Live Smarter

What having a meaningful career really means, Pat Peoples discuss his thoughts on Sir Ed Hillary and the rollercoasters of life.

In our full conversation with Pat Peoples on The Story Hub we discuss how he makes it into the NZ rowing team after not competing in any sport for years, how he transformed Schick construction from a concrete pad business into a commercial construction firm in the North & South Islands of New Zealand, and what purposeful leadership means to him. 

Listen now on Apple Podcasts &  Spotify

What does a leader need to do to create buy-in, have team members speak up, and create a culture of success? Listen to Phil Southward’s thoughts on thriving team cultures.

In our FULL conversation with Phil on The Story Hub we discuss his career working in Germany, how he embraced the gig economy before the term was invented, what agile systems of working really means, and how to challenge your perception of a normal career path. 

Listen now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Graeme has worked in CEO roles across New Zealand and in the UK. He shares his thoughts on where New Zealand’s approach to leadership and management needs to change and why “She’ll be right” is ruining cultures.

In our FULL conversation on The Story Hub hear more from Graeme Milne. Graeme contributed to some of the dairy mergers which ended up creating Fonterra in the `90s, worked in West and East Germany during the `80s, all starting out with a degree in biotechnology from Massey University. Graeme has a successful directorship career too, serving on many influential boards including Synlait as the chairman. 

If you are interested in learning about crisis management, leadership, and what it means to be a director, you will love this fascinating conversation. Enjoy practical tips, along with detailed stories. 

Listen now on Apple Podcasts & Spotify 

Brent McConnell is always looking for opportunities, hear how this approach helps him address hardship and has helped him develop a resilience mindset.

In our FULL conversation with Brent on The Story Hub we discuss his journey as a dairy farmer and subdivision developer, the full Stoney Creek turnaround story where it was 1 week from receivership to a multi-million dollar global hunting brand today, and his thoughts on resilience and courage.

Listen now on Apple Podcasts & Spotify

Kim has had a wide ranging career including two CEO positions. But to get there, she has had to make sacrifices and decisions that were long-term focussed. Hear how she took a demotion later on in her career which at the time was seen as crazy.

In my FULL conversation with Kim Ballinger on The Story Hub we discuss her success in the Global Dairy Industry, starting out in a technical role with a Chemical Technology degree to being the first female salesperson in Brazil for NZ Milk Products. Hear her leadership journey which saw one of her teams get the highest engagement scores in Fonterra after only leading it for a year. We discuss her learnings as CEO of TipTop before and during the process of its sale and reflections on her time so far as CEO of Asure Quality, NZ’s leading food quality state-owned enterprise. All of this epic story from a shy girl from Invercargill. 

Listen to the FULL conversation now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Owen shares some of his favourite analogies that help explain cultures of success in teams and what empathy in leadership looks like. Usain Bolt & Simon Sinek have more in common that you realise.

If you want to hear Owen Culliney’s FULL conversation on The Story Hub we discuss Owen’s success in Law, building up multiple successful law practices including his own. We talk through Owen’s entrepreneurial journey purchasing Clinico, a Denture and Hearing business, and when he finally decided to start his own firm iCLAW alongside Aasha Foley. 

If you are interested in a career in Law, tips & wisdom in starting your own business, and developing a fun high performance culture you will love this conversation. 

Listen now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Working in Beijing with a young family and barely knowing the language is a pretty interesting experience. Now try that and lead your Mandarin only speaking teams! Liz shares her experience in China and how she learnt to lead through others. 

In my FULL conversation with Liz O’Neil on The Story Hub we hear about her experience working for large Corporates such as Lion Breweries, Spark, Fonterra, and most recently Coca-Cola Euro-Pacific Partners as CFO of New Zealand. Hear about her journey where she didn’t take the traditional Chartered Accountancy path into a professional accounting firm and started in-house. Liz has had a wide ranging career from finance, business analyst and strategy roles to managing the Fonterra Farms in Beijing China. 

If you are interested in hearing her leadership tips as she has learnt what it means to lead through others and take your blinkers off you will love this conversation. 

Listen now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts 

What is it like to win the U23 rowing world champs after a rocky start to the race? Hear Paul Gerritsen’s story and his perspective on the Rowing NZ environment. 

If you want to hear Paul Gerritsen’s FULL conversation on The Story Hub where we discuss his whole rowing for New Zealand experience, working for the NZ Fire Service for a decade, and starting Purpose Fill, his own waste business, check it out now. We talk through his crazy journey where he rowed across the Atlantic Ocean with a team with no preparation or training. 

If you are interested in inspiring stories showing grit, discipline, and curiosity this conversation is for you. 

Listen now on Spotify & Apple Podcasts

Healthy confrontation is HARD, especially in the early stages of your career. Hear how Renae Smart learnt how to stand up for herself which led her to be hired in the UK when she was called by HR to tell her she didn’t get the job. 

If you want to hear Renae's full conversation on The Story Hub podcast covering her journey as a strategy consultant turned entrepreneur. Renae’s super honest as we talk about her personal growth journey around self-awareness. We delve deeper into the development of soft skills and hear about how she helped grow Civtec, a business started with husband into a 300+ staff company. We have a special moment where Renae shares how she navigated her career and being a mum too, Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify now!

For those wanting to be MORE than a job description. Mark Irving shares how to shape your job to match your skills & exceed expectations at work.

If you want to hear Mark's full conversation on The Story Hub podcast covering his journey from engineering, property development, consulting, to business relationship manager in economic development - the journey of a successful generalist, Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify now!