across Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Canada with plans to expand through a global platform that connects leaders and companies on purpose. Before Sibon founded Markd Global in 2019, she spent many years in marketing, leadership, and corporate roles for some of the world's largest multinational companies.
The highlight of her career was working for the CEO of Nestle Oceania to find growth opportunities for the business. Sibon has a very diverse background, born in a village in rural South Africa, educated in the UK, and now living with her family in Australia. Her hero is Nelson Mandela who grew up in a neighbouring village to her own.
You will hear from Sibon on:
- Why does trust matter and is it essential for a successful, thriving business and workplace?
- What is the major difference you see between business leaders and political leaders achieving trust with their people?
- How can small businesses become trustworthy and execute that to their customers better?
- How can we learn to trust businesses that seem to stable and then prove to be volatile due to their inability to say reinvent themselves or be on par with market trends?
- Take away: What is your best tip for anyone seeking to win in The Politics of Trust?
To connect with Sibon:
Web site
Life-changing innovators and true entrepreneurs are rare in my experience. Today’s guest is an exception. Meet Kristy Chong, the CEO, and Founder of Modibodi and Modibodi RED, a revolutionary women’s high-tech apparel brand that empowers women of all ages, shapes, and sizes to live a better life. There is even a men’s underwear line now too. With a career background in PR and corporate social responsibility, today Kristy is a mum of four on a mission, fash-tech entrepreneur, and social advocate for women’s health issues and rights. In 2019, Modibodi was announced as both the Telstra Australian Medium and Making Waves Award winner and Telstra People’s Choice Award Winner. Fashtech is a world that is fascinating and part of our society, so I am keen to chat with Kristy on this very topic.
In this show, you will hear:
- How did a corporate PR career prepare you for ModiBodi?
- The term FashTech is not one everyone has perhaps come across or understands. What is it really about and what problem does it solve?
- How did you expand ModiBodi and where is the business at today?
- How has your role in ModiBodi changed since you had external investors and how will it change in the next few years?
- Take away: What is your final insight into The Politics of Fashtech?
To connect with Kristy:
Website
Alice Almeida is the Founder of Almeida Insights, a full-service research agency, and the Regional Head of Data, Research, and Insights for TotallyAwesome, APAC's leading Kids Digital platform which prides itself on providing safe environments for kids to be entertained. She is also on the Maxme advisory board.
Alice's career has spanned over 20 years where she has held senior data and research positions for some of Australia's largest media brands; Channel Nine, Seven, News Corp, and Fairfax. She launched her own research company (2 weeks prior to COVID hitting!) to tackle the topics that many shied away from. In particular, delving into Social Media Data Privacy and what the average Australian actually thinks and knows about it. She is not one to back away from a challenge and because of this, is constantly called on for her opinion on industry issues.
Throughout her career, she has held representative positions on industry councils, launched market first research pieces, and been called on to provide evidence and insights at the senate inquiry into Public Interest Journalism. She is well known on the conference circuit having spoken at over 65 local and international - all-around data.
In her current role at TotallyAwesome, Alice is responsible for building out insights and thought leadership pieces on how brands can safely and respectfully advertise to children and parents. As a mum herself, Alice feels protecting children's online data is a non-negotiable!
Alice will discuss in this podcast:
- Data is everywhere for businesses. How has it’s use and importance changed over the past 5-10 years?
- What is the best way to gather data fast and how does a company make the most of it?
- Facebook and other social media have so much personal data on us all. Privacy settings aside can we actually protect our data and remain on these social media platforms?
- At News Corp you had a role to play in media and data – are audiences for mainstream news outlets very nuanced and why/why not?
- What is the most valid argument to have data used for the greater good? Thinking of the COVID-19 related NSW Health check-in for contract tracing if there was an outbreak.
- Take away: What is your overarching message for anyone facing The Politics of Data?
To see more of what Alice does go to:
Website
My guest is Stephen Page, an award-winning family lawyer from Brisbane. Admitted in 1987, Stephen has been an accredited family law specialist since 1996. He has presented at conferences around the world about family law. Stephen is a Fellow of both the International Academy of Family Lawyers and the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys. He holds several committee positions, including with the American Bar Association and the Queensland Law Society. Stephen is an international expert for the World Bank in its Women, Business and the Law survey, and he lectures in Law and Ethics in Reproductive Medicine at the University of New South Wales. He has written and presented about family law and surrogacy around the world including for the International Bar Association and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Stephen has received a number of awards, including the inaugural Pride in Law Award (2020). When he left uni in the ’80s, he like other students wondered how the law might deal with reality when life began. To his amazement, in 2012 he acted in the first case in the world that said what it was to conceive a child. He never expected to be a pioneer in his field, but he was not prepared to accept the world as it was. In his spare time, Stephen chairs his daughter’s daycare committee. Hear from Stephen on: 1. How has family law changed in the time you have practiced it? What are the most significant legal changes that stand out in your professional experience, and what have they meant for families? 2. Surrogacy laws are complex and have perhaps changed over time with a rise in people seeking legal advice upfront, perhaps where there are health or fertility risks for women to bear a child or same-sex couples wanting to have children with their own genetics from one or more partners. 3. Is it simpler to have a surrogate overseas and bring a child home to Australia than locally? Why or why not? 4. You have your own personal experience of family law with the legal recognition in 2019 that your daughter Elizabeth, born via a surrogate mother and your husband’s sperm, and in QLD you set about closing a loophole prior where you could have up to 4 persons named on her birth certificate. Tell us more. 5. The family court merger announced earlier this year has had a mix of reactions, many of them hostile by your peers. What is the reality of this for families going through the system now?
To connect with Stephen go to:
The Politics of Business Growth is what we are examining today, with an entrepreneur who has experienced that in spades. At the age of 25 with only $50 to his name, Justin Herald set about changing the course of his life. Justin created Attitude Inc, a clothing brand that became an international licensing success that turned over in excess of $20 million. In 2005, he was named “INTERNATIONAL ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR”. Justin has also received the Future Leaders Award, which recognizes him as being one of the 50 most influential leaders of the next generation in Australia. Today, Justin Herald is Managing Director of Customer Culture, one of Australia’s leading customer service and customer engagement training companies, that not only teaches staff the “how” to give great service, but more importantly, “why” it is needed. Justin recently launched www.JuniorEntrepreneur.com which is an online resource that teaches kids how to take an idea and turn it into a business. That program has had massive International success
He also is the author of eight international bestselling books, personally, mentors over 100 business owners each year, and is regarded as one of Australia’s most sought-after speakers, with an audience of over 150,000 per annum.
Justin Herald is a man who has done so much with his life and in his own way.
In this podcast you will learn:
- What does growth really mean? Is it about making great money or more than that?
- How Justin advises newbie leaders to approach their entrepreneurial life if they are new to it?
- How you scale a business fast?
- **Is there ever a time to walk away from a business and how can you know when that is?
- Take away: What is your best tip to everyone keen to master The Politics of Growth?
To see more about Justin:
Website
My guest today is one of my favourite make-up artists around. She is my first go-to for my own professional shoots and she has worked with many famous faces and household name brands. Hayley Dutton is a Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist with a decade of experience in Corporate, Advertising and Fashion across all forms of media. Hayley has led large teams, as the Creative Director for both Rimmel London & Covergirl in Australia & New Zealand for events such as Australian Fashion Week, Splendour in the Grass and Falls Festival to name just a few. Her days are spent creating beautiful bold and natural looks on shoots, presenting makeup masterclasses educating techniques, trends, tips & tricks as well as new products launching for her favourite brands. She also runs her own Beauty Masterclass where she teaches women how to create easy everyday makeup for any occasion.
Hayley will share on POE:
- When and how she decided to leave a successful financial services career to become a make-up artist?
- Does social media make it easy to see beauty in all facets?
- Confidence is key for many people to succeed. How do you translate make-up artistry and building confidence?
- Charity (or NFP) work matters to you – why and how can beauty and NFP work relate to each other?
- Take away: What is your overarching philosophy for The Politics of Beauty?
To find out how Hayley’s work, check out her:
Web site
Today I am in conversation with Michael Buckland, the new CEO of the McKell Institute, Australia’s leading think tank in areas of housing affordability, taxation, wage theft, wage growth, superannuation, childcare, and more. The McKell Institute works with all major political parties to pursue pragmatistic progressive solutions to our most pressing policy challenges.
Michael joined the Institute from Australia’s largest philanthropic fund, the Paul Ramsay Foundation, where he led policy programs and public affairs to help achieve their mission to break cycles of disadvantage in Australia. His passion while working for the Foundation was seeking ways to disrupt the stubborn cycle of disadvantage caused by our criminal justice system.
Michael’s earliest political memory was of students wearing protest shirts to Balmain Primary School during the waterfront dispute. Watching people suffer for a cause, and for others, shaped the way he views policy challenges.
Michael went on to serve as Chief of Staff and Policy Director to NSW Opposition Leaders, giving him extensive experience at the highest levels in policy development and government. His diverse background includes work for derivatives trading firm, First Prudential Markets, trade unions, and advocacy campaigns.
In this show, Michael unpacks:
- How does one prepare for a career in policy advising and policymaking?
- What makes a good policymaker?
- In your experience is there a fail-proof or best practice way to get a policy accepted or mandated?
