Think Big Act Small

This short solo episode in the ‘Culture lessons’ series looks at item #10 on the ‘Culture is everything’ checklist: Do you have an energetic daily huddle that aligns everyone to the painted picture vision of your culture's future? A daily huddle is part of having a regular rhythm of connection with team members to build a stronger culture. Sticking to a memorable time for a short, sharp stand-up m...

Brad has been a high-growth entrepreneur and coach for the last 20 years.  His recently-released book, Made to Thrive: The Five Roles to Evolve Beyond Your Leadership Comfort Zone , has great practical content that every leader wanting to be effective should check out.  In the interview, Brad discusses the importance of ego management, self awareness, how continuous learning is critical...

This short solo episode in the ‘Culture lessons’ series looks at item #9 on the ‘Culture is everything’ checklist: Is your Painted Picture Vision used to recruit new team members that help grow your culture? A painted picture vision is a short inspiring document that describes what your business will look, feel and act like at a certain point of time (I prefer 3 years). Using a Painted Picture Vis...

In this episode we have the unique opportunity to learn from an emerging leader in the early stages of their leadership journey. Xavier Duursma is a professional footballer in the Australian Football League (AFL), arguably Australia's most elite sporting competition. In late 2018 Xavier left home in Foster (a small Victorian town of about 1,000 people) to move interstate and join the big time as a...

This short solo episode in the ‘Culture lessons’ series looks at item #8 on the ‘Culture is everything’ checklist: Do you have a 3-year Painted Picture Vision of your culture’s future that you refer to daily? A painted picture vision is a short inspiring document that describes what your business will look, feel and act like at a certain point of time (I prefer 3 years). By leaning into the f...

Ross is owner and CEO of Therapy Direct Health Care in the UK. His book 'The Business Of Health' shares his experience of becoming a strong leader inside a health business. In this interview, Ross shares the learnings and rituals that help him be at his best. We specifically focus on his leadership learnings, which include learning from others, and lessons from a spectacular communication fail. Do...

This short solo episode explores item 7 on the 'Culture Is Everything' checklist: Does your team receive regular updates on progress towards your ten-year obsession. We delve into some examples - including my own experience with The Physio Co - to help you bring your team along on the journey to achieving your Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Download a copy of the Culture Is Everything checklist here. S...

Lisa Messenger is the founder and CEO of Collective Hub, an inspiring multimedia platform that exists to help people unleash their full potential. Between 2013 and 2017 Collective Hub grew it's print magazine from scratch to 50+ issues that were distributed in 37 countries. But, as a creative entrepreneur, Lisa had to make some big decisions about Collective Hub's future in 2017 & 2018 th...

This short solo episode explores item 6 on the ‘Culture is Everything’ checklist: Do you have a 10-year obsession that acts as your north star? A 10-year obsession is all about vision: documenting where your business and team is heading, so you can create the right culture for the future you want to create. It's an idea learned in part from Jim Collins and his concept of a Big Hairy Audacious...

Sel Watts is a serial entrepreneur and people-focused leader. In 2007 Sel founded the results-driven HR firm Wattsnext in 2007, which she has continued to grow. She then took on the huge challenge of moving to New York to start another people-centred business, Wattsnextpx, which transforms businesses by working with founders and CEOs to increase the performance and engagement of senior leaders and...

After a short break to take time out to learn and grow in my personal and professional life, we're back to learning how to apply the steps from the Culture Is Everything checklist. This short solo episode covers how you can use core values in every team member's quarterly review. Using core values in regular one-to-one conversations with team members can help you to assess and improve perform...

Nick Sinclair is the founder and chairman of a fast-growing business, The Outsourced Accountant. They have a growing team of 1250 team members, the majority based in the Philippines, that provide accounting services to clients around the world. There are heaps of practical culture tips in the interview, including Nick's commitment to thinking big and acting small by connecting personally...

