DNA Of Purpose

Welcome to the DNA Of Purpose. An episode where we will be zeroing in on one core theme. The role of COURAGE. Today we will be showcasing the guests who I believe have provided the insights, the tools, and the wisdom to help us better understand what it means to be brave. Because right now the world is asking for a new kind of courage. Let's explore why.
Collectively we have been asked to embody the courage to accept a new normal that feels nothing like normal. We have needed courage to face natural disasters, and war, regardless of how sad we feel about the events.
Within corporations we have been asked to courageously adapt, and to accept that while there are known unknowns, the unknown unknowns seem to be coming through the door with more frequency than ever before. In Fact the only plan we can make is in addressing how to become more intentional about courage.
And as individuals with a tornado of change spinning around us, we must also have the courage to address the tornado of change within us. Our internal crises. And when we deal with crises often we feel like a tree that’s lost a limb, where we are left with a scar that we must learn to grow around. These events change who we are, and the only way we can create meaning despite the challenges we face is by choosing courage.
Infact, in nearly every story of human purpose I have come across whether it be through this podcast, or else where it is courage that defines us before anything else. And we will be decoding it with snippets from some of the most courageous people I know.
Ryan Berman has spent more than 20 years in the courageous ideas space. He is the author of Return On Courage: A Business Playbook For Change.
Linda Cruse, based on her extensive frontline experience, runs the Race4Good high impact programme series Courageous Leadership. She is an international leadership expert, humanitarian, international speaker, and author.
Josh Stinton is a Charity Adventurer supporting one children's charity at a time by taking on some of the biggest challenges around the world. Challenges that require the courage to cross country ski in Sweden despite never having skied or learning to unicycle in a few months time then taking on a 14km downhill mountain unicycle as two examples.
Cam Merchant is most famously known for marrying his wife Jules in Married at First Sight. One could call that an act of courage and for those two it worked out, but today we will talk about the most terrifying moment in Cam's life was when he was separated from his parents during the 2014 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami in Thailand.
And finally we have the incredible Kaila Colbin. Kaila is a co-founder of Boma Global and the CEO of Boma New Zealand. After training with Brené Brown, Kaila became a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, and has worked with hundreds of people to increase courage as a core skill.

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Today's guest is Dr Jack Fuller, and he is the co-author of The Imagination Machine. A book that decodes the art of imagining. The book explores how imagination works, with a focus on how to harness imagination systematically. Drawing on the experience and insights of CEOs across several industries, as well as lessons from neuroscience, computer science, psychology, and philosophy, The Imagination Machine provides a fascinating look into the mechanics of imagination and lays out a six-step process for creating ideas and bringing them to life.
Jack Fuller is the founder of Casati Health, a company reimagining mental and physical health care. He holds a doctorate in theology from the University. of Oxford, where he studied on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a degree in neuroscience from the University of Melbourne. During the interview I very much got a sense for Jack's human-centred approach to both life and business, with a focus on the role imagination plays with regards to healing, building hope and helping each other.
Jack believes Imagination is one of the least understood but most crucial ingredients of business and social innovation. It’s what makes the difference between an incremental change and the kinds of pivots and paradigm shifts that are essential to success—especially during a crisis. And crises is something we are all familiar with at this point in human history.
While I want to tell you to dare to dream, dreaming is not what this interview is about. So instead ground yourself, and get ready to imagine with the intention to use that vision to create influence and impact in the real world. A world that needs your vision more so than ever before.