- Why does seemingly good policy sometimes fail?
- Take away: What is your overarching message for anyone facing The Politics of Policymaking
To connect further with Michael go to:
LinkedIn Michael Buckland | LinkedIn
Web site:
Home - McKell Institute
With me today is Samantha Dybac, Founder and managing director of The PR Hub Host Influence Unlocked podcast, Samantha Dybac is the founder and Managing Director of The PR Hub, a public relations and strategic communications agency for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and high growth disruptive brands. As the host of the Influence Unlocked podcast, she has lots of influential guests, and last year her show was ranked by Apple in the top 10 business podcasts in Australia. Samantha has over 15 years’ experience of working with founders to help them unlock the value behind their personal brand to build awareness, credibility, and trust that catapults both them and their companies into the spotlight. She has featured twice as a finalist in the B&T Women in Media awards, as a finalist in the 2019 Sydney Entrepreneur of the Year, and has successfully completed her Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) Course. In a first for POE, this is not Samantha’s first time on the show but this time we are talking about The Politics of Influence. In this episode, you can learn: 1. We have had you speak on The Politics of PR a few years ago. Since then, you have become a fellow podcaster with your successful and popular show Influence Unlocked. Why that angle and what have you learned? 2. To some influence means power, others it means change. What does influence mean to you and why does it matter? 3. How can anyone achieve a position of influence or is it a position reserved for a few special people? 4. What is the role of influencers in achieving brand influence? Is it essentially an industry that needs to grow or can we see brands achieve influence without a famous or micro-famous face? 5. Take away: What is your overarching message for anyone facing The Politics of Influence
For more from Samantha go to:
Podcast
Office politics is definitely a thing. TV shows have been made around it and even in a more flexible or work from home more world. I have decided to dedicate this episode to The Politics of Offices. My guest on this topic is Brendan Rogers who I met around 3 years ago when we both crossed paths as NEDs on an independent school board. He has experienced first-hand how ‘poor leadership’ negatively impacts the performance of employees and ultimately limits the growth potential and profitability of the business. With a combined 25 years’ experience working in multinational companies and providing consulting services, I have become skilled at leading people, and coaching leaders and their teams to maximize their performance. He is a practicing Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and holds a Diploma in Project Management, and has international business experience having worked in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, India China, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, and Noumea.
The combination of business and ‘real life’ experience has given Brendan the special ability to work with and relate to leaders on all levels. He helps leaders who want to become more effective and their teams to become less dysfunctional. Brendan is also the Founder & Co-Host of LinkedInLocal Central Coast, which is currently the largest LinkedInLocal networking event in Australia. Brendan has the #1 goal to improve the lives of people at work.
In this podcast you will hear:
- What makes an office environment toxic? Is it just the leaders who matter here?
- Can you succeed in your career without office politics playing a part? Why or why not?
- In your experience is there a way to set up an office, physically or culturally, so that teams can learn to trust each other faster, and are more productive and happier to there?
- What is the new normal going to have to do better to make a remote workforce still appreciate an office?
- Take away: What is your best advice or takeaway comment in The Politics of Offices.
To connect with Brendan:
Web site
Boards are not like our work settings and take a special skill set. If you have ever pondered what makes a successful board career, you are in the right podcast.
Julie Garland McLellan built a board career from one not-for-profit to a portfolio including chairing an ASX listed company. A frequent conference speaker, Julie has featured widely in media such as ABC News’ Nightly Business Report, The Business, The Australian Financial Review, The Financial Times, Company Director Journal, Keeping Good Companies, and others.
She has 23 years’ experience delivering education for the Australian Institute of Company Directors, National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), Governance Institute of Australia, College of Laws, University of Sydney, CPA Australia, Taiwan Corporate Governance Association, Oman Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability, etc.
Julie continues to research and study and recently completed a course at Wharton Business School. She is the author of six books.
We are here discussing The Politics of Boards.
Listen on to hear from Julie on:
- What makes a perfect board?
- How can you start a board career?
- How can a Board Chair operate at their best and ensure a diverse board sings from the same songbook?
- Best advice on how to get heard, especially when you are the dissenting voice in the board discussion?
- Take away: What is your best tip to manage The Politics of Boards? (one tip or sentence please).
To connect with Julie:
Website
Tracey Gillies is a specialized Holistic Health Coach, Energy Healer, Soul Realignment Practitioner, and Negative entity removal expert. Her profile captured my eye over the summer and I emailed her to find out more about what she does and how.
Tracey says she had developed these very specialized skills during her own life struggles when she was seeking holistic ways to heal herself from a range of conditions including Post-Natal Depression, Epstein Barr, Glandular Fever, Adrenal Fatigue, and anxiety.
It is through her own healing journey and spiritual awakening that she developed a range of skills that enables Tracey to access a person’s Physiological, Neurological, and Spiritual frameworks. And through this, she can help a person’s mind, body, and soul at the deepest of levels.
Let’s delve into The Politics of Healing.
Tracey will explain in this episode:
- Healing is such a broad topic but so many people seem to need some form of it – whether it be general health, mental wellbeing, emotional healing, etc. What made you focus on it?
- How did you train in the healing space?
- What is the best way to start healing from a traumatic experience so it does not define their future?
- You have developed an "Emotional Transformation Framework". What is that about, in a nutshell, and how can it help people seeking healing in their everyday lives?
- Take away: What is the best way to summarise The Politics of Healing? (one tip or sentence please).
To get connected to Tracey go to:
Website
With a 40-year career in marketing, communications, and NFP work, Kim has just notched up seven years as the Director & CEO, Australian Museum (AM) – one of my favorite public spaces in Australia. Kim is responsible for strategic planning and management of the nation’s first museum, including a collection of over 21.9 million natural science and cultural objects and specimens.
As the first woman to hold the role in the AM’s 190+ year history, Kim leads the AM’s master planning and has initiated a broad transformation program. This includes overseeing Project Discover, the AM’s $57.5m major transformation of public spaces.
Kim has had a significant international career focused on the environment, marketing, communications, and non-fiction television and co-founded the iconic Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World campaigns in the 1990s.
Museums are such special places but perhaps in a digitally obsessed society, may not be as frequented as they once were. Or are they? In this episode you will hear:
- How an international PR, marketing, and NFP career led Kim to be appointed the first female Director and CEO of The Australian Museum.
- How do modern museums navigate collections and exhibitions to better reflect current views and sentiments such as the First Nations People’s experiences of Australia?
- Does marketing a Museum differ from other how you would promote other cultural or commercial attraction or form of entertainment?
- Take away: What your final thoughts on navigating The Politics of Museums?
To connect with Kim McKay AO:
AM Web site
Meet Kylie Green. A marketer, entrepreneur, supporter of women in business, networking
champion, charity worker, and mother of one. She has a 30-year long career in a range of
entrepreneurial, marketing, and senior management roles.
At 29 years of age, founded Kaleidoscope Marketing and sold it in 2005 to The Photon Group of
Companies where she held the position of CEO until mid-2010. She then founded and ran two
businesses The Oven and Adland Jobs took some time out to start a family, joined the Board of
Directors for Layne Beachley's Aim for the Stars Foundation and worked as an industry mentor
to several industry business owners in BTL marketing, creative services, and PR
Last year the ever-fearless Kylie has recently launched her fourth business, The Lime Agency
specializing in talent management and brand partnerships. Prior to Lime, Kylie was MD of
Kimberlin Education for 2 years, and spent a year before that in the Comm Bank's Women in
Focus team working with many of Australia's leading female entrepreneurs. She has been an MD
with Dentsu Aegis Network and the ApolloNation activations businesses in Sydney, Melbourne, and Auckland as well as Synergy Brand Experience in NZ. In 2016, she steered the agencies to
merge and rebrand as MKTG.
In this episode you will learn:
- How has the marketing world changed in the last 30 years and why is collaboration much more important?
- Do some digital campaigns that arguably work better with one agency vs a team of experts from different businesses?
- Is there ever a clear disadvantage to collaboration in business?
- Collaborating means working together but is there any proof this makes sense in business where competition can be more of a driver?
- Take away: What is your best tip for anyone embracing The Politics of Collaboration?
To connect with Kylie go to:
Website
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: amber@amberdaines.com
Amber’s social media links:
Diversity is certainly having its moment in the Australian business landscape.
To discuss The Politics of Diversity I am chatting to Cathy Ngo, a freelance copywriter and the marketing communications manager for DAWN, a professional and social network that aspires to have an inclusive Australia with culturally diverse leadership across the public and private sectors.
She's worked for some of Australia's largest entities, such as Westpac and Insurance Australia Group in HR, corporate affairs and communication roles. Throughout her career, she's been vocal and active on matters relating to women, work and cultural diversity – and especially on smashing unconscious bias.
Her experience of motherhood has deepened her passion in the area of diversity and inclusion. Motherhood has also made her connect more with her Vietnamese heritage, sense of identity and the corporate ladder realities.
Hear from Cathy on:
- How being of Asian descent was for her as a kid in Australia?
- Diversity is a business focus now. Plenty of companies big and small recognise the economic and social benefits of a diverse workforce. Why has it taken so long?
- Are HR departments bound by these hiring policies when it comes to diversity and why does it matter?
