Creating Synergy Podcast

Mick O'Rourke has worked in varying business environments ranging from start-ups to the largest firms in the world, primarily in the computer industry. His roles have included project management, marketing, sales, senior management, and small business ownership. 

Mick started as an engineer with Exxon in Alaska, then obtained his MBA and switched to marketing. He worked 15 years for Hewlett-Packard and as Vice-President of Marketing for several Silicon Valley companies. He permanently moved to Australia in 1996 where he bought a computer dealership in Adelaide and grew it from $5M to $36M in 7 years. It was subsequently sold to an ASX listed company. He then started up another IT company, Datacom SA, with 5 partners in 2006, that became the largest such firm in South Australia achieving over $50M in sales in five years. 

He now devotes his time as chairman of Nuago, an IT start-up firm serving entities in South Australia to plan and implement the latest in IT developments. 

Mike is a dual citizen of Australia and America. His education includes an MBA and a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, both from Stanford University, Palo Alto, California. He also spent two years at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. 

In this episode, Mick and Daniel discussed on Mick's methods and processes on successfully growing a business, where Mick believes a key focus should be on developing your people, living to the company values and excel in marketing & sales. Mick also talked about his love for Stephen Coveys 7 Habits of Highly effective people, and how he entwines these habits into his daily life and believes that creating small positive habits are fundamental to any success.

Where to find Mick O'Rourke 

LinkedIn: Mick O'Rourke

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Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn. 

Adam is a consultant in strategy and organisational design, writer and video producer. He's known for having a deep knowledge of people and organisations and delivering this is in a way that is straightforward, understandable and practical.  He helps leaders who are both reflective and results-oriented create a strategy that will work and then build the capability in their organisation to deliver. Founding his practice in 2012 after a successful executive career focussed on rebuilding teams, department and businesses, he has been involved in a range of profit and for-purpose industries, working in both the UK and in Australia. With his ability to integrate the latest thinking with foundational concepts of work, people and organisations, he has many long-term clients who return to him a so they can lead their organisations and divisions to make the difference they are looking to make. 

In today's podcast, Adam and Daniel discussed Adam's thoughts on why engagement within companies is at an all-time low and the fundamental strategies that leaders can utilise in order to begin the process of improvement. We also discussed the different types of leaders he sees within businesses and his recommendations in ways that the level of thinking can be elevated.

This was an enlightening podcast and a must-listen for all strategic leaders out there. 

Where to find Adam Thompson 

LinkedIn: adamgthompson  

Blog: http://zenorganisations.com/ 

Website: https://www.thompsonorganisations.com.au/ 

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.  

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Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn. 

Paul is an experienced, innovative and entrepreneurial Board Director and Executive who has earned a stellar reputation for achievement during a distinguished career in both the Finance and Not for Profit sector. Paul has been acknowledged for his contribution to the Banking and Investment Industry by being awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia. Paul has also been recognised for his contribution to the not for profit industry by being awarded the  Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year in South Australia/Northern Territory and has also been awarded the Equity Trustees Australian Not for Profit CEO Award for Innovation. 

Paul is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and currently holds positions as a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of FIA Ltd, Non-Executive Director AusHealth Pty Ltd, Non-Executive Director Biomebank Pty Ltd, Director of Australian Centre of Excellence for Post-Traumatic Stress, Trustee of the Pulteney Foundation Inc. and Executive Director of Australian Prostate Cancer Research Society Ltd. 

Paul is Chief Executive Officer of The Hospital Research Foundation Group and of its Australian affiliates: The Repat Foundation – The Road Home Inc; Australian Centre of Excellence for Post-traumatic Stress; Australian Breast Cancer Research; Kidney, Transplant and Diabetes Research Australia; The Centre for Creative Health; Cure for Stroke Australia; Parkinson’s SA/NT; Laurel Palliative Care Foundation and Australian Heart Research. 

In today's podcast, we learn a lot about Paul's journey, the challenges he faced when he first became the CEO of the hospital Research Foundation, his innovative approach to leading a business and how he believes that mistakes are fundamental and an investment into training and development. We also discuss how he became a father for the first time at the age of 50 and how he manages his family life amongst his hectic schedule. 

Where to find Paul Flynn 

• LinkedIn Profile 
• Hospital Research Foundation

Books mentioned in this episode:

• The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
• Maverick by  Ricardo Semler
• The Smartest Guys in the Room by MS Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind, Joe Nocera
• Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
• The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq).

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us. 

Matthew has more than 20 years of experience in starting and running high-growth tech companies, especially in the areas of machine learning, predictive analytics, and decision optimisation. He is currently the CEO of Complexica, a provider of Artificial Intelligence software for supply & demand optimisation, and a director of several ASX-listed companies. 

In today's podcast, Matt and Daniel discuss Matthew's book in which he co-authors, called The Rise of Artificial Intelligence. Matt's book is important for any modern business leader, executive or manager, who is interested in the learning the basic fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence and what propelled to the level of popularity and prominence that it enjoys today. Matt also talked about the potentially existential threat of AI, how he is much more optimistic about the rise and benefits of AI, and also shared some concerns and provides with a different perspective on some of the risks with the Rise of AI. 

Where to find Matthew Michalewicz:

LinkedIn Profile
Website: https://www.michalewicz.com.au/
Complexica: https://www.complexica.com/
Download the first 2 Chapters of The Rise of Artificial Intelligence book here.

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.  

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.  

Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn.  

Bruce Djite is currently the director of Football at Adelaide United, a club where he as a player, won all domestic trophies with Adelaide United, including the Premiership and Championship double in 2016 and tops the list as Adelaide United’s record goal-scorer. Bruce has also represented Australia as a Socceroo and has played football all around the world for clubs in several countries including, Turkey, China, South Korea and Indonesia.  

