Life Beyond The Numbers

"When our best selves show up, we create magic in ourselves, for ourselves, for others, with others." Susan Ní Chríodáin   Dr Susanne Evans, David Lee and I explore what it really takes to show up as our best selves. David opens with a story from the morning of 9/11 that reframed what "making a difference" actually means. Susanne shares her participation in a resilience panel where her story felt...

"The data really is about giving you an insight that allows a conversation to take place. That conversation can be with yourself. You can journal and you can reflect. You can have a really good chat with your mate who's keen on the data as well. But I would definitely encourage it; it's the conversation that matters about your habits, your environment, your lifestyle. That conversation matters muc...

"There's always energy all around us. We live in an ocean of energy, whether we can see it or not." Bianca Riemer   Bianca Riemer and I explore what happens when an accountant turned Morgan Stanley analyst follows her curiosity into energy medicine and why the two might not be as different as they sound. Bianca speaks about pranic healing in an accessible and practical way: protocol-based, science...

"There's a lot more that hasn't been said. A lot of the book is about voice and not leaving things unsaid. And I sometimes realise that I don't use my voice as much as I could. I can retreat from things. In a way, that's what writing the book does. It brings things to the surface that wouldn't otherwise come through. I don't think that's done. I just think there's a lot of creativity still waiting...

"I'm going to get rid of the day job because it's getting in the way of doing more interesting stuff." Ben Legg   Ben Legg and I talk about what it actually takes to build a portfolio career and why the people drawn to it tend to share a particular kind of independent bloody mindedness. Ben brings his own journey from the Royal Engineers to McKinsey to Google to founding the Portfolio Collective,...

"Everything is up for grabs. The good thing is the world doesn't care." Faris Aranki   Faris Aranki and I talk about what it really takes for teams to perform and why the thing standing in the way is rarely strategy or intelligence. Faris talks us through his equation (Success = IQ × EQ × FQ) based on 20 years of watching some brilliant organisations fail to execute on perfectly good ideas. We get...

“It’s called being alive. It’s what kind of life do you want? Do you want a slightly muted shut down life, or do you want a full spectrum life?” Jess Goyder   Jess Goyder and I explore grief as part of everyday human life, not just something linked to death or bereavement. We talk about loss, change, identity, leadership, and what it means to be fully alive. We talk about how grief is often misund...

"And if I can coach in a way where someone is really attuned to what's happening in their mind and body as one, not as two separate things, then I think, well, I've found it. It's just magical... They would kind of find themselves at their best. They go on to do things where they're, the phrase I like to use is, they're surprised by what they can do." Mike Porteous   Mike Porteous is an endurance...

“Communication is all about connection, right? And getting your message across to your audience. And to do that effectively, you have to first connect with yourself….” Caroline Harvey   Caroline Harvey and I explore why impactful communication starts with connection. Caroline shares how “communicate better” can sound simple until you realise it asks something more personal: being connected to who...

"We're really focused on the core fundamentals of organisational clarity, communicating that clarity, over-communicating that clarity, minimising confusion and politics. And when that's present, then you have the good stuff. And for me, the good stuff is that you're creating that environment for people to flourish and thrive." Sheila Walsh.    Sheila Walsh takes me through the tumultuous year in a...

"So it's just giving people multiple ways to feed into this and to be heard. To be heard is the most important thing, is what I've learned." Deirdre de Bhailís   Deirdre de Bhailís and I talk about what it really takes for change to happen in communities — and why being heard matters so much when people are navigating uncertainty, sustainability, and the future of the places they live. Prompted by...

"For me, the human experiences is a universal one and the book aims to address core aspects of something that we all experience. So fear, learning boundaries, identity, all those different principles. [ ] So this universal human experience, I think is really, really important." Rachel Morris   Rachel Morris and I explore what she describes as this universal human experience — the fear, uncertainty...

"It's not an emptiness or a void, it's actually full of possibility. And once I started to explore it, how they explained it, the Japanese concept is about when you listen to music, there's always space between the notes. And then if you apply that to a book or a page, there's always space between the words. So that space, that white space, another way of describing, it is necessary." Susan Ni Chr...