- Can seeking true diversity backfire if companies don’t fully engage staff and their C-suite on the journey especially if it is not discussed openly?
- What is a good example of a diverse workforce creating amazing outcomes? Is there a lesson for us all in this and if so, what?
- Last advice: What top three tips you have for listeners on The Politics of Diversity?
To connect with Cathy via LinkedIn or check out her website here.
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: amber@amberdaines.com
Amber’s social media links:
Jacqui Lewis is a bit of an entrepreneurial powerhouse. Today, along with her husband, she is the co-founder of a global school The Broad Place, gets stressed-out humans skilled-up in accessible tools and practices so that they become more creative, grounded, healthier and happier. Jacqui takes ancient knowledge and makes it easy to understand and easy to employ in our modern day lives.
An educator, facilitator and speaker on clarity and high grade living, Jacqui teaches Integrated Meditation in Sydney, Melbourne, Byron Bay, Los Angeles and London, hosts retreats globally, and runs workshops and talks centred around enhancing creativity, increasing clarity and expanding consciousness.
Before she taught meditation, she was immersed in the world of advertising, marketing and branding so knows a thing or two about being stressed!
Here, Jacqui discusses The Politics of Mediation including:
- How she got into meditation?
- What does The Broad Place do for people?
- Is meditation for everyone and how can we find time for it in hyper busy connected world?
- What is the biggest myths around meditation you hear and how can we enjoy the benefits from mediation?
- Final words: What is your favourite idea that for you sums up The Politics of Meditation?
To connect with Jacqui:
W: https://thebroadplace.com.au
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-lewis-2b102419/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebroadplace/?hl=en
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: amber@amberdaines.com
Amber’s social media links:
Cyber risk is a critical concept that many in the business and government worlds have to deal with on a regular basis, especially in a hyper-connected online world that covers everything from banking to medical records . Claire Pales is the bestselling author of “The Secure CIO” and Director of 27 Lanterns, a consulting company committed to helping organisations create and sustain effective information and cyber security teams. For more than 15 years, Claire gained experience establishing teams and leading award-winning security strategies throughout Australia and Asia. Here she is explaining more about The Politics of Cyber Risk.
In this podcast you can learn:
- How can businesses become more cyber secure when the hackers keep getting faster and more invasive it seems?
- What has been some of the biggest challenges you have experienced over the years in your sector?
- A rising cyber risk problem that many businesses encounter in the current business climate is that it is not just theircyber security practices that they have to worry about: they also have to worry about the cyber security protocols of other businesses they work with. How can that best be managed?
- Hacking into elections became global news in the wake of the 2016 Presidential election. Why has that become such an attractive option for international forces, and how can we prevent it?
To connect with Claire:
W: http://www.27lanterns.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-pales-58560a22
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
What comes to mind when I say hypnotherapy? My guest today Eugenie Pepper is going to discuss this concept in more detail. With a professional background in interior architecture, design, fine art curation and counselling, plus a more recent period helping family-owned babywear brand Plum, Genie has a new passion. She is co-founder of a business is called Key Mindfulness and she has launched The Key for Me App. As part of this practice, Genie and her business partner Rosemary will use hypnotherapy to achieve their health and wellbeing goals.
In this podcast, you can learn:
- What is hypnotherapy and how can you learn it?
- What is the purpose of hypnotherapy vs other techniques such as mindfulness or meditation?
- The Key for Me App launched recently – what does it enable and how did you decide to create it now?
- If you teach someone just one aspect of hypnotherapy what would that be and why?
- Take away: What is your top 3 tips for anyone embracing The Politics of Hypnotherapy?
To connect with Eugenie go to:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eugenie-pepper-a375331a/
W: https://keymindfulness.com/
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Today’s guest Taryn Williams is one of Australia’s most prolific entrepreneurs in the tech start-up and media industry.
Taryn is the CEO and Founder of The Right Fit and WINK Models. With over fifteen years of experience in the world of modelling, media and advertising, Taryn is an industry game changer and someone who has pushed the disrupt button even on her own business.
TheRight.Fit is Taryn’s online influencer and talent platform used by major advertising agencies and brands to find the best and brightest talent for their jobs. Brands using the platform include Toyota, Menulog, and LG. While Taryn continues to oversee the WINK operation, her focus is firmly set on building The Right Fit into a global platform that will transform the creative industry and the talent that work within it. I am delighted to enlighten myself and you all in ‘The Politics of Influencers.’
Hear from Taryn on:
- How you define an influencer and can anybody with a specialist expertise become one or do you need be a Kardashian.
- Why she started therightfit and how that has evolved.
- How she got the best tech/business skills to be a success.
- Where is influencers industry heading in the next few years and how will the rightfit evolve to stay ahead of the pack.
- Take away: What is her best tip for anyone embracing The Politics of Influencers?
To connect online with Taryn:
W: https://theright.fit/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/tarynwilliamswink
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Everyone loves a business hack right? Madeleine Lambert heads up Content Refined, a medium-sized Content Marketing business based in Canada, which is under two years old. They are growing quickly in their focus on cutting-edge online content for affiliate marketers, e-commerce businesses, and SaaS companies. In the process, Madeleine has implemented a “team pod” strategy to streamline and create efficiency and accountability. We dive into The Politics of Team Pods.
In this episode you can hear:
- Team pods – what are they and how did you learn about this strategy for your business?
- How did you get your staff to embrace the team pod idea and what are the benefits and challenges so far – can you explain and give an example?
- As a rapidly scaling business, why is this way of working ideal?
- Can you keep adding team pods or is it best suited for small or medium-sized business vs larger companies – why?
- Last advice: What is your biggest advice on The Politics of Team Pods?
To connect with Madeleine:
W: https://www.contentrefined.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleine-lambert-b6426aa9/
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Confidence is a hard thing to maintain, especially up against the sterilised ‘success stories’ and filtered images on social media. I am interviewing Tracey Jewel, who is a mother, author, professional speaker, and award winning businesswoman in the marketing and communications world. She is also an Australian reality TV star, having taken part in the series Married at First Sight, a show which surely demands you muster up mountains of confidence!
Tracey is a survivor of both a health scare and domestic violence: today she is an ambassador for “Kiss Violence against Women Goodbye”. Despite some hardships, Tracey is extremely passionate about being a positive role model for women. She discusses The Politics of Confidence.
In this episode, you will hear from Tracey:
- What role has confidence played in her becoming an author, where your ideas are exposed for all to scrutinise?
- As a tech savvy, marketing queen with 130,000 Instagram followers and 175,000 readers of your media articles, how do you personally deal with the trolls and hater online?
- What did reality TV teach you about confidence, inside and out? Is your external appearance still a key part of feeling confident for you?
- What makes you feel confident no matter what these days?
- Last advice: What best tip for mastering The Politics of Confidence.
To connect to Tracey:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracey-jewel-a4b45b64/
W: http://www.traceyjewel.com/
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Vitality is a wondrous word isn’t it? To me, it means a sense of energy, mixed with purpose and wellbeing, and an extra dash of zing. Nikki Fogden-Moore is a world class business and lifestyle coach who lives and breathes vitality.
Her other moniker is The Mojo Maker. Nikki is a public speaker, author, facilitator and leader in her field. Nikki's genius is in working with the real leaders in life - the CEO's, and all of those at the top end of town that possess vision, drive, tenacity and true passion for what they do. Her take on success is often about big shifts in our comfort level, to get even greater results. Here Nikki gets real on The Politics of Vitality.
Hear from Nikki:
- What is her definition of vitality?
- Why is planning the key and how do you help clients get that sense of balance and “winning” right?
- What has changed about our work/life blend and has that impacted vitality?
- What is the biggest challenge most entrepreneurs and C-suite leaders face in prioritising vitality and how do you track their progress to ensure it’s a real shift for good?
- Last advice: What best tip for getting some runs on the board in The Politics of Vitality?
To find out more about Nikki:
W: http://thevitalitycoach.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nfogdenmoore
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nfogdenmoore/?hl=en
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
We are examining The Politics of Anxiety, a topic many of us can relate to. I am with Dr Jodie Lowinger, a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and University Medallist, with decades of experience management consulting, executive coaching and business. She helps others optimize performance, resilience, mental health, and a winning mindset. As the CEO and Founder of Mind Strength, Jodie empowers leaders and teams with expert strategies and also combatting performance blocking behaviors.
Jodie is also the Founder of the Sydney Anxiety Clinic, a leading anxiety treatment clinic for adults, children and teens. She also advises on mental health and resilience in schools and frequently presents on cyber safety, managing bullying, reducing anxiety, boosting resilience and building a growth mindset.
As well as a speaker popular media commentator, Jodie is also the Ambassador for Street Work, a national charity to mentor troubled teens and turn young lives around.
In this episode you will learn:
- What is anxiety and how do most people get diagnosed with it?
- What are the most common ways to treat or manage anxiety and how has that evolved over time?
- Are Australians more anxious than in previous generations or are we better as diagnosing it?
- How can workplaces help their staff and leaders in this somewhat taboo area that remains so key in achieving workplace health and safety?
- Last advice: What top three tips to get ahead when it comes to The Politics of Anxiety.