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As a leader, it is easy to feel confused around the role of purpose in business. Sure, we have all heard that we should ‘Start With Why’ or discussed the significance of the ‘North Star’ but these terms feel more like jargon than a real and measurable approach with tangible outcomes.
In addition to that, in the context of this new normal, and in a world of rapid change, it would be fair to think that maybe our understanding of purpose in business should also evolve. Maybe it's time for a new story. One that focuses a little less on the good for the business part, and a little more on the good for people.
Never have we needed purpose more, yet in many ways, the conversations about what it is in a business context remain the same. And those conversations are often vague. Sure we get it. There is a charity or some kind of social impact which is important, but a leader still needs to run the business in an efficient way caring for all of the stakeholders. After all, shouldn't purpose be for the people?
As a leader, is there a clear strategy or a how to guide that shows us the way, and from there how do we measure those results? What are the outcomes?
It was all of these questions that led me to today's guest. Katie Burkhart. Her mission is to synthesize connections that enable humans to make the most of the time they invest in their work. She’s the mastermind behind MatterLogic™, the smart system for running a purpose-driven business, and has quickly become one of the go-to experts in the space.
Alongside her consultancy, Katie is a serial entrepreneur building the Matter ecosystem, which currently includes Matter 7 and MatterPulse. Defining matter as equal parts strategic and impactful, these companies deliver critical focus, perspective, and alignment while constantly distilling the big picture into pointed actions. Katie is an internationally recognised keynote speaker, and Entrepreneur contributor. Her work has been published in The Startup, UX Collective, and Boston Content.
As you will discover in today's podcast, Katie is a pragmatist intent on being useful, and she likes to eliminate jargon and empty labels which is very helpful in a conversation that often gets lost in just that. If you are a leader, an entrepreneur, or someone keen to understand the nuts and bolts of purpose in business, then today's podcast is especially for you. Welcome to another episode of the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.

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This week an old friend of mine who I haven't seen for many years just happened to be in town and dropped into our recording studio. His name is Yossi Ghinsberg, and he is someone who has professionally and personally influenced my life through his insights, ideas, inspirations and even more significantly through the sheer gravity of his presence as one of the world's most powerful storytellers. And trust me when I say this…his story, just like his spirit, is the size of the Amazon.
Yossi’s story began when at the age of 21 he decided to embark on an adventure into In the midst of the uncharted Amazon. After losing his three companions, he faced the jungle alone where for three harrowing weeks he battled to survive against all odds.
Yossi was saved by a tribe in Amazon, and ever since that moment he has shared his story all over the world as an internationally recognized keynote speaker, and as the author of the international best-seller ‘Jungle’. Yossi’s story is also one that today still plays out on the silver screen with 'Jungle' amongst one of the most-watched movies on Netflix and Amazon Prime in various territories around the world. In the movie, Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) plays Yossi.
Ten years after his ordeal Yossi returned to the Amazon and made it his home. Working with indigenous forest dwellers for three years they built Cha-la-lan, a model eco-tourism village. Today, he also hosts adventures into the wilderness to walk with others in supporting them to ignite personal transformations that lead to more purposeful lives. If you check out Yossi’s Instagram you can find more information on that. I have included the handles in the show notes.
Yossi's insights, ideas, inspirations and even more significantly the sheer gravity of his presence as one of the world's most powerful storytellers is the reason why I am so excited about today's interview. He has an innate ability to flip paradigms and shift mindsets, and he is deeply passionate about celebrating the natural world. He is grounded in the idea that the world is endlessly abundant, and that life itself is indistinguishable from magic.
Some of the topics we explore in today's episode include.

• The emergence of technology and how that will fundamentally influence what it means to be human.
• We explore universal narratives (such as religion as one example) in order to understand how these stories have in fact disconnected us from the deeper truth - that we are nature. We do not sit above it, or separate from it.
• We explore the power of primal human instinct and body intelligence.
• We unpack how purpose plays out when there is no other choice.
• We also look at why and how we must pursue our gifts in the world, and given Yossi is someone who has nearly drowned twice, faced a jaguar head-on, caught snakes with his bare hands and nearly starved to death amongst other things, he does not speak these words lightly.