This short solo episode covers how you can best use core values to create a recognition and reward program that drives culture. We dive into the lessons learned from Scaling Up's Verne Harnish, Vaynermedia's Claude Silver and Icon Group's Mark Middleton. Item #4 on the  Culture Is Everything  checklist is 'Are your core values used for a recognition & reward program that drives cultu...

Cathie Reid is the co-founder of Icon Group, a 3,000-strong global team dedicated to caring for cancer patients across Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Cathie is also a director of the Brisbane Lions AFL Football Club, and a recent recipient of the Order of Australia for her 30+ years in healthcare and philanthropy. Cathie believes her role as a leader is to help her people move from good to great...

This short solo episode covers why core values are one of the foundations of a strong team culture. We delve into core value examples from AirBnB, Atlassian and The Physio Co to help you understand what great core values look and sound like.  Item #3 on the Culture Is Everything Checklist is 'Do you have 3-5 core values that EVERY team member can remember?' and that is the focus for this epis...

As the Chief Heart Officer at VaynerMedia - which you may know from their content-creating CEO Gary Vaynerchuk - Claude Silver is responsible for supporting the culture across an 800-person team. After 20 years working at various Fortune 50 companies in the US, Claude has found that all people need other people in our lives that listen, and then do. People also need the space in which they ca...

Jules Lund is a star of Australian TV and radio who is now the leader of a fast-growth tech company. In 2015 Jules founded TRIBE, a self-serve online marketplace connecting brands with influencers. TRIBE now has offices in four countries and a team of about 70. Jules shares his challenges evolving from a high-achieving lone wolf in the media into a founder that serves a fast-growing team - in part...

This short solo episode looks at how to best use a core purpose as one of the foundations of a strong culture, so you can create a truly great place to work. Building on episode 18, this episode focuses on step 2 of the Culture Is Everything Checklist: Can every team member recite your core purpose? The culture in your team can be systemised, just like many other parts of your business. Building a...

Brian is the founder and CEO of The Goulet Pen Company, which has grown from two people (Brian and his wife) to a 40-person team that sells and distributes fountain pens all over the US. Brian believes it’s all about people, and that ‘to be unclear is to be unkind’; therefore leaders need to first be clear in our minds so that we can give clarity to our team. Enjoy learning from Brian!

Kevin Lawrence is the author of 'Your oxygen mask first', which helps high achievers to survive and thrive in leadership and life. In this episode we discuss practical habits from the book including: the skill of not letting other people’s problems become your own; the idea that the best thing any leader can do is to make themselves useless; and how to practically prepare for uncomfortable convers...

Mark Middleton is the Global CEO of the Icon Group, which has 3,000 employees across Australia, NZ, China and Singapore. A healthcare professional by trade, Mark’s leadership journey has centred around creating a strong culture and building a great place to work. One of the key concepts we discuss in this interview is the power of rituals to learn and grow ourselves in our careers, and to provide...

This (short) episode is a little different. No guest, no interview, just Tristan going solo on a topic that's item one on the Culture Is Everything checklist: discovering a short, compelling and easy-to-understand core purpose (instead of a wishy-washy mission statement) as a foundation of a strong team culture. In this episode, you'll hear the story of the very first team members that Trista...

This episode features the leader, entrepreneur and author Brian Scudamore. Brian is the founder of the global success story 1800 Got Junk, which employs thousands of people and collects hundreds of millions of dollars worth of junk each year. Brian shares the inauspicious beginnings behind his people-centric business model that led to the foundation of this global powerhouse. We delve into the sec...

Verne Harnish is an leader, entrepreneur, community builder, and the author of 'Scaling Up' and 'Mastering The Rockefeller Habits'.  In this episode we discuss how routine can set you free, the interaction between empathy and assertiveness for leaders, the importance of 'keeping it real', and Verne's 'care more' approach.

David Meerman Scott is an author, speaker, content creator and a mentor of mine. He’s the author of 10 books, the most famous being ‘The New Rules of Marketing and PR’. He travels the globe teaching leaders and entrepreneurs how to publish content online. In this interview we discuss how online content creation can help businesses grow. We also explore how ideas develop over time and can be connec...