To connect with Jodie:
- mindstrength.com.au
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
If it wasn’t for Anthony Rigogliosi, there may well be no podcast career for me. Anthony is otherwise known as Podcast Ninja, his company’s name and his podcast name – he is the man behind the production of my weekly podcast The Politics of Everything. He edits the audio and does the technical support to ensure the program goes online every Wednesday without fail, and has advised me of the basics when I was a newbie podcaster who literally knew nothing on the process.
Anthony does podcast production providing an all in one podcasting solution for podcasters whether they be doctors, investors, entrepreneurs, and companies of all kind. Before he started podcasting in 2016 he quit his retail job and travelled to multiple countries on his bicycle. Long story short, after spending all but $300 of his savings he found a job as a podcasting intern in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Based now in New York, I found Anthony through a gig economy web site back in April 2017 and the rest in podcast history. With so much behind the scenes work and his vast knowledge of the podcasting world, I thought it time to get him onto my podcast. Welcome, Anthony who is obviously discussing ‘The Politics of Podcasting’.
In this show you can hear:
- Why has podcasting become as popular as a medium?
- How can podcasters get audience cut-through and attracted more subscribers organically?
- Does every podcast have an expiry date, and how can podcasters keep audiences engaged once the show is established but maybe not a shiny, new program?
- What are the most common mistakes do you see with podcasting and how can we avoid that?
- Take away: What is your top 3 short tips anyone keen to win in The Politics of Podcasting
To find Anthony online:
W: http://podcastninja.net/podcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyrigogliosi/
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Living and working abroad is a massive right of passage for many Australians and others seeking a cultural adventure and career shift. A regular speaker and writer, Margot Anderson is the founder of Insync Network Group, a rapidly expanding network that supports returning expats and their spouses to purposefully reconnect and confidently manage their journey ‘home’. She also runs talentinsight Australia, a management consultancy specialising in the optimisation of careers, performance and business workforce planning.
Margot’s consulting experience spans a broad range of industry including retail, FMCG, energy, resources and professional services in both private and commercial structures. She works with CEO’s, executive and senior leadership teams to ensure they have the right people in the right place at the right time. Here Margot explains The Politics of Expat Life.
You will hear:
- Why do people want to uproot their lives and careers, and families, to work as experts aboard?
- The challenges of expat life are rarely talked about beyond the inner circle.
- Do many not ever not adjust to life at ‘home’ and relocate again – how common is that?
- Can anyone be an expat or does it take a certain mindset to succeed?
- Best tips for The Politics of Expat Life?
To connect with Margot:
- www.margotandersen.com
- www.insyncnetworkgroup.com
Instagram Margot - margot.r.andersen and Insync - insyncnetworkgroup
Twitter @MargotAndersen
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Let’s talk about sex. No, this is not an R-rated episode but my podcast guest today Isiah McKimmie is one of Australia’s most popular experts on intimacy, sex and relationships. Isiah works as a couples Therapist, Sexologist, Sex Therapist and Coach, committed to loving relationships, whole-hearted sex and deep intimacy. She has credentials to boot, including a Masters Degree in Relational Psychotherapy and Masters Degree in Science of Medicine (Sexual Health/Psychosexual Therapy), among other impressive academic merits. She has a name sake web site and works online and offline to help women and men feel more empowered in areas of deep connection, intimacy and loving sex, at all stages of life. Here Isiah is discussing The Politics of Intimacy.
You can learn:
-
How does one end up a sex therapist?
-
How do define true intimacy and how can couples create that magic once the initial “in lust” phase wears off?
- How do you know if you are creating a relationship based on intimacy vs sexual attraction?
- How did you turn your interest and talents into a business – what makes it successful?
- Last advice: What is your biggest advice on The Politics of Intimacy?
To find out more from Isiah go to:
W: https://www.isiah-mckimmie.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Isiah/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isiahmckimmie.sexologist/?hl=en
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Politics makes for heated debates and sometimes is the value-driven glue that binds us together. My guest today Angela Vithoulkas has a solid history as a small business advocate, commentator and advisor. Then Angela she decided to become a politician, elected as an independent Councillor for the City of Sydney in 2012, where she was subsequently appointed as Deputy Chairperson of the City of Sydney Economic Development and Business Sub-committee throughout that term.
In 2016 Angela formed the Sydney Matters Independent team and successfully secured a second term on Council. As well as her civic duties, she also established a small business podcasting platform, Eagle Waves Radio and co-owns a Sydney café. Last year, Angela was named as one of Australia’s top nine influential female entrepreneurs. Now, she has also started her own political party The Small Business Party. Angela is here to discuss The Politics of Campaigning.
In this episode, Angela shares:
- As a Councillor for the City of Sydney for the past six years, what have you discovered about the realities
- Do men and women campaign differently, are women perhaps judged harder and why or why not does that matter in 2018?
- As founder of a new state political party, The Small Business Party, what platform will you be campaigning on?
- Last advice: What are your top three tips for anyone wanting to succeed in The Politics of Campaigning?
To connect more with Angela:
W: http://angelavithoulkas.com.au/
W: http://thesmallbusinessparty.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngelaVIVO?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelavithoulkas
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Dating has changed a lot over the years – from traditional matchmaking to rise of online dating and whatever else is next! Today I speak to the incredibly awesome Kerri Sackville, who is an accomplished author, columnist and a divorced mother of three. Her latest book is 'Out There: A Survival Guide for Dating in Midlife'. Kerri shares her deeply personal account of what she has learned in a dating world gone mad.
Hear from Kerri on:
- Why she always was a dating tragic, even as a younger woman.
- Why dating and marrying a Jewish man who shared her values was a success, even if they got divorced after 17 years.
- Why she had to write a book on midlife dating survival?
- What is her biggest red flag in dating land today?
- Last advice: What is your best advice for anyone navigating The Politics of (midlife) Dating?
To find out more about Kerri (and buy her books too):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kerri-sackville-09b52a71/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kerri.Sackville/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kerrisackville/
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
My guest today Alex Allwood heads up All Work Together, a specialised consultancy connecting customer and culture to empower “customer-centric growth”. Working with a range of businesses, Alex helps improve experiences that enhance customer value and distinctively differentiate.
With a 20 year track record in leadership, operations and marketing, Alex’s strength is developing customer experience strategy such as customer understanding and empathy, experience vision and guiding principles and the customer narrative to enable collaboration and alignment. She has authored the book Customer Experience is the Brand, regularly facilitates Customer Journey Mapping workshops and is a speaker on customer-centric transformation. Here we discuss The Politics of Customers.
In this podcast you will learn:
- What is customer experience really all about and why does it matter?
- Has the customer-centric world evolved over the years you have been working in the space and if so, what are the biggest changes to the way businesses and customers interact?
- On a practical level, how do you shape customer experiences?
- Customers are very savvy these days so what do they expect from brands or companies they do business with?
- Last advice: What top three tips to succeed in The Politics of Customers?
To connect with Alex:
Web: https://alexallwood.com.au/ and https://allworktogether.com.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexallwood/
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Champagne is an alcoholic beverage with many pre-conceived notions –a sparkly, glamourous drink to celebrate life, love and more. Today I am interviewing Kyla Kirkpatrick, who has two businesses The Champagne Dame and Emperor Champagne are dedicated to this special drink. Kyla Kirkpatrick lives a life of passion, following her heart and creating an incredible personal story.
Kyla gave up her corporate career in 2005, going on a one-way ticket to Champagne in France to pursue a deep fascination with the region’s history. Today she is living and breathing champagne from champagne Masterclasses to a blog, via her Champagne Club and French travel trips, Kyla is all about sharing the particularities and history of the world’s most fascinating wine.
In this podcast you can learn:
- What is the history of champagne and how has that evolved? E.g. a drink for a celebration.
- Technically only French bubbles can be called champagne - so does this mean they are the best? Why or why not?
- Kyla’s favorite champagne brand or style and why? How is that best enjoyed?
- How do you create a business focused on such a narrow niche?
- Last advice: What is your favorite quote or idea that sums up The Politics of Champagne?
To connect with Kyla go to:
- thechampagnedame.com
- emperorchampagne.com.au
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Bronwen Sciortino is here today to discuss The Politics of Resilience. She is an author and self-professed ‘Simplicity Expert’ who spent almost two decades as a high powered, award winning executive before experiencing a life changing event that forced her to stop and ask the question ‘What if there’s a better way to live?’
Today, through corporate programs, conference platforms, retreats, professional mentoring and in the online environment, Bronwen teaches other people how easy it is to live life differently.
You will hear in the podcast:
- How to define real resilience, in an era where it has become a ‘buzz word’?
- The idea we need added resilience is because we’re more stressed and exhausted than ever before, and why actually, instead of being more resilient, we need to learn to be more connected with ourselves and simplify our lives.
- Where do many people go wrong when they try to be more resilient, in your own experience?
To connect with Bronwen:
- www.sheiqlife.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
The idea of wealth exudes the idea of excessive amounts of money and the ability to have more than our fellow man or woman. However, what is wealth was defined more broadly to include our overall state, to include mental, spiritual and physical wealth as well as just material wealth?
Chris Bates, a Financial Planner and Mortgage Broker but he is not your ordinary player – his approach is very different. He was a Financial Adviser for over a decade and 1,000s of client conversations, and today offers meaningful financial advice that he hopes makes a real difference. Today we chat about The Politics of Wealth.
