P3 Podcast

Topics Discussed: 

• Peter’s career history, how it relates to what he is doing now, and the reason why he and Phil haven’t spoken in so long.
• Peter’s youth, the troubles in Ireland when he grew up, and how he developed a love for flying.
• How Peter’s love for lying led to his pursuit in the military field. 
• The details of Peter’s early military career and he eventually found himself working as a training officer.
• Peter developing his love for sports, and how that helped him figure out what he would do after his military career ended. 
• How this led to Peter building a team to attempt the Race Across America (RAAM). 
• The difficulty of preparing for the race, getting the team together, and ultimately how Peter and Phil met!
• The statistics of the RAAM; its length and the climates they had to ride through.
• The locusts they had to ride through early on in the race, and the cultural shock they experienced when dealing with America’s wildlife. 
• Phil’s memory of deciding to apply for joining the support staff for the RAAM, and why he thinks Peter picked him.
• Phil’s opinion that he thinks the RAAM was actually more difficult for the support crew due to the sleep deprivation. 
• Peter’s opinion that support crews are the real unsung heroes in the sporting world and also the commercial world. 
• The importance of sleep, and how testing sleep deprivation is for people and their mentality.
• The team’s target to beat the previous military’s four-man RAAM record, and the number of miles they had to cover in order to beat that record.
• The sandstorm which hit them all whilst going through the desert, and how terrible it was for the riders who had to deal with it.
• The team’s decision to stay at a hotel overnight to sleep to help tackle the fatigue, and how it was against the plan but the right call to make. 
• The strategy they adopted for the race, and how they altered this throughout the race when needed. 
• How Phil got lost whilst driving the Winnebago, and how he had to make some risky maneuvers in order to return to the main road.
• How badly things can go so quickly, and how one of their racers crashed and had to go to the hospital, turning their four-man team into a three-man team with a new strategy.
• How the crash spurred the team on and helped them finish the race with a renewed purpose.
• How the race ended on a freeway, and the feeling when they finally finished the race. 
• How during the end Peter needed something to eat, and he ended up eating a subway on the bike towards the end of the race.
• The fact they stopped emptying the Winnebago septic tank towards the end of the race as they were trying to save time, and the tank’s contents ended up coming out of the toilet and onto the Winnebago floor. 
• How they managed to beat the 7-day record by a handful of minutes!
• The lessons Phil and Peter learned from taking part in the RAAM, and how they have taken it forward into their careers, especially during recent Covid times.
• The role-clarity there was on the team, the flexibility in the approach they adopted, putting people first, and the other traits they had as a team that helped them achieve their goal. 

References:

Peter McRory’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/petemccrory/?originalSubdomain=ca

Peter McRory’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/peter_mccrory?lang=en

Peter McRory’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/peter_mccrory/?hl=en

Olympic Oval Website - https://oval.ucalgary.ca/

Race Across America Website - http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/about.html

Topics Discussed: 

• How Andy and Phil met during their time working together in the RAF.
• The birth of Father_Son_Golf, and how it started as a diary to document Riley’s progress and his golf journey.
• Andy’s history as a fringe golf player for the RAF, and how he threw his own content onto the Instagram account in the hopes of getting some tips and advice from people online.
• How the quality of the content was really poor in the beginning, but it’s always been about Andy and Riley having fun playing golf.
• Andy’s decision in 2019, when the page started getting companies getting in touch with them, to take the page more seriously.
• The success of the lockdown during 2020 provided to the page, and Andy’s decision to engage in social media training in order to capitalise on that. 
• How Andy keeps a bit of difference between Riley and the account, even if they don’t get that much negative feedback. 
• The benefits and merchandise the page has provided for Riley, and how Andy wants to make sure that Riley doesn’t take it for granted. 
• Pro-Noctis’ Instagram account and how it had been hacked and locked down, and their decision to start again. 
• The importance of maintaining a good balance between ‘real-life’ and running a successful social media account.
• The putting green that Andy built in his garden over lockdown. 
• The addictive qualities of social media, and Andy’s experience with this with their page.
• How Andy makes sure not to film every single round of golf, and to rather record a lot of content on one round in order to maintain a good real-life social media balance.
• The platform this account has created for both Riley and Andy’s future career’s. 
• The negative comments Andy has received on the account and the effects they have on him. 
• Why Andy got in touch with Phil for help, so he could make sure that he was creating an environment that was healthy for Riley, and Phil’s three principles for ensuring this healthy environment is being met.
• The importance of learning from mistakes but also consolidating what we did well in the past in order to maintain a healthy mindset.
• Andy’s top four tips for growing an Instagram account; stay consistent, use good content creation apps, focus on quality over quantity when posting content and use all the tools that Instagram gives you.
• Andy’s opinion on hashtags and how he uses them.
• Andy’s experience with collaborations, how they have benefited their account and how it’s important to be aware of what a collaborator is getting from you and vice versa, and making sure you get it all in writing.
• Andy’s future plans for the Instagram account and his own professional career. 
• How Andy hopes the Instagram account can help Riley in whatever he decides to do as well.
• The Father_Son_Golf website and Andy’s plans for it.
• How Andy and his family got to meet Lee Westwood and the story behind it.

