The Occupational Philosophers - A not-so-serious business podcast to spark Creativity, Imagination and Curiosity

In possibly their loosest episode ever (and the bar is pretty low.....), The Occupational Philosophers met up in the time vortex that is the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve where time stands still and people eat leftovers and drink wine from 9 am and feel no guilt whatsoever.  As such, they found themselves wading into unusual territory - setting and achieving new year's goals and some o...

In episode 15, The Occupational Philosophers explore imagination - what it is, why it's so important and why we have oodles of it, ready and waiting for us to use.  So what is it?  “Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and, therefore, the foundation of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the...

In Episode 14, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Tanya Chua, a creative and design powerhouse. She is on a mission to bring more creativity into both education and the greater world. Tanya sits at the intersection of art and design, advertising, visual storytelling, and inspiration. She has been headhunted more times than Mad Men's Don Draper and in a former role, travelled to 35 countries t...

In episode 13, The Occupational Philosophers explore the concept of FLOW...... Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was the Godfather of Flow State (and just recently passed away in Oct 2020)  Csikszentmihalyi started his initial observations and studies on artists.  He noted that the act of creating seemed at times more important than the finished work itself and he was fascinated by what he called the “flow”...

In episode 12, The Occupational Philosophers dive into the world of Accidental Mashups, Insatiable Curiosity and how they drive Innovation.  Why an insatiable curiosity is at the heart of entrepreneurialism (and it's how they see opportunities that other people miss)  How being open to surprises, coincidences and mistakes we can deliver some fantastic insights that can drive innovation  Why innova...

In Episode 11, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Dr. Brock Bastian - Professor, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne. Brock is a social psychologist whose research focuses on pain, happiness, and morality.  His book, The Other Side of Happiness, was published in January 2018.  Brock completed his PhD in 2007 and since then has published more than 100 peer-revie...

In episode 10, The Occupational Philosophers celebrate hitting their 10th anniversary episode (who said you shouldn't celebrate the small stuff) and they dive back into the big ideas, themes and curious moments from their guests so far.  On the way they explore:  Why being human is anything but perfect (and that's OK)  How creativity and laughter drives connection and those lovely human moments th...

In Episode 9, The Occupational Philosophers chat with Eleanor Tweddle - a podcaster, an entrepreneur, and author, with a best-selling book, Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you! (and she is also an amazing coach, consultant, and very funny) After 23 years of corporate life, working for brands such as Costa Coffee, RAC, Virgin Atlantic, and Vodafone, Eleanor found h...

In Episode 8, The Occupational Philosophers dive into the business, life, and leadership lessons we can learn from three very well-known artists.  Starting at the rebirth of humanism, creativity, and curiosity, and a general 'coming out of the dark' (also known as the Renaissance), they take us through the minds of two of the Renaissances shining lights, Michaelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci.  Keepi...

In Episode 7, The Occupational Philosophers chat with global humanitarian, childhood conservationist, lifelong play enthusiast and founder of The Flying Seagull Project, Ash Perrin.  Since 2008, The Flying Seagull Charity Project has brought love, light and laughter to more than 200,000 children in 23 countries across four continents in challenging and desperate situations, including hospitals, or...

In episode 6, The Occupational Philosophers get really curious about questions (and questions are what this show is all about). Questions come in all shapes and sizes and John and Simon have a good look at them all.  Importantly, they explore how great questions can have a positive impact on both the world of work AND living a most inspiring  life.  Amongst other things, The Occupational Philosoph...

In Episode 5, The Occupational Philosophers chat with glorious, amazingly talented, and hilarious performer Tamara Campbell.  Tamara has literally performed all over the world:  23 countries in 6 different languages for over a million people in her 18-year career. Tamara believes that "laughter should be a force for good. Bringing humans together to share and connect, breaking down the barriers an...

In episode four, The Occupational Philosophers explore a history of chin strokers (AKA Philosophers) throughout time from Socrates through to Voltaire, and even the more modern Seth Godin.  Importantly, as a not-so-serious business podcast, they dive into what we can learn from this ancient and more recent wisdom to enable us to thrive in our more modern times.  The Occupational Philosophers explo...

In their first guest episode, The Occupational Philosophers talk with Dr. Peter Lovatt, a Dance Psychologist, multi TED speaker and best selling author, who through his work on the psychology of movement and dance, is more widely known as 'Dr. Dance'!  Listen in as Peter shares: 3 top tips for everyday living from his new book 'The Dance Cure' How teams and organisations can use movement to fuel i...

In their inaugural episode, The Occupational Philosophers dive into:  The no.1 thing that kills your creative potential, whether that's at work, at home, or in the bath  Some tactics on how to deal with it  Some key ways to have a little less of this creativity killer at work that doesn't make you look like a free loving, sandal-wearing hipster that says stuff like, "Let's get in the flow brothers...

  Would you like to fulfill your potential to be the curious, creative, and imaginative star that you are, or would like to be? You already know in your bones that you are a creative beast, but maybe you just don't quite know how to unleash it – perhaps it’s an ignored talent in writing, leading innovation at work, or simply underwater basket weaving. Every fortnight, John, a mild-mannered, middle...