Here you can learn from Chris:
- How would you define true wealth and why?
- Why the new wealth is wellbeing, meaning not money is motivation.
- Why does making money means more impact you can make and why wealth is not as important as we think.
- As part of your business in what you call The Wealthful Way has a terrific emphasis on building an actionable and simple system for young Australians. What does that look like and how do you approach and implement wealth planning for your hundreds of clients?
- Last advice: What is your #1 tip in The Politics of Wealth
To find Chris:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Narelle Anderson is the founder and managing director of the award winning Envirobank Recycling, Australia’s most innovative reverse vending machine solutions and automated recycling depots. Narelle’s vision is to change the way Australians – and the world – recycle, using technology to reward consumers for it.
Founding Envirobank Recycling in 2008 to incentivise recyclers, Narelle introduced the concept of Reverse Vending Technology to Australia. A born entrepreneur, Narelle has owned multiple businesses and built a distinguished career in the waste industry. In 2000, she became the first Aboriginal woman to solely own a waste management company. In 2001 she was elected by her peers as the first female president of the Sydney chapter of The Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) a dynamic, global network of more than 7,300 business owners in 42 countries. In 2015 Narelle was voted as one of Australia’s top 50 influential women entrepreneurs. Here she is sharing The Politics of Recycling.
In this podcast, Narelle explains:
- How she got initially engaged with the wellbeing of our environment and specifically recycling?
- How ‘my culture makes me a custodian of the land so cleaning up the country seems a natural fit.’ How does that impact her desire to keep growing in what you do?
- How many Australians can now receive 10 cents for every beverage container they recycle, via the Envirobank machines. Why has the container deposit legislation in NSW, for example, taken longer than expected?
- There has been some media interest recently in how Australia has exported its waste to China. It now is banning foreign waste. What do you make of this?
- Last advice: What is your biggest tips for us all to do our bit in The Politics of Recycling?
To find Narelle online:
- Website
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Every day we have a range of experiences with the external world. What makes some of them memorable for all the right reasons and some not?
Dr Emily Verstege has 15 years of experience within the health and human services sector; she is an expert at capturing and integrating consumer voice into strategy and governance frameworks. She is a speaker, mentor, author and a customer experience futurist. Here she unpacks The Politics of Experience.
In this podcast you shall learn:
- How she has refined her ability to connect information and people – and why it matters.
- Practically speaking, what results does her area of work create for us, as customers and stakeholders?
- What most companies do wrong when it comes to customer engagement, retention and action.
- How has the digital world enhanced or detracted from the overall customer experiences.
To connect with Emily:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
When I first wrote down my purpose in creating The Politics of Everything I wanted to cover the issues that matter most to everyday people in the 21st century. In my weekly opener, I mention this episode’s topic as being one those big issues. We are discussing ‘The Politics of Motherhood’.
I speak to Kylie Ostle, a mother of three kids under 5, who launched her own business Mum Society in the wake of being made reductant from corporate life after having a baby. Kylie took that all-too familiar kick in the pants and turned this seed of an idea into a thriving community for other like-minded mums.
In this episode you will hear:
- How can we become better at self-care in the desire to be a ‘good mum’?
- How can we make it more the norm for dads to be ‘hands-on’ from day one?
- Tell us how Mum Society came to life and why did you decide to start a business while having little kids?
- Many experts say no generation has parented as intensely as our generation. Is there a risk we are taking motherhood too seriously?
To connect with Kylie:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Transformation is term we all embrace at some stage of our lives. From relationships to our bodies, perhaps our careers or even spiritual beliefs – they are all part of what we can transform. What if you need a bit of boost? Meet Kylee Fitzpatrick who is an expert in transformation and uses the power of storytelling to impact performance. She is an entrepreneur, influencer and compassion activist. She is the founding partner and coach at The Performance Code and founder of TEAM Women Australia. Kylee is also the mother of three children. With over 25 years in the spotlight, Kylee is known for her expertise in marketing to women and developing content that effectively engages women on issues that are most important to them.
Listen to the Podcast to learn:
- What does the word transformation really mean?
- How Kylee’s business The Performance Code works with executives, leaders and entrepreneurs to create breakthroughs in their performance.
- How the power of storytelling can inspire, empower and enable us to stand up and live a courageous, compassionate and confident life.
- Last advice: What is the best tip you have for business people keen to be better at The Politics of Transformation?
To connect with Kylee:
- Linked In
- TEAM Women Australia
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
I can still recall my Year 10 Economics teacher teaching me that specialisation is the key to workforce efficiencies. Today I am in conversation with Robert Tadros, who got his first job at aged 14 in a fast food outlet and has never stopped working since. He has most recently founded Melbourne-based digital marketing agency Impress!ve Digital two years ago.
It is now a thriving company, with annual turnover forecast at $3.5 million (which Robert attributes to specialisation) and a team of talented employees, and scores of clients including Misha Collection, digiDIRECT, and XBlades. I welcome Robert to dig deep as we discuss The Politics of Specialisation.
In this podcast you can hear:
- How specialisation transformed Robert’s latest business and led to greater success.
- What he learned in a prior corporate job where he was responsible for managing a $10 million portfolio of the company's top clients,
- What do you think most businesses get wrong when it comes to growing successfully and remaining true to their point of difference?
- A prime example of a time when you his specialisation skills have needed to be fine-tuned even more and what we can learn from this in our own careers.
To connect more with Robert:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
They say a picture paints a thousand words. The online world is full of imagery that makes us feel a myriad of emotions, via Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and even LinkedIn with our smartphone-captured moments uploaded instantly. More than ever we have brands realizing the real power of the visual narrative.
In speaking with Melinda Hird today, I do wish we could create some live video streaming on my podcast to be totally on theme! Melinda is a Sydney-based photographer and video creator who understands the importance of projecting the ideal image. She works independently with some of the best entrepreneurs and business leaders to help capture their pivotal moments, and much more. Let’s find out her tops tips. Welcome to the show, Melinda.
In this podcast, you can hear:
- Has the impact of image changed much over time, in your experience of working in the field?
- How important are visual cues like what we wear, what surrounds we are in and even the way we position our bodies for refining our image?
- How would you describe what you do through your photography?
- Can smartphones really replace the high-end filming and photography equipment you use? Why or why not?
- Last advice: What is your final checklist of advice for mastering The Politics of Image?
To find out more about Melinda:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Jenny De Lacy is best known professionally as a video marketing strategist, copywriter and speaker, with 25 years of experience presenting to audiences of all sizes, across diverse industries.
Her online brand is called The Visibility Coach and her web site brimming with ideas to bring your video marketing strategies to life from the ground up. Here she is sharing ‘The Politics of Expertise’ – what it means and how we can claim it for ourselves.
In this episode, you will hear:
- What does being an expert mean and how can we claim to be one?
- How has being a mother, and now a solo parent, shaped her definition of expertise?
- How do you keep up with the latest in video and online marketing trends for your clients?
- Why she values learning from others in her journey as an expert?
- Last advice: What is your final nuggets of gold in The Politics of Expertise?
To find out more about Jenny:
- Website
- Youtube
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Marketing is the cornerstone of any business or brand’s visibility. Once upon a time marketing was all about printed newsletters, physical events and even direct mail. Digitization has changed that dramatically over the past 20 years.
Shannon Stone is a business and marketing consultant who specialises in digital marketing. Working 1:1 with brands and businesses, Shannon is the support system that uses her expertise in Marketing to grow businesses. Shannon is here to discuss The Politics of Marketing.
In this episode you can hear:
- How to clearly define marketing and how is what you do different from say advertising and PR.
- Why digital strategy work matters so much.
- What is the real power of good digital marketing for brands or leaders, especially those with smaller budgets.
- Top marketing mistakes made and how to improve.
To touch base with Shannon:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Being authentic is what we all need to do more of, according to my guests Joanne Schonheim, who prefers to be anything other than average and always strives to achieve her version of success on her own terms. Growing up in family businesses spanning three generations, Jo preferred sitting in on Board room conversations to sitting outside playing with dolls. By 25, Jo had lived on three continents, circumnavigated a mid-life crisis, started her own award-winning business and married her best friend.
Her talent and passion for business and product has led her to work for and with some of Australia's biggest retailers in Buying, National Account and Sales Manager roles. Here today, Jo will decipher The Politics of Authenticity.
In this episode you will hear:
- How to define the authentic self or authenticity in its purest form?
- Referring to a well-known TED talk ‘The Power of Authenticity by Mike Robbins at TEDxGreenbrookSchool’ the speaker and author shares the idea that we need to be ourselves because anyone else is taken. What impact does that simple but truthful idea have?
- What are the consequences for not being authentic?
- What about the risks as being seen as obnoxious or self-righteous?
- FINALLY: What is your top three take away tips for anyone embracing The Politics of Authenticity?
To find out more about Jo:
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Happiness is the number one goal many people the world over strive for. However, few obtain in its truest sense. It seems that at the heart of it, we all know no amount of accolades, money, toys or lovers will be the final fix for us to be happy. My podcast guest today is Alex Dawson, who co-founded a company called Positive Scenario, and has become Australia’s only accredited trainer of ‘The Happiness Advantage | Orange Frog Workshop’ program, and he works with business leaders and groups all over the planet teaching them the fundamentals of how we can all get our happy on.