So without further delay: Strap yourself in, because we are about to go on a wild adventure with one of the world's greatest thinkers and storytellers. The one and only Yossi Ghinsberg.
https://www.yossighinsberg.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yossi_ghinsberg/

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Welcome to E1/S4 of the podcast, and welcome to the first ‘DNA Of Purpose Deep Dive’ hosted by Rebecca Maklad.
In today's conversation, Rebecca will be presenting ideas, insights and a way of thinking about the role of purpose in life and business. We pull together what we have learnt from over 100 conversations on this podcast, alongside what we can learn about purpose from nature, science and systems thinking. This episode also focuses on breaking through previously held narratives about what purpose is, and looks at some of the cultural ideologies (or story shapes) that have informed our perspectives.
At the end of the day, the whole concept of having one grand altruistic purpose is a little outdated in the sense that this concept is built upon looking at purpose as an individual part (or person) as opposed to understanding purpose as a part of a symbiotic and interconnected system.
As always the Future Crunch approach on any subject is to have ‘strong opinions held lightly’ so we in no way promise to deliver on the holy grail of purpose in life or business. What we do promise is to keep showing up, and keep translating for you what we have learnt always with a tilt towards Intelligent Optimism.
So what is the DNA Of Purpose all about?
Diseases are being eradicated, war is decreasing, millions are being lifted out of poverty and billions are gaining access to the greatest information resource humanity has ever known. There are so many amazing things happening because of human purpose giving us the power to create a better world.
Today leaders are conscious of the fact that what we do in business should make a difference. The challenge is to create cultures where an individual's ability to make meaning in the workplace is symbiotic with the broader purpose of the organisation. At the heart of purpose is a human heartbeat that from an evolutionary perspective is built upon the biology of belonging. When we anchor an individual's purpose within a network of shared contributions we are able to ignite an individual's level of performance, with teams that are diverse by design, adaptable and aligned on a shared vision for change.
For too long the pursuit for a purpose has been described as either individual or shared rather than being interconnected. Inspired by scientific thinking the DNA Of Purpose presents the idea that purpose is like code that can only exist as a part of a broader system.

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Welcome to another episode of the DNA Of Purpose Podcast, and the last episode for 2021. A year that has been defined by a way of thinking that we at Future Crunch call the Adaptability Quotient. With that in mind, I want to share a few words that sum a year of Adaptability for Future Crunch.
This has been a year where life has happened, in all its ups and downs, and through it all, every single one of us, did what we do best. We adapted, gained survival skills, expanded our horizons, and harnessed the strength to overcome one of the greatest challenges of our time. We grew in our pursuit to live a purposeful life lined with meaning.
We acknowledged that with the full force of the outside world, just how lucky we are to be here, and to have the chance to experience life, in all of its nuances, all of its unfairness, all of its beauty.
We accepted that none of us know what's coming next, and yet we had the ability to face it. To transform it into something that’s of benefit for people, and our planet. That it was an opportunity to grow ourselves, our business... and perhaps even learn to love both the science and magic of change.
As we move forward we have so many reasons to be excited - it doesn’t matter where you start - embracing the amateur mindset, realising our opinion has room to evolve, or just remembering - that we are remarkable, and we are built for this. This is in our DNA. We are never too old, and we are never too young, to set out on an adventure, to try one new thing.
Overall in 2022, We have it in us, to be stronger, smarter and kinder. So Let’s do it better this time around. Let's keep stepping into our purpose acknowledging that if we are ever lost in this complex and crazy, just remember this one thing: collaboration always trumps genius!
I know that for me this podcast would not be possible without the power of collaboration, and today's guest is another partner in purpose, I am proud to introduce.
His name is Thomas Kolster and he is a marketing activist on a mission to make business put people and the planet first. Thomas is the founder and director of The Goodvertising Agency, and one of the pioneers in shaping brands for good. He’s an internationally recognised keynote speaker who’s appeared in more than 70 countries at events like TEDx, SXSW, D&AD & Sustainable Brands; and is a columnist for the Guardian, Adweek, The Drum and several other publications, as well as regularly judging at international award shows such as Cannes Lions and D&AD.
Today we will be talking about Thomas’s latest book which is called The Hero Trap. In the book, Thomas takes a hatchet to his earlier beliefs and warns brands about purpose: The essence of the book's message is that purpose is not a promotional stunt and the brand is never the hero. Purpose is all about the people, and the people are the DNA Of Purpose. This is why we need to put the people first, and make them the hero. From there a brand can build purpose. His belief is that a large majority of brands get stuck in what he calls the hero trap.
Thomas believes that brands need to focus on the promise of transformation. ‘Who can you help me become?’ is the one essential question you need to be asking and acting on to chart a new course for your brand, changing behaviours at scale and unlocking sustainable growth that benefits all. Thomas heralds the beginning of a new post-purpose era, where brands will be seen as villains if they don’t put people’s dreams, aspirations and creativity first.
Before signing off, we will be on air on Wednesday the 13th of January, by which time I will be a married lady and coming back to the podcast Mrs Rebecca Maklad. New year, a new era and a year that I hope is the best one yet. I wish all of you a merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season full of love, light and happiness. Love from me and the team at Future Crunch.
Welcome to the last episode of the DNA Of Purpose Podcast for 2021!

