Curveball

Staring down a board coup when they’re baying for your scalp. Taking back control when you’ve sold a stake in your company. Trusting your vision when you’ve lost it all before.  

Curveball is back and the stakes have never been higher. 

Join host Kellie Riordan as she navigates her own start-up journey and learns from other leaders about how they thrive when the chips are down. 

Richmond Tigers president Peggy O’Neal. Vinomofo founder Justin Dry. Australia’s longest-serving Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick. These leaders have used smarts, hard work and resilience to make it through their own trials by fire. 

Make sure you follow Curveball in your podcast app, so you don’t miss an episode. 

Curveball is a production of Deadset Studios. 

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Curveball is the show where leaders are honest about their darkest moments. We take you inside a company at a pivotal moment and share tips on how to thrive in challenging times.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

And if you need more insightful leadership conversation and inspiration in your life, sign up to Curveball’s LinkedIn newsletter! We cherry pick the choicest lessons for you and deliver them right into your inbox. 

Find out more about the show or suggest a guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

This episode was produced by Rachel Fountain, with sound design by Kristina Miltiadou.

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and yet somehow titans of industry seem to cram more in and squeeze more out. 

How do they do it? How to entrepreneurs and leaders streamline their processes for maximum productivity? 

If you love Curveball, chances are you’ll enjoy How I Work, hosted by organisational psychologist Dr Amantha Imber. Each episode provides you with the trusted tips and hacks you need to get more out of your day, from mastering your overflowing inbox to managing your energy to go the distance.  

Amantha Imber joins Kellie Riordan for a chat about leadership, productivity, and the rituals the best in business swear by. 

You can find How I Work by searching for it in your podcast app, and find out more at https://www.amanthaimber.com/podcast

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Meanwhile, keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram. Find out more about the show at www.curveballshow.com 

And subscribe to the Curveball newsletter on LinkedIn for more inspiration and hacks from top leaders. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s no 101 at business school on making the right call when you’re under fire.   

But once you’ve assessed all the information and consulted the right people, you need to make the call. And even though it might not be a popular decision, if it’s the right one for your organisation, you need to see it through. 

Whether it’s making a decision to keep people safe in the face of media outrage, disciplining unruly employees who are also your friends, or being transparent with your team even though the outlook is grim, all the leaders in today’s episode stuck to their values. They decided to let history be the ultimate judge of their decisions. 

They’ll teach you how to make the tough calls, even when the heat is on. 

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On Curveball, we take you inside a company at a pivotal moment, and share tips on how to thrive in challenging times. This is the show where leaders are honest about their darkest times and most confronting situations. 

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram. Find out more about the show at www.curveballshow.com 

Hang on, there’s more?! Yes! You can also subscribe to the Curveball newsletter on LinkedIn for more inspiration and hacks from top leaders. 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Losing a parent, watching your kid suffer, or battling a serious illness yourself – the personal adversity many of the country’s top leaders have been through will surprise you. 

Just because you’re dodging curveballs in your work life, doesn’t mean you’re immune to crises in your personal life. 

But you know what? The Kate Morrises, Andrew Starks and Briony Scotts of the world dig deep and strategise their way through personal adversity the same way they would in their careers. 

And not only have they come out the other side stronger - in many cases, they’ve gained a perspective that’s changed the way they live and lead. 

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Curveball is the show where leaders are honest about their darkest moments. We take you inside a company at a pivotal moment, and share tips on how to thrive in challenging times.  

Did you know Curveball’s also now a LinkedIn newsletter. It's a weekly dose of the best advice from top leaders. Subscribing is totally free. 

You can keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

And who would you like to hear from on the show? Please suggest a guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Working 9 to 5 might be Dolly Parton’s way to make a living, but these days work schedules look riskier and less structured for most. 

Whether it’s starting a new company, fast-tracking your business, or taking the plunge into the unknown, we’ve been learning about bravery on Curveball.  

How do you move from that moment of fear and take a courageous step towards the unknown? 

Be brave! Go on, we dare you! 

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Curveball is the show where leaders are honest about their darkest moments. We take you inside a company at a pivotal moment, and share tips on how to thrive in challenging times.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Find out more about the show or suggest a guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Leaders were once paid the big bucks to come up with a long-term vision, a strategy that could carry a company for years. 

Now? The most successful leaders are those who can question assumptions, challenge the status quo, and completely reinvent a strategy on the run. 

World leading organisational psychologist Adam Grant once trained as a magician. He wants you to be equipped to pull a rabbit out of hat when you need to!  

As a top TED speaker, best-selling author, and leading researcher working with the likes of the Pentagon and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Adam studies the best leaders in the world. 