In this episode you will hear:
- How can we define what it means to be happy at the simplest level?
- Where do most of us go wrong is our own sense of what is going to make us happy?
- What are the main advantages of happiness and is a passing state or something bigger than that?
- Is there any hard core proof that a happy workforce is able to perform better and perhaps drive productivity?
- FINALLY: What is your top 3 and true tips for anyone embracing The Politics of Happiness?
To connect with Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexx-stuart-99449a20/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lowtoxlife/?hl=en
W: https://www.lowtoxlife.com/
If you want to be a future guest on The Politics of Everything please email me your short bio and show topic ideas to:
Amber Daines, POE host and podcaster:
Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
If there ever was a topic that could equally excite, distress, motivate and polarize it would this one – MONEY. My guest is Melissa Browne is a woman who has devoted her entire career to the financial world – namely as an accountant, then expanding to invest in other enterprises like a new preschool and her latest venture The Money Barre.
She is a well-known author for several memorably titled books such as ‘Fabulous but Broke’ and her latest which (close your ears kids) is called ‘Unf*ck your finances’. As a seasoned speaker and media columnist, Melissa calls it like she sees it when it comes to how we relate to money so it’s no surprise she was the first person I thought to get on the podcast to discuss ‘The Politics of Money.’
In this show you can learn:
- How can we get better at the idea of financial literacy?
- How do you know if you are being sold products and plans you don’t need or can’t afford?
- What rules around money do you think we can adopt to enjoy a better retirement – whatever that means for you - but also not feel like we are missing out on life?
- Last advice: What is your biggest advice for anyone to win in The Politics of Money?
To find Melissa:
- Website
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Gender is something that defines us from the very second we are conceived. The doctors declare us a boy or a girl once we enter this world and for most people it remains that way from birth to death. It also creates a lifetime of complexity, in how we are spoken to, what perceived societal value we have, how much money we are likely to earn and even whether we can get an education.
This podcast explores ‘The politics of Gender’ and my guest is a woman called Bec Brideson, who for over two decades has been a pioneer and innovator in the ‘marketing-to-women’ space. She helps other business owners and executives get a piece of the $28 trillion global, female consumer market. Having spoken at numerous conferences throughout the world, Bec’s raison d’être is to improve the way modern business connects with the disruptive force of the female dollar.
In this podcast you will hear:
- Why equality and gender is an economic matter as much as a societal one.
- How Bec created a successful new business from the glaring gap in traditional attitudes towards the female market.
- How can the so-called female dollar leverage impacts a company’s bottom line?
- With the past year being focused on a range of serious female-centric issues, in reaction perhaps to the rise of Trump-ism and backlashes see in the #metoo campaign, what lasting affect can this have long term on equality for women in all walks of life?
If you want to reach Bec go to:
- Website
Vote for Amber's Podcast: Aus Podcast Awards '18
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Everywhere we turn these days there is a new fad around ‘cleaner’ eating or secrets to living a healthier existence. My guest today is Alexx Stuart, a speaker, writer, podcaster and lox tox living expert – she is also soon to add author to that list of tags.
Passionate about her purpose, Alexx has grown her business organically, no pun intended, but with a clear mission to educate, inspire and share devoid of the usual preaching we often hear from those in the health and wellbeing arena. She has recipes, e-courses and much more to help us all on the road to a life free of harm or hype.
I the podcast you will learn:
- What was Alexx’s catalyst to become more interested in the impacts of toxins and the impacts on humans?
- What is her greater goal in sharing these new findings, healthy recipes, and personal experiences?
- Coming from a customer experience training background how have you created a community and monetised that (and her tips for others wanting to take a passion and make it their living too)?
- FINALLY: What is your top three easiest tips for anyone embracing The Politics of Low Tox Living?
Alexx's book is now available for pre-ordering on Booktopia, Book Depository and Amazon.
To connect with Alexx:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
With the hype around Bitcoin in recent times, Cryptocurrency is almost a household name term, wouldn’t you agree? It seems everyone from all walks of life is keen to capitalise on the potential riches that a non-regulated currency such as Bitcoin can produce in very short periods of time.
Where do you start in the cryptocurrency world to get some skin in the games, what are the rules and is it all it’s cracked up to be or another dotcom bubble mixed with a second global financial crisis just waiting to happen? Futurist Steve Sammartino talks to me today about ‘The Politics of Cryptocurrency.’
In this podcast you will hear:
- What is a futurist and what does that profession have to do with cryptocurrency?
- What is cryptocurrency at the most basic definition and where did it originate from?
- How do you get into the cryptocurrency market if you are a novice?
- Will it be all good news for cryptocurrency investors or is it set up for a short-term gain?
If you want find out more about Steve:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Microsoft founder Bill Gates famously said if he was down to his last dollar he would spend it on Public Relations. Other than journalism, public relations (PR) has formed the most significant part of my career over the last two decades. Meet Samantha Dybac, founder of The PR Hub, a public relations and talent management agency for entrepreneurs and business leaders wanting to raise their profile in the media and be recognized as experts in their field. I talk shop with Samantha as we delve into ‘The Politics of Public Relations.’
In this episode you will hear:
- How did Samantha break into PR in her 30s, after an early career in sales and marketing?
- Does creating a solid personal brand work equally for entrepreneur’s as well larger companies alike?
- What are the biggest trends for PR in the near future?
- Take away: What is your biggest advice for anyone embracing The Politics of Public Relations?
To connect with Samantha:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Leadership is a term that has many connotations, some good, some less so – from power and influence to narcissism and dictatorships. Sonia McDonald has made harnessing the best of leadership into her business. She can often be found delivering insightful, personal key notes talks on the subject, or coaching leaders across the country.
As the founder of Leadership HQ, an author, e-magazine creator and coach, Sonia has been named as one of the Top 250 Influential Women across the globe, and is all about shaking up the world of bland leadership. Her own tale is one of rising from the ground up to carve out a surprising new career, following some personal setbacks. She explains The Politics of Leadership.
In this episode you will hear:
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What makes a great leader and can anyone really learn to be one?
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Why you need the right leadership mindset and attitude more than the right skills to lead well – and how that can shape or break your career.
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What she plans to achieve in the next five years of her business Leadership HQ?
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What is the best tip you have for business people keen to be better at The Politics of Leadership?
If you want to get connected with Sonia:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Who doesn’t long to be more creative? After all the best ideas in business and beyond are created not copied. Kelly-Ann Denton is the Chief Visual Officer at imagineer.me, an agency which works with The Visual Mind and Neuroscience, in order to guide individuals toward more innovative and pre-determined realities.
Kelly-Ann Denton commenced a visual language and visual culture practice in 1993. She has designed visual education and imagination programs for two decades and written curricula for universities, government (state and federal), not for profit and international corporations as well as individuals. Let’s learn more from Kelly-Ann in The Politics of Creative Learning.
In this podcast, you will learn:
- What role does neuroscience play on how we learn and create new ideas.
- How can people working in corporate environments become more creative.
- What stops us from becoming as creative as we can be and is modern technology to blame?
- What can we teach our children to enhance their creativity as they move through the education system?
To find out more about Kelly-Ann connect via:
- imagineer.me
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
The idea of decluttering excites me. As someone who has moved house over 20 times, it makes sense to keep it simple. In fact I dream of residing in a hotel one day. Meet Anita Birges, who makes a living from organising others. Anita has completed her Professional Organiser Training, and is a registered member of IOPO (Institute of Professional Organisers). She is a former real-estate agent with a diploma in Property Styling. Anita is a regular media presenter and commentator. Let’s get started on The Politics of Decluttering.
In this podcast you will hear:
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How balancing work, running an efficient home and being a mum of two has taught her about the enormous value of staying organised.
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How she launched a decluttering business, after a completely different career.
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Last advice: Anita’s top three tips for anyone keen to get better at The Politics of Decluttering?
To find Anita please go to:
- mise-en-place.com.au
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Start-Ups are everywhere in the current business landscape, but how many of them are profitable, sustainable or even around five years after they launch? Some of the more conservative statistics say that over 50% will fail.
Sue-Ellen Watts or Sel as she is known by many –is a successful business leader, entrepreneur and a real start-up champion. Her first business wattsnext has been from start-up to grown up phase and her latest venture Scrappi was founded in Silicon Valley in September 2016 while on an Innovation Gathering with 12 other Entrepreneurs, CEO’s and Executives. An avid traveller, Sel has a global perspective on the world of start-ups, with an educated view why some succeed and many don’t. Sue-Ellen is more than qualified to get real about The Politics of Start-Ups.
In this episode you will learn:
- Why start-ups should avoid racing into raising capital.
- Why her reverse incubator Scrappi is solely focused on solving global problems by fostering talented ‘intrapranerus’.
- How to not be a start-up failure given that so many businesses with greatest ideas are not always the ones that are successful.
- Last take-away: Her tried and true perspective for anyone keen to find success in The Politics of Start-Ups?
To reach Sel online go to:
- sue-ellenwatts.com
- wattsnext.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Who doesn’t love the feeling of walking into a beautifully designed house, hotel or workspace? Interiors can ignite feelings, create memories and even affect how productive we are on an everyday basis.