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Today's guest is the incredible Linda Cruse. She is a woman who has made a clear and conscious decision to make her ‘earth walk’ count in every moment of every day. Linda is a frontline humanitarian, leadership expert and author of ‘Leading on the Frontline – Remarkable stories and essential leadership lessons from the world's danger zones. She is also the founder of an incredible initiative called Race For Good A Global Youth League that mobilises students to engage in high-impact learning and develop practical problem-solving skills as they tackle real-life critical issues.
Linda has worked alongside some of the world’s most influential figures including HH The Dalai Lama, Sir Richard Branson and HRH The Prince of Wales, and with companies, foundations and universities including GSK, Virgin Unite, Cadbury, Rabobank, KPMG, Merrill Lynch, the World Bank.
Linda’s journey into creating a purposeful life by design, began in 1996 when she was a stressed-out mum working in a job she hated. She was driving along a motorway in the middle of the night when she suffered temporary blindness. This terrifying episode led to a blinding insight: what is the point of living if life has no point? Determined to make a difference, Linda started a new life. This was the start of a scary, lonely, but always emotionally fulfilling job: teaching skills and bringing aid – and, above all, love – to war-torn refugees, the poverty-stricken and the victims of disaster.
The essence of Linda's message is what she calls “A Hand Up not A Hand Out”. She would far rather empower people and communities to create sustainable change by leveraging partnerships with groups of highly successful individuals – typically senior executives in global corporations, successful entrepreneurs – taking them to some of the remotest parts of the world where communities struggle to either overcome natural, or man-made, disasters or to make the most of their existing resources. The idea is that so much more can be achieved with innovative minds solving problems, as opposed to only handing over the dollars.
When I talk about being on the front line of purposeful living, Linda has faced death on more than one occasion but she has never given up on her mission. Her ultimate aim is to inspire others to do what they can. And on that note, I have no doubt that this episode will inspire you to not only reach for your pocket in supporting causes you are passionate about but to use your head and your heart to be an active participant in the change that you seek. Welcome to the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.

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Today we celebrate the 100'th episode of The DNA Of Purpose Podcast! With that in mind, I wanted to interview someone who is not only a good friend but also a partner in purpose. As the co-founder of Future Crunch, and the scribe behind many of the words that are shared throughout the Future Crunch platform he is a messenger of hope, abundance and a future that we can be optimistic about, even as we weather the storms of life in 2021.
His name is Dr Angus Hervey. Gus as he is affectionately known is a political economist and a journalist specialising in the impact of disruptive technologies on society.
Prior to Future Crunch, He was the founding community manager of Random Hacks of Kindness, a global initiative from Google, IBM, Microsoft, NASA and the World Bank to create open-source technology solutions to social challenges. He was also the first editorial manager for Global Policy, one of the world's leading international policy journals. He holds a PhD in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics, where he was the Ralph Miliband Scholar.
Now for those of you who follow Future Crunch, you would have heard us talk about what we call Intelligent Optimism. This is the idea that if we seek out and share stories of human progress we inspire hope for a better future. Why do we care about it? Because we believe that to transform doom the antidote is hope, and to create hope we need to see it, read about it, and acknowledge that there are good things and good people in the world.
At the same time, we also know that our climate future is genuinely scary and that in other parts of the world people are recovering from fires, floods, earthquakes and it is hard to imagine the anguish of millions of people in Afghanistan and not feel deeply affected.
In response, Gus, Tane and the team realised that there had to be a new way of thinking about these challenges. One that in the words of Swedish physician Hans Rosling reminds us that “things can be bad, and getting better”.
So in my discussion with Gus today we talk about just that. This is the story of Collapse, Renewal and the knowledge that what you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
Welcome to the 100th episode of the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.