Bruce spent over 4 years on the Executive and Governance committee of Professional Footballers Australia (the PFA), which is the Australian Players’ Union that represents all Australian professional footballers, including the Socceroos and Matildas. He is currently a board member of Women Onside, whose goal is to increase opportunities for women’s football and women in football. Bruce is also an Ambassador All Together Now, Australia's only national charity with the sole focus of erasing racism, and the Little Heroes Foundation, a South Australian charity that supports seriously ill children and their families ad various others. 

As a businessman, Bruce stems from an accounting background working for a firm named PKF Adelaide and Fox Sports Australia before returning to his beloved Reds in 2019 as Adelaide United's Director of Football. 

In today's episode, Bruce spoke about his journey, and how he ended up leading a professional sports club through a pandemic. He also delves into leadership, feedback, self-awareness and the importance of having the right people in the team. Bruce shared his views on the black lives matter movement, and how he manages his work, family and life through his hectic schedule and his interesting for finance. 

Where to find Bruce Djite:  

Bruces's LinkedIn
Bruce's Twitter 
Bruce's Instagram

Books mentioned in this episode: 

Books By Jocko Willink  

 Episode notes:

• All together now - Website 
• All together now APP – Everyday Racism  
• Little Heroes Foundation 
• Women Onside 

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.  

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.  

Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn.  

Ben Smit is an entrepreneur and highly skilled at growing scale-up companies and leveraging technology to solve human problems, with a focus on engaging team members to own and advocate the improvement process. He is a co-founder and CEO of Teamgage, software that enables team collaboration, wellbeing, and continuous improvement. The system measures behaviours and sentiment aligned to the strategy of the organisation and drives teams and managers to action their own improvements in real-time. Ben and Teamgage are taking on the worldwide market, and it has grown to service clients across Australia, Asia Pacific and North America.  

In today's episode, Ben spoke about his entrepreneurship journey, going into business with his wife Noelle, scaling the business across the world, the highs and lows of running your own business and how Teamgage's software adds value to companies and teams, helping to create a culture of high performance through technology. 

Where to find Ben Smit:  

Ben's LinkedIn
Teamgage's website 

Books mentioned in this episode: 

• The 10X Rule - The Only Difference Between Success and Failure - By: Grant Cardone 
• Principles - Life and Work - By: Ray Dalio 
• Radical Candor - How to Get What You Want by Saying What You Mean - By: Kim Scott 
• Decisive - How to make better choices in life and work - By: Chip & Dan Heath 
• Made to Stick - Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die - By: Chip Heath, Dan Heath 
• The Five Dysfunctions Of A Team - A Leadership Fable By: Patrick Lencioni 

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.  

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.  

Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn.  

Jo Stewart-Rattray has 25 years' experience in the technology field, where she's worked in multiple industries and multiple positions and worked her way up to into Chief Information Officer roles and Chief Security Officer. She currently works as a consultant helping her clients through strategic technological issues and opportunities.  

In today's episode, we spoke about Joe's journey, how she rose to the positions where she is now and how she and we can all enable more women in technology. We also delve into some of the cyber risks that face the world.  

Where to find Jo Stewart-Rattray:  Jo's LinkedIn  

Books mentioned on this episode:
Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening
Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton
Becoming by Michelle Obama

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.  

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.  

Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn.  

David Scarsella is currently the CEO of a renewable energy company called Solmech specialize in solar farm technology across Australia and NZ and is passionate about energy, innovation and technology, and really wants to make a difference in this world. David also had the luxury of playing and coaching at a professional level of football in the UK, and Australia, and was the inaugural goalkeeper for the South Australian elite team Adelaide united.  

In today's episode, we dive into David's journey into managing a successful values-led company, all the ups and downs he's faced along the way and his love for entrepreneurship. 

Where to find David Scarsella: 

David's LinkedIn
Solmech's website 

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast. 

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.
Say hello to our host Daniel on LinkedIn. 

Michelle Holland is an international best-selling author, speaker, consultant, and the Founder and Creative Director of SynergyIQ. She has over 20 years of experience helping businesses to create better outcomes through processes, people and customer engagement. 

In this episode, Michelle talks about the top 10 reasons people resist change, according to her experience and research, and what you can do about it.

For more, download our free ebook and find out how to overcome resistance and lead change. FREE EBOOK - TOP 10 REASONS PEOPLE RESIST CHANGE

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.

Here is Michelle's LinkedIn Profile
Here is Daniel's LinkedIn Profile

For more information about Dare to Lead™ Program and tickets, please visit the page.

Michelle Holland is an international best-selling author, speaker, consultant, and the Founder and Creative Director of SynergyIQ. She has over 20 years of experience helping businesses to create better outcomes through processes, people and customer engagement. 

In this episode, Michelle talks about the Dare to Lead™ which is an empirically based courage-building program based on the research of Dr Brené Brown, designed to be facilitated by organisational development professionals.

In the balmy city of San Antonio Texas early 2019, Michelle Holland became one of the first people to learn the Dare to Lead™ Program live and in-person with Dr Brené Brown. Adding to her research of the last 20 years, Brené worked with Fortune500 companies (like Pixar, Nike and Google) to apply her unique personal development formula into the workplace. She discovered a method of helping leaders to become courageous which created Dare to Lead™. 

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.

Access SynergyIQ Website to get to know more about us.

Here is Michelle's LinkedIn Profile
Here is Daniel's LinkedIn Profile

For more information about Dare to Lead™ Program and tickets, please visit the page.