Today I am interviewing Emma Blomfield, an accomplished stylist and author who has creatively reframed how we view Interior Design. She has taken her sharp design knowledge to the masses with pragmatic, innovative solutions to living in style, no matter your budget or lifestyle. She has published a book Home’ and runs an online business called The Decorating School, aimed at novice stylists and new business owners alike. I almost wish this podcast had a video component as we unpack The Politics of Interiors here with Emma.
In this episode, you will hear:
- How important are qualifications to becoming a successful interior designer.
- The theories behind The Decorating School, and how her business partner and have taught thousands of non-designers the world of interiors through e-courses.
- What are the hard and fast rules when it comes to small vs large spaces.
- How to make your office or home on-trend but not a slave to trends when it comes to stylish, functional interiors.
To find out more, please connect with Emma:
- emmablomfield.com
- thedecoratingschool.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Anneke van den Broek is the Founder and CEO of Rufus & Coco, Australia's fastest growing and most awarded pet brand. Launched in 2008, the company is re-shaping the pet industry by offering ranges of well-branded and packaged product, covering horses to hamsters and from pet grooming tools to vitamins. Anneke has capitalized the global phenomenon of people viewing their fur babies or pets as humans and part of the family. Prior to running Rufus & Coco, Anneke ran a high-flying corporate career, in marketing and general management with roles at David Jones and Blackmores.
Today she is here to get into The Politics of Business Innovation.Anneke van den Broek is the Founder and CEO of Rufus & Coco, Australia's fastest growing and most awarded pet brand. Launched in 2008, the company is re-shaping the pet industry by offering ranges of well-branded and packaged product, covering horses to hamsters and from pet grooming tools to vitamins. Anneke has capitalized the global phenomenon of people viewing their fur babies or pets as humans and part of the family. Prior to running Rufus & Coco, Anneke ran a high-flying corporate career, in marketing and general management with roles at David Jones and Blackmores. Today she is here to get into The Politics of Business Innovation.
In this podcast, you will hear:
- How have you infused business innovation into your business Rufus & Coco? Lots of changes have happened for small business since you launched back in 2008. Explain this for us.
- Australians are spending $12 billion a year on food, grooming, vets and insurance for their animals, making the pet care industry one of the major growth hot spots of the country's business sector. Why is that the case more so now than a generation ago?
- What sparked an interest to create your own pet brand? What did you see in that market some 10 years ago that needed innovation and how did you get started?
- Last advice: What summarizes her best advice for other business leaders on The Politics of Business Innovation?
To find Anneke online:
- Web
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
At first glance, the story of Emma Veiga-Malta may appear pretty ordinary. A mother who has launched a successful creative business from her artistic studio, while raising a family and supporting her husband’s career is not so special these days. Emma is the founder of Bespoke Backdrops, a design company changing the world of video backdrops one brushstroke at a time. However, to gloss over her story is to miss the pearls of wisdom for us all.
Emma has lived a real-life tale of riches to rags (and, as she says, hopefully, riches again) that begins in the UK. That all changed overnight when the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) hit her husband’s business to a point of no return. What happens next is the best part! Emma is here today to recount a very personal story of what The Politics of Persistence has meant to her.
In this podcast you will hear:
- Why entrepreneurialism, money, and creativity can be best friends.
- How Emma’s persistence has paid off as she went from ‘living the dream life’ in Switzerland to losing it during the GFC – to now, creating her own successful creative business from the ground up.
- Why she believes that ‘motherhood is the biggest excuse’, in terms of mums not pursuing their own financial independence and bigger goals.
- Best advice: What is your best piece of advice for anyone wanting to empower themselves in The Politics of Persistence?
To connect with Emma:
- Bespokebackdrops.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Getting fit and staying fit is high on the agenda for many people the world over. However, often sickness, work and family responsibilities get in the way of our regular exercise program.
My guest today is Lizzy Williamson, a former dancer turned social media sensation and author of her first book called ‘Two Minute Moves’ which smashes the myth we don’t have time to get fit. She has a backstory that will motivate and inspire you too.
In this episode, Lizzy explains:
- How her serious bouts of post-natal depression with both daughters become a lifeline to what mattered most, including the role of fitness.
- Why being an ambassador for PANDA, Peri-natal Anxiety & Depression Australia now has allowed her to know the best ways to support women in this common situation?
- How can we all do more for our fitness, even when we are compressed for time?
- Last advice: What top three tips can you wrap up in how we can all triumph in The Politics of Fitness?
To track Lizzy down go to:
- Twominutemoves.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Journalism is a subject that means more to me than almost anything else. I started my career as a print journalist 20 years ago, but I actually held a passion for the daily news world even as a young child. Today’s guest is Julie Posetti is an award-winning Australian journalist and academic. She is the author of a major UNESCO study, Protecting Journalism Sources in the Digital Age, published in affiliation with WAN-IFRA. She has worked at Fairfax Media and is former editor, presenter and reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
In 2014-15 she was based in Paris as Research Fellow and Editor with the World Editors Forum and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. Previously an Assistant Professor and Lecturer in Journalism at two Australian universities, she is currently a Journalism Fellow at the University of Wollongong. Julie has consulted widely to media organisations on the digital transformation of journalism, and delivered extensive social media training. Here she digs deep about The Politics of Journalism.
Listen on to hear from Julie about:
- What makes a great journalist and whether we can all learn the craft.
- What the role of social media outlets are in the issue of ‘fake news’.
- Why podcasting has become a vital part of the modern media landscape in the past decade, and her experience of having worked on an award winning podcast series Phoebe’s fall.
- Her advice for anyone wanting to pursue a future in journalism now.
- Last advice: What top ideas would you like anyone keen to understand The Politics of Journalism to know today?
To connect with Julie:
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
We are learning more about the links between ‘gut health’ and chronic conditions, such as acne, irritable bowel and even cognitive function. Rebecca Coomes is an author, presenter, and coach who, spent most of her life feeling sick, has found the way to healing her gut. Today she helps others do the same.
Rebecca is the author of the world’s first SIBO cookbooks and is the host of the SIBO Cooking Show. She has a fortnightly podcast called The Healthy Gut, which discusses all aspects of gut health, with a particular focus on Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Hear my podcast interview with Rebecca on The Politics of Gut Health.
In this show, you will hear:
- What is SIBO and how do you know if you have it?
- Why she has developed 5 step system that addresses five pillars to better SIBO management.
- How the FODMAP diet can only help SIBO suffers for short time.
- Her most pressing advice for anyone keen to improve their own wellbeing in The Politics of Gut Health?
To further connect with Rebecca:
- Thehealthygut.co
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
If you had to choose the best social media platform for doing business, it would surely be LinkedIn. This interview is with Alex Pirouz, CEO of Linkfluencer.com which Forbes magazine called Australia’s leading LinkedIn training company. The business has educated over 18,000 people in 30 countries across 55 industries.
He founded the business in early 2014 with the aim to change and transform social selling on LinkedIn, to help companies generate more leads, close more deals and stay relevant within their industry. Among its many successes so far, Linkfluencer was recently rated by Anthill Magazine as one of the top 100 most innovative companies and won the people's choice awards. Today we can learn more from Alex about The Politics of LinkedIn.
In this podcast, you will hear:
- How to get the most out of social selling, and why it is so different to other forms of traditional business development or B2B lead generation?
- What do most people get wrong about LinkedIn and how can we avoid this.
- His #1 goal for Linkfluencer.com heading into 2018.
- Last advice: What is top three tips for anyone keen to get ahead in The Politics of LinkedIn.
To find Alex online go to:
- Linkfluencer.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
This amazing woman could be forgiven for rejecting the very notion of optimism. At 12 years old, Stacey Copas had a devastating swimming pool accident that left her a quadriplegic, forever dependent on a wheelchair. Though this unquestionably has changed the course of her life, Stacey has used her life experience and personal philosophies to become one of Australia’s leading keynote speaker and facilitator on resilience and turning adversity into an asset. Her first book “How to Be Resilient” was published in 2015 and has been featured by numerous media outlets.
Stacey is an Ambassador for the Layne Beachley Foundation Aim for the Stars and donates a percentage of her speaker fees and from the sale of each book to support the foundation. She shares her story and simple, tangible lessons on The Politics of Optimism.
In this podcast you will learn about:
- How do you define true optimism?
- How she coped with her teenage years in a wheelchair mentally and physically?
- How the Stacey Copas Academy of Resilience was born and what ideas and daily processes she teaches anyone wanting to embrace more optimism.
- What is your top tip for anyone keen to master The Politics of Optimism?
To find out even more, do contact Stacey:
- staceycopas.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links:
Networking has mixed connotations for many of us – images of a frenzied business card swap fest in a room filled with new faces is hardly enticing for most people. However, networking can be fun, meaningful and life changing.
Just ask my guest today Fiona Craig, a former lawyer, and recruitment consultant turned business coach and the founder of Smart Women Connect – indeed an Australian networking for female business folks. I am keen to get her secrets on how to work the room with confidence as we discuss The Politics of Networking.
In this episode, Fiona shares:
- How her networking process has shifted since her first career job in 1990s.
- Despite the rise of social media as a major networking game changer, why it’s still important to invest in offline connecting to become a truly successful networker.