"I'm only a small cog in this. I'm developing this thought about trying to do good, but we can't all do it alone. If we can all collectively hold hands and all just have this thought that if we can do good in this world… I do think that there's a lot to be said for farming and fresh produce because it's feeding the world in a sustainable manner and it's doing good." Max MacGillivray   Max MacGilli...

"A new type of thinking is essential if humankind is to survive and reach higher levels." Marsha Ramroop (quoting Einstein)   Marsha Ramroop explains how her purpose, giving the unheard voice a place to speak, first emerged during her broadcasting career, and how it now shapes her work in cultural intelligence and organisational change. We explore inclusion and why under-representation is a sympto...

“But getting back to the power of proximity, let's say I would meet people on Twitter … then we would all go to South by Southwest Interactive, the big tech conference in Austin … Suddenly we'd meet in person and as I wrote about in my book, it's hugs, high fives, handshakes.” Dave Delaney   Dave Delaney joins me to talk about the thing that most connects us - communication. From improv stages to...

“80 years ago, the Institute for Functional Medicine started collecting the data, doing the research, and that's their number one priority, that it's really evidence-based and you will have clinical studies for everything. But then they also wanted it to be patient-centred. They wanted to listen to the unique story of everybody." Blanka Campbell   Blanka Campbell and I talk about the wisdom — and...

"My interest is beyond that. Beyond the solar system. Of course I have this interest in Mars, but what I'm really interested in is the post planetary condition of humankind.” Angelo Vermeulen   Angelo Vermeulen and I talk about imagination, exploration, and what it means to lead and collaborate beyond boundaries. Angelo is  a scientist and a visual artist, who loves to build crossovers between tho...

"As it turns out being authentically me means more sales when it comes to marketing and everything. So that was the big lesson I learned early on. It took a very tough learning experience. But that sense of being yourself for all its flaws and all its good things as well that was a huge learning for me." Eamon FitzGerald   Eamon FitzGerald and I talk about wine. Eamon has a passion for connecting...

“There’s probably something about confidence that I back myself, that I can do more or I can strengthen this particular skill. I can learn to do a new thing.” Julie Smith   Julie Smith and I talk about the realities of confidence, humility and self-doubt and how these play out in both life and leadership. Julie describes confidence as “trust in yourself” and reminds us that nobody feels confident...

This is a special episode to mark the 5th anniversary and the launch of the audio book version of Leading Beyond the Numbers.    In this episode I share: 5 reflections from 5 years of podcasting: Hosting or facilitating Holding space and listening The most surprising thing... The power of voice Why this podcast still matters to me A short interview by Rob Lawrence recorded in JMS Group Studios at...

"We don't eat nutrients, we eat stories." Mari Giuseppe   Mari Giuseppe and I delve into the intricate relationship between food, culture and self-perception. Mari, a dietician with a unique approach, explains how food isn't just nutrition; it's deeply intertwined with the stories we tell ourselves. We discuss the pressures of cultural ideals, the impact of trauma on eating habits and the harmful...

"When I first become aware that I was experiencing perimenopause, or at least put a name to what I had been experiencing for years without knowing what was going on, it was a very different world. That was just 10 to 15 years ago." Laura Haycock   Laura Haycock and I talk about her recently published book, M-Power, which addresses menopause as a critical issue that intersects with organisational c...

"I'm a great one for saying yes to things because I like saying yes to things .... and my husband always says, availability isn't a skill, Susanne. So, I have to remind myself of that sometimes." Dr Susanne Evans   Susanne, David and I speak about burnout. Not as a concept, but as something that we may well have to navigate in our work-lives. We talked about signs like exhaustion, disconnection, l...

“I want to create something which fit that space and would help those people... to future-proof themselves.” James Culmer-Shields   James Culmer-Shields and I recently sat down at my kitchen table and talked about something that touches all of us: how we stay well enough as we age to live the lives we want to live. James has spent decades in the world of fitness - from his time in the military tra...