References:

Father_Son_Golf’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/father_son_golf/?hl=en

Father_Son_Golf’s Website - https://fathersongolf.co.uk/

Topics Discussed: 

• Cherie’s racing career and how it influenced her professional career.
• How Covid affected Cherie’s previous team ‘Vitus Pro Cycling’, and how Covid led to a lack of sponsorship which led to the team having to close down.
• The psychology behind this decision, and how it affected Cherie emotionally. 
• How, even if Covid hadn't happened, recent changes in the cycling industry were making funding a lot more difficult anyway. There was a change after 2017 which changed the landscape of cycling, which Covid may hopefully highlight to trigger future change.
• Cherie’s look for ‘real-world jobs during the worst periods of the Covid Pandemic.
• Cherie’s decision to start reaching out to WorldTour teams, and how she received very swift and positive responses from Israel Start-Up Nation.
• How Cherie got a job offer from Israel Start-Up Nation the same day she closed down the Vitus Pro Cycling Team and the mixed emotions she received during this period.
• The relief Cherie felt when she did close down the team, as all the issues she was having had all of a sudden disappeared. 
• How Cherie is now the first-ever female Sports Director of any WorldTour Men’s Cycling Team, and how she didn’t think about this when she was looking for the job.
• How Cherie had the same approach during her riding career and never really thought about the fact she was a woman in a male-dominated sport. 
• How men tend to struggle more with women being in the room/sport than women do.
• Cherie’s hit and run accident which ended her racing career and paved her route into being a Sport’s Director.
• The problems women have with being in leadership positions when pushing back against sexism, and how Cherie has found confidence will get you through this.
• How Cherie’s excitement for her new position has now dissipated and she is now just wanting to crack on with the work that needs to be done.
•  Covid’s effect on Israel Start-Up Nation’s future plans and approach.
• The number of staff members for Israel Start-Up Nation and the difficulty this causes when planning races etc. 
• The challenges Cherie faced when changing jobs.
• The logistics involved in travelling during Covid times, and the large amount of paperwork involved. 
• Cherie’s proudest cycling accomplishment.
• Cherie’s Sporting Hero.
• The three guests Cherie would invite to her retirement party.
• Cherie’s one wish for 2021.

References:

Cherie Pridham’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherie-pridham-951b437b/

Cherie Pridham’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/chezpro/?hl=en

Cherie Pridham’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/chezpro?lang=en

Israel Start-Up Nation’s Website - http://israelcyclingacademy.com/

Topics Discussed:

• Lisa’s diagnosis of epilepsy at the age of 14, and how it was caused by a benign tumour in her brain, which they wouldn’t be able to get out.
• Lisa’s acceptance of it for the majority of her life although her epilepsy was getting worse.
• The advice Lisa received from her neurologist to try and get the tumour out, and the shock that gave Lisa and her family.
• Lisa’s intuition and how it was telling her to get the surgery, albeit the serious risks involved.
• Lisa’s decision to have the surgery, and her family's hesitation and eventual acceptance for that decision.
• Lisa’s experience on the morning of the surgery, the fear involved but how her intuition pushed her through.
• Lisa’s experience during the surgery, how she was awake during the majority of the surgery answering sums and reciting words, and how surreal it was.
• Lisa’s recovery, how she quickly lost her ability to speak well and used emojis in order to communicate with her family and how that felt for her and her family. 
• The recovery process, the speech therapy Lisa took and how much it changed her as a person; her drive for life, love for words and insight into the importance of communication.
• How Lisa was asked to join a mental health study after her operation, which she joined, and the route of research it took her down.
• The three main factors involved in maintaining good mental health; living more consciously, establishing an equilibrium between your left and right sides of the brain and cultivating good intuition. 
• What steps we can take in order to strengthen the right side of our brains and aid the imbalance caused by the society we currently live in.
• The research behind intuition, how hard it is to measure and how we can’t seem to explain it. 
• The mental health issue we had before Covid, how Covid has made it worse and how, hopefully, Covid has given us a reset due to the stillness it has provided us. 
• How intuition is always in line with who you are as a person, and thus it will never let you down even if it’s not correct.
• How we avoid interaction with other people and take other peoples company for granted, and how Covid has helped us see this and has even brought us closer to the people around us.
• The importance of our closest friends, and how they help us develop our sense of self and intuition.
• How Lisa has taken all of the lessons she has learned, the three main factors in maintaining good mental health, into a course called ‘The Reset Code’.
• What ‘The Reset Code’ consists of, how it can help you and how to get involved.