- How can you manage your nerves and also deal tactfully with tricky or awkward people in professional networking event.
- Last advice: What top three tips you have for listeners on The Politics of Networking?
To reach out to Fiona:
- Fionacraig.com.au
- Smartwomenconnect.com.au
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Diem Fuggersberger is the CEO and Co-founder of Berger Ingredients and the Creator of the Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen brand, providing readymade kids meals that caters for kids with allergies.
Her self-made success story from refugee without any possessions to a business powerhouse is pure inspiration – showcasing what Australia can do so well as a truly multi-cultural nation. Diem is here to unravel The Politics of Kids Food and much more.
In this podcast you will hear:
- What role did home cooking and food play for Diem’s family when you grew up?
- How Diem and her husband started their food ingredients empire in 2010 and why sourcing origin-based food really matters.
- Why her ‘foodie’ range Coco & Lucas’ is named after your nephew and daughter and why she founded this arm to her successful business?
- What are Diem’s grand business plans for Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen business?
- Last advice: How we can all succeed in The Politics of Kids Food?
To further connect with Diem’s company, please see here:
- Cocoandlucas.com.au
- Facebook.com/cocoandlucas
- Instagram.com/cocoandlucas
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Today I am on conversation with Danielle Robertson, founder and CEO of DRC – Care Solutions which she launched in 2015 to fill in the gaps in the care sector and meet the numerous calls for assistance in navigating the services offered in the aged, disability and home care.
Many families and people involved in the long-term care of ageing loved ones know too well that the pressure to make such big, emotional and costly decisions can prove to be a minefield. Danielle is here to discuss The Politics of Aged Care.
In this podcast you will better understand:
- How to obtain the best quality of aged care at a reasonable price.
- New ways big and small companies can now help employees with their caring responsibilities.
- A vision of what aged care options will be like in the future.
- Last words: What are the best advice anyone wanting to navigate The Politics of Aged Care.
For more about Danielle and her work please see here:
- Linkedin.com
- Daniellerobertson.com.au
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Who else wants to find their inner genius? My guest today in Episode #26 can help us. Yu Dan Shi works assisting professionals and entrepreneurs to find clarity in their life, so they can focus on what really matters.
Her approach has come from her own experience of being a successful business executive juggling the demands of raising a young family, and really not feeling that despite the way that it looked, she had it all. Yu Dan has tapped into an approach we can all benefit from as we explore The Politics of Inner Genius.
In this podcast you shall learn:
- What is Yu Dan’s Strength & Inner Genius approach to finding a new level of joy, meaning and success?
- Why our dream jobs are aligned with our authentic strengths without sacrificing a decent financial income.
- How we can most easily discover our inner genius?
- Take out advice: What top three tips you have for listeners on The Politics of Inner Genius?
To connect with Yu Dan please jump on the links here:
- Yudanshi.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Dr. Michael Kimmel is a well-known authority on gender, men, and masculinities, even being named by The Guardian UK as “the world’s most prominent male feminist”. I saw him speak at TEDX Sydney in 2016 and was enthralled by his common touch, his wisdom and often heartbreaking yet relevant insights, backed by his impressive academic kudos.
Among his many books are Manhood in America, Angry White Me and a best seller Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men. Today, we are sharing the microphone to unpack The Politics of Raising Men.
In this episode, Michael shall delve into:
- What are the most worrying issues for men?
- If Australia is any different when it comes to what defines masculinity today vs past generations.
- The challenges and opportunities of the single sex school system.
- Why embracing feminism still matters.
- Last tips: To raise great men what are the most pressing priorities we needs to really address in The Politics of Raising Men?
To connect further with Michael go to here:
- Michaelkimmel.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
In episode #26 we are getting to know Jacqui Ma who is a UK-based trend forecaster and designer specialising in the world of accessories. She spent eight years as Director of Accessories at the world’s leading fashion trend forecasting company WGSN, before Jacqui started her own consultancy called Trendfields.
Consulting to brands as diverse as Amazon Fashion to advertising agency BMB, Jacqui’s works closely with brands to combine future consumer insights with tangible recommendations and final designs. She is also the founder of Goodordering, an East London bag company, a boutique cycling-meet-fashion accessories business she started from her kitchen table five years ago. Jacqui is going to get us all in the know on ‘The Politics of Trends’.
In this podcast you, Jacqui gives us insight on:
- How does a specific style or fashion trend get selected in the age of 24/7 social media and celebrity power.
- What does a trends consultant do on a daily basis and how has the market changed in recent times with the global rise of more fast fashion brands?
- How did her niche cycle bag company Goodordering start and alongside having her own consulting career?
- Hot tips: If you could close off by sharing your top insights for listeners of keen to understand how to get ahead in The Politics of Trends.
To connect with Jacqui Ma please click here:
- Goodordering.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au
Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Get ready to laugh, cringe and be challenged in this podcast unravelling The Politics of Humour. I am chatting to Marty Wilson, a former Australian Comic of the Year whose multifaceted career has stretched him to become a TED Speaker, best-selling author, awarded copywriter, media commentator and popular business speaker and in-demand MC. His core message is on using humour to build resilience with his programs instantly relatable for different audiences.
Listen and learn from Marty on:
- What key ingredients makes stand-up comedy work well, and where do most people go wrong?
- Why is science vital to making us laugh?
- How resilience is linked to comedy and what this actually teaches an audience.
- Last advice: What top three tips he has to help us master The Politics of Humour?
To find out more about Marty, please go forth here:
- Martywilson.com.au
- Funnymartywilson
To watch his TED talk "Take Funny Seriously”: martywilson.com.au/ted
The papers he references on resilience are below:
Reappraise threats and reduce stress (Abel 2002) Increase personal resilience (Kuiper 2012) Facilitate psychological well-being (Lefcourt 2001) Achieve Greater Positive Affect (Cann & Collette 2014)
The research papers he references on leadership and business are below:
Humour enhances perceived leadership skills (Cann 2009) Humour builds credibility (Cann, 2014) Humour increases profit (Lynch 2009) Humour increases persuasion (Kerr, 2014) Humour increases long-term memory retention (Wanzer, 2010)
Amplify your ideas andgeta bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links:
They say that people fear public speaking more than almost anything, including dying. For episode #24, we hear from Lucy Perry, who among her many charms is a professional speaker who gets paid to take the stage at business events all over the globe.
Lucy is an award-winning leader, consultant, and author who has become known for her bright pink hair and ability to shock and inspire in equal doses. She uses her talents for writing and speaking about leadership, communication, changing the world and creative thinking. Learn how Lucy has succeeded in ‘The Politics of Speaking’.
In this podcast, Lucy will discuss:
- How can someone overcome their fear of public speaking?
- How has speaking helped her career and earn up to $50,000 per key note?
- How to triumph when things go wrong in the middle of a big speaking event? E.g. technical failures or last minute changes to the time allocated.
- Hot tip: The best ways to begin your own road to enjoy public speaking.
To connect with Lucy Perry see below:
- lucyperry.com.au
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
Our obsession with real estate is almost like a national sport in Australia. Would you like to have a secret weapon? In Episode #23 I am delving into this very idea with Lauren Goudy, a Licenced Real Estate Agent who started her career a decade ago as a selling agent in Melbourne, the house auction capital of the world. Moving to Sydney in 2011 Lauren worked in sales initially before finally finding her true calling as a Real Estate Buyers Agent.
Today, Lauren educates and empowers her broad range of clients to make smart property decisions and secure quality real estate in the ultra-competitive Sydney market. She shares with us per personal views and expertise when it comes to ‘The Politics of Real Estate’.
In this podcast, Lauren gives us the low down on:
- What a buyer’s agent actually does for you.
- What are some of the most common real estate mistakes would-be buyer’s make?
- The role governments play in housing affordability crisis that has affected the biggest cities.
- Hot tips: The most sensible advice to really get ahead of the pack in The Politics of Real Estate.
To connect with Lauren Goudy please click here:
- YouTube
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter
The world of small business has long been described as the “engine room of the Australian economy.” My guest today Dale Beaumont knows all about creating small business success stories. Dale Beaumont is an award-winning technology entrepreneur, international speaker and author of 16 best-selling books.
Dale started his first business at age 19 and has been building companies ever since. With a passion to give back, Dale’s goal is to help more than one million entrepreneurs around the world with BRiN, the world’s first business advisor powered by artificial intelligence. He is with us today to share his knowledge about The Politics of Small Business.
By the end of this episode, you will come to understand:
- Why being an entrepreneur and a small business owner are not interchangeable terms.
- Start-ups seem to be the new black for tech businesses and Dale has leaped ahead with the development of BRiN. How did that seed of an idea come to light and what is the biggest role of technology to power-up small businesses?
- With Australian figures showing 60% of SMEs will shut down in the first three year, what are the biggest mistakes small business owners make, and how can they avoid them or can’t they?
- Where to next for Dale Beaumont’s two thriving businesses?
- Last advice: What top three tips you have for listeners on The Politics of Small Business?
To further connect with Dale, please see here:
- @Dale_Beaumont
- Dalebeaumont.com
Amplify your ideas and get a bit political with me! To be a future podcast guest or connect with me, I can be found at: Amber@bespokecomms.com.au Amber’s social media links: * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter