Magical Learning Podcast

What new business venture would you think about if you were Robin Hood? What are some different ideas you could try with the resources you already have? In this episode of the Magical Learning Podcast, host Jez and guests Danette, Grahame, and John explore the concept of 'fresh set of eyes' in business, using the fictional context of Robin Hood and his merry men. They discuss the importance of div...

How can you focus your boredom, and how can that help you create great works of art? How can an office team in Narnia gel better together using boredom? In this episode of the Magical Learning Podcast, the team reflects on their holiday experiences and transitions into a concept sandbox discussion centered around Narnia. They explore the theme of boredom, its implications for creativity, and how i...

This podcast is part of the Moira Shire Council's "Building Business Resilience Program", designed to help Moira Shire business owners build greater personal and business resilience. These podcasts are to promote events that Moira Shire business owners and employees can attend. February 18: Breakfast event at the Shamrock Hotel, Numurkah with guest speaker Dr Kate Burke. *To register...

This podcast is part of the Moira Shire Council's "Building Business Resilience Program", designed to help Moira Shire business owners build greater personal and business resilience. These podcasts are to promote events that Moira Shire business owners and employees can attend. February 18: Breakfast event at the Shamrock Hotel, Numurkah with guest speaker Dr Kate Burke. To register...

How can you get more time back? Why is it a compliment NOT to get invted to a meeting? To discuss, the team is joined by Lisa Bodell. Lisa is an award-winning author, Top 40 Global speaker, futurist and CEO of futurethink. As a futurist and expert on the topic of change, she serves as a global council member of the World Economic Forum; and has helped thousands of senior leaders ignite innovation...

Have you been able to keep your New Year's Resolution up, or has it already fallen off? Why are habits so hard to keep? And why is it sometimes better to hit snooze on the alarm than go to the gym? In today's awesome conversation, Jez, Danette (Dir. of Learning) and Grahame (CEO) chat to the fantastic Darren Fleming about all these questions and more. Darren is the founder of Mindset Mastery, spea...

How would you go about franchising the mythical school of Harry Potter; Hogwarts? And what does innovation look like at a mythical school? Well, it is the sequel to the popular Concept Sandbox we did earlier in the year, and that is where we take business problems, and make them a bit more fun. In this episode of the Magical Learning Podcast, the team discusses the concept of innovation through a...

Do you feel like toxic workplaces are inevitable? What are some signs you should be changing the culture at your workplace? In today's chat with friend of the podcast Colin D. Elis, we break down all that and more to celebrate the launch of his new book "Detox Your Culture". Colin is a Culture Consultant, Award-Winning Author and Keynote Speaker, but most of all a great conversationalist and a Mag...

What would you do if your child was denied the chance to go overseas and help build up a school in Cambodia? And how would that decision affect your life up until today? Well, that is the exact scenario today's guest found themselves in, and they ended up taking their daughter over to Cambodia, only to fall in love with the people, and start an NGO. In today's team chat, the team has a great conve...

How important is it for us to get out into nature? What are some of the lesser-known negatives about city living? In today's Author Corner, or resident author and Director of Learning Danette chats with author of the new book "The Natural Advantage": Dr. Jenny Brockis. Dr. Jenny has a health professional for over four decades, as well as being a Speaker, Author and Lifestyle Medicine Physician. In...

When negotiating, what is the most important thing to know about the other party? How can you be better at negotiating? In today's chat, our resident author and Director of Learning Danette Fenton-Menzies chats with author Glin Bayley about her new book "The Negotiation Playbook". Glin Bayley is an Author, Speaker, Personal Transformation Strategist, Negotiation Specialist and Non Exec Director at...

How can you grow a business in an industry that isn't known for scaling? What can you gain, but also lose, by selling a company? In this episode of the Magical Learning Podcast, our resident author and Director of Learning Danette Fenton-Menzies speaks with author, Jason T. Smith about his unexpected journey as an entrepreneur, the challenges he faced while building a successful physiotherapy netw...

In this episode of the Magical Learning Podcast, our Director of Learning and author Danette Fenton-Menzies speaks with Steve Vamos about his career, philosophy, and new book "Through Shifts and Shocks: Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change". Steve is the former CEO of Xero, former managing director of Apple and Microsoft in the Australia and New Zealand region, as well as working w...

How good are you at dealing with conflict in the workplace? What are some better ways to navigate communication in the office? In today's Author Corner, our resident author and Director of Learning Danette Fenton-Menzies speaks with fellow author Genevieve Hawkins. Genevieve discusses her journey as an author and occupational therapist, focusing on mental health and workplace dynamics. She introdu...

In this episode of the Magical Learning Podcast, our Director of Learning and author Danette Fenton-Menzies speaks with author Louise Gilbert about her journey from corporate leadership to writing her book 'Make Work Work for You'. Louise is a change management coach and social wellbeing expert, who also works as a speaker and consultant In this conversation, Danette and Louise discuss the importa...

What comes to mind when you think of Four Pillars Gin? Maybe it is the fact it has won International Gin Producer of the Year for the past 3 years? Maybe it's the unique branding? Maybe it's that refreshing taste? No matter what it is, if you like a drink, you have undoubtedly heard of Four Pillars Gin, and today we are joined by one of the co-founders; Matt Jones. Matt is a former political speec...

In today’s awesome Author Corner, our resident author and Director of Learning Danette Fenton-Menzies chats with author, entrepreneur and recruitment expert Richard Triggs. He is on to talk about his new book Winning the War for Talent: How to Attract and Retain Top Performers . In this awesome conversation, Richard Triggs shares his unique journey from aspiring rock star to successful recruitment...

Did you know that 60% of workers are disengaged? What does that mean for companies trying to get the best out of their staff? Well, luckily today we are joined by Ishan Galapathy to break down what that means for leaders every where and how they can fix it. Ishan is a renowned Operational Excellence expert in the food industry. He provides straight talk to leaders in the food sector who are challe...

In this Author Corner, our resident author and Director of Learning chats with fellow author Shivani Gupta about her book Getting Your People to Step Up . Shivani is an award winning entrepreneur, speaker, coach and author and is obsessed with Passion, People and Performance. Danette and Shivani discuss the challenges of managing people, the importance of attracting passionate employees, creating...

Welcome to the hilarious new type of episode: the concept sandbox. Here we will be having two simultaneous conversations, and each one will shed unique light on the other. Our two conversations today are How to pick between a leader who is good at task vs a leader who is good at people How art and business overlap. And interestingly, we will be doing it through the lens of Jason Voorhees from the...

What would you do if you were flying a plane, and all of a sudden the engine caught on fire? Well, that has happened to our amazing Author Corner guest Chris Smith. Chris joins our resident author and Director of Learning Danette to chat about his new book Leadership at 43000 Feet: Real Leaders Don't Need a Title. Chris has worked as pilot and got his accreditation in the counselling space, be...

Why is it that work and fun sometimes feel like they are mutually exclusive? How do we make them the same thing? In today's chat, the regular team jumps on to chat about their experience of where work meets fun, and what they have seen that makes fun more available in the workplace. They also chat about why adding a ping pong table and bean bags can actually be a negative thing. All Magical Le...

Today's epic Author Corner is with the amazing Michelle Gibbings. Michelle is an author, keynote speaker, facilitator, mentor and workplace expert who has an amazing instinct for fun and effectiveness. In today's conversation Danette and Michelle break down what Influence is, how to deal with entitled employees, how important emotions are for leaders and to make teamwork more effective. Th...

We all want our brand to stand out from the crowd. But why is that sometimes too scary for us to do, and what is the cost of not standing out at all? Well today the team was lucky enough to be joined by the awesome strategy coach, keynote speaker and bestselling author David Fish to break it all down. David talks about why Red Bull is so good at its branding (and how it has never had to use the wo...

In today's Author Corner, our very own Director of Learning and author Danette Fenton-Menzies chats with another author; Bill Withers. Bill started as a computer programmer (software engineer) before he discovered succession thinking by being an SME Owner-Leader from 1987 to 2023. Three different SMEs with different visions and purposes made up this 36 year journey, including most recently Ada...