Leading 4 Life "Stories"

Recording my guest for this week was one of the most fun conversations I have had in a long time.  Robert (Cujo) Teschner is a former US Air Force F15 and F22 fighter pilot, who now runs the VMax Group of leadership trainers in the US.  

Cujo is a bestselling author and a prize winning speaker and when you listen to this interview you will realise why!  Discovering he had serious colorectal cancer at the age of only 39, his life transformed dramatically as he had to step away from the flying career he loved and totally restructure his life.  His transition out the US Air Force was not straightforward but he learned a huge amount along the way, all of which helped him build the very successful business he has today.

Cujo's story is an incredible one and I am sure you will find his experiences and insights fascinating and inspirational in equal measure.  

If you're a fan of flying stories, I'm pleased to say there are a few of those for you to enjoy as well!  Most importantly though, there are an abundance of life lessons and great leadership tips in this episode and I really hope you enjoy it half as much as I enjoyed making it!

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What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

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It's always very hard giving up a great job and moving on from RAF Coningsby was no exception.  The blow was softened a bit by the fact that I went from there to the Higher Command & Staff Course and subsequently to the Royal College of Defence Studies, so 2007 was, for me, definitely a year of "back to the classroom"!

In this personal stories episode, I aim to give you a flavour of these two amazing training opportunities which, whilst very different, were hugely helpful not only in developing my brain, but also with developing a wide range of deep and lasting professional relationships.  It's rare that anyone gets such long training interventions during their professional career but the military is an organisation that really does do this well and I definitely made the most of it!

I really hope you enjoy the story! 

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What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

Send me a Text Message

Support the show

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

WARNING: This episode contains graphic descriptions of torture and interrogation as well as frequent bad language.

My guest this week is John Peters.  John flew Tornado GR1 aircraft as an RAF pilot and was shot down and captured on his very first operational mission during the Gulf War of 1991.  He was subsequently held as a Prisoner of War for 7 weeks, during which time he was brutally interrogated and tortured on a routine basis.  The traumatic pictures of him (and others) that were released by the Iraqi regime whilst John was in captivity went around the world and still shock to this day.  However, when he was released from captivity at the end of the war, it was those same images that were to transform his life completely in the years that followed.

Although we focus quite heavily on his time in captivity, that is not really what this podcast is about.  The bigger story is all about what John learned about himself during his time as a PoW, and the opportunities that he has been able to leverage to forge a successful business career as a result. He has built up an extensive leadership development, speaking, and coaching career that he has been able to use to benefit countless others in the 25 years since he left the Royal Air Force, and he is able to use first hand examples of resilience and dealing with adversity that very few can match!

This is a powerful, emotional and incredibly interesting story and we have a great discussion about a wide range of leadership issues along the way.  I really hope you enjoy it.

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What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

We kick off Season 3 of the show with a fascinating guest who has an amazing family story and who lives in a fabulous part of the world. Oh, and he has a lot of great perspectives on leadership too!!

Doug Rattray is the Managing Director of Fugitives' Drift Lodge & Guest House in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa. Set right between the famous Anglo-Zulu war battlefields of Isandlwana and Rouke's Drift, Doug and the team at Fugitives' Drift specialise in battlefield tours but also have a private game reserve on their property and offer wonderful walking in a spectacular landscape.

My reasons for interviewing Doug on the podcast are somewhat broader though.  His family history is a story of tragedy to triumph and with serious amounts of resilience along the way.  Doug's father, David Rattray, was tragically murdered in 2007 and it would have been the easiest thing in the world for his wife Nicky to take the young Doug and his brothers and move away from Fugitives' Drift to start a new life elsewhere.  

However, Nicky didn't do that!  She forged ahead with continuing David's legacy and expanded by creating the David Rattray Foundation to improve the educational prospects of local children in this very challenging area of South Africa.  The results are both fabulous and inspirational and I very much hope you enjoy this amazing story, and that it inspires you to visit the wonderful place that is Fugitives' Drift.

You can find out more about Fugitives' Drift here:

 https://www.fugitivesdrift.com/

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

I'm sure you have much better things to do over the holiday period than listen to lengthy podcasts from me!  Consequently, this is a short but hopefully sweet review of Leading 4 Life "Stories" across 2024.  

I provide some personal thoughts about the journey so far and some detail of the number of personal stories, thematic episodes and guest interviews before giving just a few of my personal highlights from what has been a fabulous set of guests across the year.

I'm extremely grateful to you for listening but also to all my guests for participating and helping to make the show what it has become!  Wishing you and all your families the very best for the new year and hoping that 2025 brings you all you hope for and more!  

Happy New Year!

