Business Leader Breakthroughs

In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan talk about mindfulness at work. Mindfulness at work is about being open and present in the moment and actively thinking about how to add the most value for your organization, rather than practices like meditation and yoga that are characteristic of personal mindfulness.

Mike and Ryan explain what mindfulness at work entails and why it is so important, and share some of their own mindfulness practices as well as tips on how to get started on being more mindful at work.

Links

• Listen to it on YouTube
• Find out more about asana here
• Find out more about the book The Tao of Leadership here 

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Ryan and Milena discuss outsourcing and freelancing. They share with you the lessons they have learned during the various times they have outsourced work at the Breakthrough. They talk about when you should think about outsourcing and how to decide on the right option for each situation, whether it be a virtual solution or a freelancer or agency. They give tips on finding the right person or agency to hire and how to make the relationship as mutually beneficial as possible, as well as tips on what to do when you run into challenges.

Watch it on YouTube

Links

Some of Milena’s and Ryan’s favorite outsourcing resources (as mentioned in the podcast):

• Upwork: freelancer platform 
• Technology solutions: 
  • Temi: video transcription software
  • X.ai: virtual scheduling assistant AI

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan share 3 big strategic questions that can help you bring your business to the next level. These questions will unlock your thinking and open possibilities you had never thought of before. Mike and Ryan discuss them in depth and give real examples of how asking these questions has helped their clients improve their businesses.

Links 

• Watch it on YouTube
• Find out more about the book Breakpoints here 

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Ryan has the pleasure of interviewing Kate Daly, director of people at BNZ. She has held roles in human resources in many of the world’s largest brands and some of New Zealand’s household names, and is a board member at Auckland Rugby and The Blues.

In the podcast, she talks about what culture means to her and what they are doing at BNZ to improve it, giving examples of various great initiatives the bank is currently undertaking. She also talks about the future of banking in an age of digitalisation , bringing with it both opportunities and challenges. Other topics talked about include employee wellbeing, diversity, LGBTQI+ inclusion, the upcoming rugby season for The Blues, and work-life balance.

Watch it on YouTube 

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco 

Being good at product isn’t enough, you need to be great at marketing too for your business to be successful. In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan discuss the power of having clear principles. They talk about how crucial it is to have clearly defined values, and the importance of keeping these principles alive and exercised by every member of the team. They share the principles we have at the Breakthrough Co around our marketing, and give examples on how having these principles and coming back to them every meeting have impacted the company.

The Breakthrough marketing principles as discussed in the podcast are the following:

• Be as good at marketing as we are at product
• No one-shot wonders
• Plan every campaign
• Building our tribe
• What is the problem or result
• Building momentum through focus
• Get it done then get it better
• Authenticity

Their challenge to you: the next time your team meets, have a discussion around what your principles are, and then reference them every week.

What are your organisation’s principles? Do you keep coming back to them in your meetings? Feel free to share your principles with us in the comments, or ask for feedback from Mike and Ryan!

Links 

• Watch it on YouTube here
• Find out more about the book The Tao of Leadership here 

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In our new podcast episode, Ryan has the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Ghisi, the general manager of global people programs at Xero. Xero is one of New Zealand’s most successful tech companies and has had phenomenal growth over the last few years. Ryan talks specifically about flexible working, an important part of Xero’s work environment.

Ryan dives into what Xero's flexible working looks like and what the benefits are, and digs deep into the challenges around it and how they can be overcome. He also discuss how flexible working ties into Xero’s focus on employee (mental) wellbeing, and gives tips on how to where to start with implementing flexible working in a workplace.

Links 

·         Find Ryan Ghisi on LinkedIn 

·         Watch it on YouTube

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

Learning can be hard, but it’s the key to unlocking your own and your organization’s potential. In this podcast episode, Mike and Ryan share their insights around learning and give advice on how to learn effectively. They discuss what learning is exactly, what the stages of learning are, why learning is hard and why it’s supposed to be hard, and how you can motivate yourself to achieve your learning goals.

You’ll hear about the 4 stages of the learning ladder and how you can move up on it, supported by several common and personal examples of learning. You’ll find out why, of the $200 billion US dollars spend annually corporate training and development, only 10% is considered as valuable, and how you can maximize your value when you learn something.

Mike and Ryan provide a great starting point for anyone who wants to develop themselves or their organization further, and unlock their and their team’s potential.

Links 

• Watch it on YouTube
• Read the Harvard article on the Future of Leadership Development here
• Read Dr Mikes white paper “The Future of Leadership Development” here

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this podcast episode, Ryan has the pleasure of interviewing Franceska Banga, or Frank as we know her. Frank is a recipient of the Officer of New Zealand Order of Merit Award, is the former Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, and has held board roles on many of New Zealand’s most prominent tech and economic development boards. She is passionate about working with women in business and helping them find their personal courage, and she’s in the process of setting up a movement called Stand Up For Yourself (SUFY), to help give women courage to live the life they want.

In this episode, Frank provides insight into what shaped her willingness to push the boundaries and explains one of her Breakthrough moments was realizing she needed to display courage to speak up. She also takes us through her journey of beating a brain tumor and being partially paralyzed for 2 years and how this has shaped her life and career. She gives advice on being a woman in business, finding your way in life, and personal courage. 

Links:

• Find out more about Stand Up For Yourself (SUFY) here

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

 “We’ve reached peak wellness. Most of it is nonsense.” This is the title of a recent article by the Outside group and the topic of this podcast episode. Ryan is joined by Milena Cooper, head of digital at the Breakthrough co, and they discuss how people can achieve a real state of wellness – without all the diets, potions and pills out there. 

They cover the six main dimensions of health - physical, emotional, cognitive, social, spiritual, and environmental – and share insights on how to improve all of these dimensions through simple practices and habits. They also share some personal experiences in these areas and reference various resources and people that are all about wellness and health.

Links 

·         Read the article “We've Reached Peak Wellness. Most of It Is Nonsense.” here 

·         More about the book “Woman Code” by Alisa Vitti here 

·         Listen to our podcast “Darren Ellis, owner of Crossft NZ, on optimal nutrition, sustainable fitness and work/life synergy” here 

·         More about the Blog “Mark’s Daily Apple” here 

·         More about Brene Brown here 

·         More about Mates in Constuction here 

·         Read Brigham Young University study about loneliness here 

Where else you can find us

Website: https://thebreakthrough.co

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-breakthrough-company

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebreakthroughco/

Podcast: https://thebreakthrough.co/podcast/

Blogs: https://thebreakthrough.co/blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thebreakthroughco

In this week’s podcast episode, Ryan challenges you to get F’d – yes, you read that right. It’s not what you might think though. This episode is all about attitude, and how you can change your life by changing your attitude. 

Ryan discusses three distinguished zones of attitude: The Frustrated zone, The Fine zone, and The Fizzed zone. He also talks about growth mindset, a well-researched concept (e.g. by Carol Dweck and Angela Lee Duckworth) which is key in being successful. Ryan also shares how choosing an attitude has affected him personally, and encourages you to choose your own attitude.

Resources

• Read more about Dr. Carol Dweck’s research into growth mindset here 
• Watch Angela Lee Duckworth’s Ted Talk “Grit: the power of passion and perseverance” here