Dan Cooke has lived a life full of adventure, adversity and service in his capacity as former teacher, fireman and latterly in the role of international search and rescue. Chance encounters with opportunity and strong mentors have set Dan on a life of serving others, with all the highs and lows that brings.

In this episode we explore what it is to serve and how sometimes doing nothing is the best thing, despite the urge to rush to help. From dealing with death and devastation on a mass scale in Haiti to giving yourself the chat when diving with Tiger Sharks, Dan helps to strip back what it is to lead in uncertainty and facing fear.

We also explore the subjects of learning, failure and what it takes to build a high performing team; be it working with the England rugby team or the co-ordination of effort with the volunteer men and women of ‘Serve On’, a humanitarian response charity whose dedicated volunteers help communities in their hour of need, at home or abroad.

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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackdogrunner/message

Dan Cooke has lived a life full of adventure, adversity and service in his capacity as former teacher, fireman and latterly in the role of international search and rescue. Chance encounters with opportunity and strong mentors have set Dan on a life of serving others, with all the highs and lows that brings.

In this episode we explore what it is to serve and how sometimes doing nothing is the best thing, despite the urge to rush to help. From dealing with death and devastation on a mass scale in Haiti to giving yourself the chat when diving with Tiger Sharks, Dan helps to strip back what it is to lead in uncertainty and facing fear.

We also explore the subjects of learning, failure and what it takes to build a high performing team; be it working with the England rugby team or the co-ordination of effort with the volunteer men and women of ‘Serve On’, a humanitarian response charity whose dedicated volunteers help communities in their hour of need, at home or abroad.

How has this lockdown period forced us to change our behaviours as leaders and individual contributors? What habits that have been developed through working from home do we keep and which ones don’t serve us so well? And how are paperclips and Creme Eggs related?

The answers to all these questions are explored with Annabelle Charman, divisional Chief Operating Officer with a FTSE 250 company, keen ultra marathon runner and graduate of one of my leadership programmes. And despite the latter, someone who has forged a great career for herself in the City!

During the course of this episode we explore numerous subjects around the power of habit and what this current lockdown period has allowed her to integrate into life in order to lead her teams, manage her mental state and sustain her training despite most of her ultra marathon events being cancelled.

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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackdogrunner/message

How has this lockdown period forced us to change our behaviours as leaders and individual contributors? What habits that have been developed through working from home do we keep and which ones don’t serve us so well? And how are paperclips and Creme Eggs related?

The answers to all these questions are explored with Annabelle Charman, divisional Chief Operating Officer with a FTSE 250 company, keen ultra marathon runner and graduate of one of my leadership programmes. And despite the latter, someone who has forged a great career for herself in the City!

During the course of this episode we explore numerous subjects around the power of habit and what this current lockdown period has allowed her to integrate into life in order to lead her teams, manage her mental state and sustain her training despite most of her ultra marathon events being cancelled.

How do leaders create great company cultures? What fundamental truths and principles can be applied, not only in the games studios, but within any organisation? These are just some of the areas discussed with games industry veteran Andreas Gschwari.

Andreas and I worked alongside each other at a AAA game studio here in the UK and he was instrumental in helping spread leadership best practice throughout all layers of the company. Andreas has a fascinating background and uses his passion for people and appetite for learning to create high performing teams and is up for any challenge. None more so than his latest venture where he has recently partnered with a colleague to go it alone and set up their own games publishing venture.

A true servant leader, Andreas is applying all the lessons learned as a leader over the years and putting them to the ultimate test; building a company from scratch. Will he be successful? I have no doubt Modern Wolf will become the model that all publishers benchmark themselves against!

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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackdogrunner/message

How do leaders create great company cultures? What fundamental truths and principles can be applied, not only in the games studios, but within any organisation? These are just some of the areas discussed with games industry veteran Andreas Gschwari.

Andreas and I worked alongside each other at a AAA game studio here in the UK and he was instrumental in helping spread leadership best practice throughout all layers of the company. Andreas has a fascinating background and uses his passion for people and appetite for learning to create high performing teams and is up for any challenge. None more so than his latest venture where he has recently partnered with a colleague to go it alone and set up their own games publishing venture.

A true servant leader, Andreas is applying all the lessons learned as a leader over the years and putting them to the ultimate test; building a company from scratch. Will he be successful? I have no doubt Modern Wolf will become the model that all publishers benchmark themselves against!

In this episode, I chat with Liz Mayon-White who has packed an extraordinary amount of challenge into her life. We cover the subjects of habits, routines and discipline, as well as how to reframe the challenges we face.

Whether it’s being capsized in the middle of the Atlantic or dealing with the disappointment of your race in GB colours being cancelled due to COVID-19, Liz reveals how she keeps on top of her mental and physical game. There’s even some tips for parenting thrown in for good measure!

And if rowing the Atlantic wasn’t challenging enough, try doing it with your life partner and without a background in rowing to draw upon!

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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackdogrunner/message

In this episode, I chat with Liz Mayon-White who has packed an extraordinary amount of challenge into her life. We cover the subjects of habits, routines and discipline, as well as how to reframe the challenges we face.

Whether it’s being capsized in the middle of the Atlantic or dealing with the disappointment of your race in GB colours being cancelled due to COVID-19, Liz reveals how she keeps on top of her mental and physical game. There’s even some tips for parenting thrown in for good measure!

And if rowing the Atlantic wasn’t challenging enough, try doing it with your life partner and without a background in rowing to draw upon!

In this episode, I interview Al Humes. Ex-soldier, humanitarian and coach to elite sports teams.

I’ve never met Al in person and the Covid-19 situation threw us together on a LinkedIn thread where we very much aligned on our thoughts and experiences around the subject of purpose and values.

In this session, Al and I go deep into how being clear on your purpose is not something soft and fluffy. But something that is foundational to all high performing individuals and organisations. Purpose and values have to be lived and breathed and not just a poster on a boardroom wall or company website.

It takes a great deal of work and reflection to get to what really drives your mission and who and what you stand for. But if they are so important, why doesn’t everyone know their purpose and ‘why?’.

Great question! And something we discuss on this episode.

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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blackdogrunner/message

In this episode, I interview Al Humes. Ex-soldier, humanitarian and coach to elite sports teams.

I’ve never met Al in person and the Covid-19 situation threw us together on a LinkedIn thread where we very much aligned on our thoughts and experiences around the subject of purpose and values.

In this session, Al and I go deep into how being clear on your purpose is not something soft and fluffy. But something that is foundational to all high performing individuals and organisations. Purpose and values have to be lived and breathed and not just a poster on a boardroom wall or company website.

It takes a great deal of work and reflection to get to what really drives your mission and who and what you stand for. But if they are so important, why doesn’t everyone know their purpose and ‘why?’.

Great question! And something we discuss on this episode.