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

For this, my final personal stories episode of 2024, I thought I would continue the series of tales from my time as Station Commander of RAF Coningsby and cover the development of and the challenges we faced with the Typhoon Display.

With a brand new, very high profile, and very high performance aircraft, it was obvious that we would need to put together an airshow display so that we could properly demonstrate the Typhoon's performance and potential to the British public and the wider world.  

Given the already considerable demands of working up the Typhoon's operational capability, with fragile serviceability, limited numbers of aircraft, very limited on-aircraft pilot experience, and tight timelines, the creation of a safe but impressive display was a significant challenge.  However, it was a challenge that my team rose to magnificently and for the 2005 display season (the very first year we had the Typhoon properly in RAF service) we put on a great show and a range of air displays across the UK.  

That was just the start of what has become an annual Typhoon display ever since then, and the aircraft continues to thrill huge numbers of the public as well as industry professionals at a very wide range of airshows and public events every year.

It wasn't all plain sailing though and, as you will hear in the episode, we nearly had a disaster in that first season, and several other events occurred that certainly put my personal leadership skills to the test!

I hope you enjoy the story and, as ever, I would love to hear what you think so please do let me have some feedback.

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What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

Over the time I've been hosting this podcast, I've been very privileged to have a wide range of wonderful guests; however, this week's guest is an extremely special one even by those high standards.

Flight Lieutenant Colin Bell DFC, is a World War 2 Mosquito bomber pilot who is rapidly approaching his 104th birthday!  He is one of only very few World War 2 veterans still alive today and is still incredibly fit and active for a man of his great age.

During this conversation, Colin discusses his flying training and wartime experiences in great detail.  We also talk about his life post war and his perspectives on defence and security today, through the lens of current conflicts and geopolitical tensions facing the world as it now is.  Colin's ability to look at these modern challenges through the context of his own personal experience is immensely valuable and absolutely fascinating.

This conversation with Colin was one of the great privileges of my life and I will never forget it.  Men of his generation and calibre are sadly fewer and fewer in number and it really was an absolute joy to have the chance to listen and learn from his experiences.  I really hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did.

You can find Colin here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bellstuart21
X: https://x.com/ColinBellsrt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colin.bell.dfc/

Given the unique nature of this opportunity, I invited my friend and the host of the Plane Tales podcast, Nick Anderson, to join me in the interview.  Plane Tales is a standalone podcast but is also a featured segment on the excellent Airline Pilot Guy Show podcast. Nick will be releasing extracts of this full interview with some additional commentary and photographs in a 3 part podcast, which you can find on all the main podcast platforms and also via these links:

https://airlinepilotguy.com/
http://airlinepilotguy.com/planetales/

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What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

One of the most memorable events of my entire RAF career was having the privilege of leading the flypast to mark Her Majesty The Late Queen Elizabeth II's 80th Birthday in 2006.

We flew a 49 aircraft flypast, the largest for many years, with a formation of Typhoons as part of the event for the very first time.  Aspects of the event, including a short interview with me and part of the mass briefing, were filmed for the documentary series "Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work" and you can view that element of the series via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCUc90dTzeI

With this episode I aim to give you something of a "behind the ropes tour" of what is involved in creating, planning and flying a flypast of this type and I hope that it will give you some insight into the level of detail that is required to bring it off successfully.  I really hope you enjoy the story!

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION

What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob

It's been some while since I did a thematic episode so I thought this would be a good topic to introduce, and to hopefully stimulate some thought and maybe even some discussion.  

Debriefing is the topic and the reason I titled this episode as "The Power of Debriefing" is that I truly believe it is a game changing activity that is, unfortunately undertaken far too little in the commercial world.  

Through explanations of how the military, and the Royal Air Force in particular, makes use of debriefing, I hope to provide you with some insight and provoke your thinking as to whether you are currently doing all you can, both personally and within the team environment, to harvest all the benefit and learning from your day to day activity.  

I would be fascinated to hear your reflections and, as ever, your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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What stood out for you in this episode? I would genuinely welcome your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for future programmes. Use the “Send me a Text Message” link above or leave a comment on YouTube.

If you enjoyed the episode, please follow Leading 4 Life “Stories” on your podcast platform so that you receive future episodes automatically. Sharing it with someone who might find it valuable is also one of the best ways to support the show.

SUPPORT LEADING 4 LIFE “STORIES”

If you value the content and would like to help me continue producing the podcast, you can become a Supporter, Champion or Patron by clicking the "Support the show" link above or by going to:
https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ 

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, but listening, following, sharing and providing feedback are equally valuable.

CONNECT WITH BOB JUDSON

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

Website:
https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

X:
https://x.com/JudsonBob