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Today’s guest is Parag Khanna and he is a leading global strategy advisor, world traveller, and best-selling author. Well, actually he is the author of seven books. He is the Founder & Managing Partner of FutureMap, a data and scenario-based strategic advisory firm based out of Singapore.
When it comes to full-stack humans, Parag is the real deal. He was named one of Esquire’s “75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century,” and featured in WIRED magazine’s “Smart List.” Parag holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, and a Bachelors and Masters degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He has travelled to nearly 150 countries and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Impressive right….but one of the most impressive things from my perspective is Parag is kind, wise and so generous in translating a future the rest of us are yet to see. It was a joy to speak with him.
Parag's newest book is MOVE: The Forces Uprooting Us (2021) and that will be the focus of today's conversation. This is a compelling look at the powerful global forces that will cause billions of us to move geographically over the next decades, ushering in an era of radical change.
In the 60,000 years since people began colonizing the continents, a recurring feature of human civilization has been mobility—the ever-constant search for resources and stability. Seismic global events—wars and genocides, revolutions and pandemics—have only accelerated the process. The map of humanity isn’t settled—not now, not ever.
So without further delay let's get ready to MOVE. Welcome to the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.

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Welcome to another episode of the DNA Of Purpose Podcast.
A few weeks ago a friend of mine sent me a book saying that I just had to have today's guest on the podcast. After having a read through his book I wholeheartedly agreed, as did the rest of our team at Future Crunch. The guest is Dr Tyson Yunkaporta and the book Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World.
As someone who has spent 15 years mastering the art of business influence, when I picked up the book I was excited about this interview for two reasons. Firstly, of all of the incredible people I have spoken to throughout this podcast, I was yet to interview a voice representing the innate wisdom and knowledge of Australia's Indigenous people.
The other reason is personal. As someone who has spent the last 15 years decoding what makes a personal message influential, I always find it interesting to talk to people who have found a niche area of specialisation that somehow bridges the gap between two completely different worlds to create new stories and perspectives. And in this case, a perspective that has the power to provide the solutions that humankind needs at this point in history more so than ever before.
Tyson Yukanporta has done just that, and yet at the same time having read his book and now spoken to him in person - despite today being a thought-provoking change-maker - He is humble, authentic and his approach is grounded and pragmatic.
So who is this wise sage? Tyson belongs to the Apalech Clan from Western Cape York and is a senior lecturer in Indigenous Knowledge at Deakin University. He has worked extensively with Aboriginal languages and in Indigenous education, and his research activities on oral histories of natural disasters, language, health and cognition. He is a published poet and exhibited artist who practices traditional wood carving.
In his book, Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World, he covers everything from echidnas to evolution, cosmology to cooking, sex and science. The book explores how lines, symbols and shapes can help us make sense of the world - and yes we explore how that works today.

• We also chatted about the feasibility of Indigenous thinking as the solution to modern world problems like climate change.
• We discussed the chasm between ancient indigenous ways of life and the contemporary world. We explore why as Australians some of us look to Indigenous peoples as cultural confetti at events, as opposed to wise mentors and advisors who can ultimately help us save the planet.
• We explore the power of story as the bedrock of indigenous thinking and so much more.

So as always, kick back and get ready to dive into the application of ancient wisdom with a future focus with Dr Tyson Yukanporta. Welcome to the podcast.

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