He says knowing what you don’t know is the leadership quality du jour. How ready are you to think again? 

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Curveball is the show where leaders are honest about their darkest moments. We take you inside a company at a pivotal moment, and share tips on how to thrive in challenging times.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Find out more about the show or suggest a guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Borders shut? Planes unable to land? Quarantine bubbles needed in record-time? Duuuuude! No worries! 

The very future of the world surf pro is on Andrew Stark’s shoulders. He needs to pull off a record number of events and land a charter plane full of international surfers in Australia, so it’s going to take every ounce of his leadership capability to pull this off. 

Can he do it? 

If you’ve listened to the first episode with World Surf League boss Andrew Stark, you’ll know he’s not the kind of leader who could ever let one rip sweep him off course. 

In this bonus episode, Andrew updates us on the “biggest curveball of his career” - and if you haven’t listened to the full-length episode, it’s in your feed right now. 

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Keep up to date by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Find out more about the show and suggest a guest by going to www.curveballshow.com  or emailing [email protected] 

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With his wetsuit zippers blown open, his flotation vest filling fast with water, and his diaphragm heaving, Andrew Stark thought his time was up.  But a monster wave on one of Hawaii’s most feared breaks was no match for Stark, a leader who thrives when faced with a threatening swell. 

Whether it’s mounting world-renowned events at Bell’s Beach or Sunset, or convincing the world that surfing is professional sport, Stark rides every wave all the way to the shore. 

A tragic family event when Stark was young forged a connection with the ocean that carries him through every tough challenge: “Surfing saved me. I could have gone in any direction, but all I wanted to do was go to the beach.” 

So with the pandemic threatening the future of all pro surfing events, he’s more determined than ever to harness that passion into a successful recovery. 

And he tells you more about that in a bonus episode, available in your podcast feed now. 

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Curveball is the show where leaders are honest about their darkest moments.  We take you inside a company at a pivotal moment, and share tips on how to thrive in challenging times.  

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram.  

Find out more about the show or suggest a guest by visiting www.curveballshow.com   

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the land on which this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Covid restrictions meant an immediate intermission for anyone working in live entertainment, Jeremy Fleming made a phone call no 40-something likes to make. He called his parents to say the shutdown spelt the end for his business and he’d be moving his family of four in with his parents. 

Staging company Stagekings lost millions in revenue overnight, when client after client called to cancel events.  

But ever the innovator, CEO Jeremy Fleming was determined the show must go on.  

With a warehouse full of semi-assembled sets and a country under house arrest, Jeremy saw an opportunity. Cue, IsoKing: flat-packed furniture built for lockdown. WFH? They’ve got desks! Play from home? Puzzle boards! Just at home, constantly, with no respite? Wine racks!  

This risky pivot has paid off, but the ride has been anything but smooth. Diving headfirst into a new business (in the middle of a pandemic) had set the scene for likely disaster. 

Luckily, Jeremy knows a thing or two about set design, and he’s sharing his toolkit with the rest of us.   

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Curveball gives you a glimpse inside a company at a pivotal moment. Leaders share their stories of thriving in challenging times.  

We love hearing your stories. How have you adapted on the run? What’s been your curveball moment? Use your phone to record a voice memo and email it to [email protected]   

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram and you can also sign up to the Curveball newsletter on LinkedIn. 

Find out more about the show at www.curveballshow.com   

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where this show was made. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a scene in Sex and the City where Sarah Jessica Parker gets to ring the famed opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange. Naturally, she’s wearing Jimmy Choos and a Chanel lipstick. 

Kate Morris dreamt that one day her company Adore Beauty would float on the stock exchange. She got there, but ringing the bell over Zoom from her lounge room? Well that wasn’t quite what she’d imagined. 

For years Morris slogged it out packing cosmetics in her garage. 

But with profits plateauing, Morris was advised to write a letter to herself from the future. “It was like turning all the lights back on.  Suddenly the whole path was illuminated for me”. 

A risky high-growth strategy landed the e-retailer Adore Beauty an Australian Stock Exchange float of a reputed $600+ million, inspiring thousands of women to invest in the share market for the first time. 

Kate’s willing to share the ride, warts and all. 

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Curveball is the podcast that takes you inside a company at a pivotal moment. Leaders share tips with you on how to thrive in challenging times.  

And we adore hearing your stories. What’s been your curveball moment? Use your phone to record a voice memo and email it to [email protected]   

Keep up to date with Curveball by following @_deadsetstudios on Twitter and @deadsetstudios on instagram and you can also sign up to the Curveball newsletter on LinkedIn. 

Find out more about the show at www.curveballshow.com   

We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live and work. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.