References:

Lisa Upton’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/in/lisa-upton-a8691031/   

Lisa Upton’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/euphrenity/?hl=en
Euphrenity Website - https://www.euphrenity.com/

Euphrenity Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Euphrenity-106628837671558/

Topics Discussed:

• Amy’s Rugby career up to this point, how she ended up playing for Harlequins and the great culture there is at the club.
• The funding players receive at Harlequins, and how generally Female Rugby players don’t receive this. 
• Amy’s move to New Zealand when she was young, and how that transition was for her compared to the rest of her family.
• Amy’s love for the sport when she was younger, Rugby and Football in particular, and how she ended up sticking with Rugby once she got to New Zealand.
• New Zealand’s love for Rugby and how that has played a part in Amy’s success.
• Amy’s transition into playing Women's Rugby in New Zealand, how it gave her a leg up in her future career, and how she was nervous to begin with.
• How Amy’s Coach played a part in helping her play for England and introduced her to the England Rugby Team Coaches. 
• Amy’s move back to England, and the decision her family made to come back with her.
• How Amy and Phil met through her Dad, and the goals they set out for Amy during that meeting.
• Amy’s first world cup at a young age, the experiences she had at the time and how she views it all now in retrospect.
• How in elite sport you can use failure and disappointment to drive you forward and motivate you.
• The next world cup and Amy’s thoughts about it.
• Amy’s decision to join the RAF, what led her to do it and how it has affected her Rugby career.
• The importance of perspective in staying motivated.
• Amy’s focus on the upcoming world cup right now, and how it is her only goal right now. 
• Amy’s desire to have a career with the RAF after her Rugby career.
• Amy’s competitive family, and their yearly Christmas bench press tradition. 
• Amy’s sporting hero
• Amy’s non-sporting hero
• Who Amy would invite to her rugby retirement dinner
• Who the biggest hooligan on the England Rugby team is
• Amy’s wish to win the World Cup  

References:

Amy Cokayne’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/avfcokayne/?hl=en

Amy Cokayne’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/amycokayne?lang=en

Topics Discussed:

• Brother UK during Covid-19, and Phil Jones approach towards his staff during this difficult period
• Phil Jones’ rise to becoming the MD at Brother UK, and his humble beginnings
• Phil Jones aspiration to make Brother UK a compassionate company, and that the staff all feel seen, appreciated and valued
• The integral role of leadership in creating a good compassionate culture, and how many CEOs think this can be outsourced to other departments
• How all companies are dysfunctional, the best companies just manage this dysfunction more successfully 
• The importance of asking your employees what is going on in their lives, and making sure the working environment is safe enough for them to be honest and open
• How some CEOs are unwilling to take any role in the improvement of their work culture, and how this lack of care results in disengaged employees
• Phil Jones’ experience with being a bad manager when he was the Sales Director of Brother UK, and how the personal development he took at this time helped him become a much better manager
• How difficult it was for Phil Jones when undergoing this Personal Development, as he had to calibrate who he felt like he was on the inside with how people actually saw him
• How people believe that the behaviours that got them to where they are now are the same ones that will get them to the next stage, and how this is not true
• Mastery of subject matter and mastery of self, and how Phil Jones believes this will help you achieve in a business environment. 
• The importance of having support from other people when going through a personal development journey, and how men, in particular, can struggle to ask for this support 
• Finding other people who speak a similar language to you, and how you tend to find them when you work more on yourself 
• Phil Jones’ Correlative Leadership Framework, and the four pillars; Physical, Emotional, Digital and Spiritual
• How many people roll their eyes at the mention of Spirituality, but how it is everyone deals with in their life  
• Being human, and the importance as a leader or a manager by making sure that your employees feel seen and cared for
• The issues that have risen with remote working, and how it’s harder to find employees who are having problems as it is easier to hide 
• Phil Jones’ practice of factoring in time to be with people in his business and make sure they are all fine, and his Out, On, In framework
• Phil Jones’ experience giving a talk to 200 old school CEOs about emotional leadership, and how they didn’t it
• The difficulty in helping someone to be more emotionally aware, and how you need to undergo a journey of personal development in order to do this
• How we learn our leadership styles from our past leaders, even if we don’t like them, and how Phil Jones is appreciative that has worked many different jobs as he had experienced bad management 
• The importance of leading by example
• The importance of congruence and cultivating that
• How putting people first will ultimately help your bottom line 
• The importance of cultivating trust through not just your words, but through cementing those words with actions afterwards
• Phil Jones’ experience during Covid-19, and how much he cares for all of those who work for him and their situations as well 
• Phil Jones’ DESK approach to self care; Diet, Exercise, Sleep and Kindness to Yourself
• How showing your employees your emotions and vulnerability can help connect you with them
• Phil Jones’ Sporting Hero
• Phil Jones’ Non-Sporting Hero
• Phil Jones’ 2021 personal goal
• Phil Jones’ top post-Covid plan
• Phil Jones’ top three leadership skills; know yourself, read a lot and listen a lot

References:

Phil Jones’ Website - http://www.philjones.biz/blog/

Phil Jones' LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/philjones40/?

Phil Jones' Twitter - https://twitter.com/PhilJones40?

Topics Discussed:

• Greg’s experience during 2020 and the challenges he faced both personally and professionally. 
• The lessons that Greg has taken away from 2020. 
• Greg’s realisation that a lot of people are not living a healthy lifestyle, and his aspirations to address these people and help them live in a healthy way.
• The socio-economic impact of health, and the gender gap in health.
• The difficulty of changing behaviour, and the psychology required to achieve it.
• How a bespoke, personalised approach is one of the best ways of instilling a change of behaviour in someone and giving them the confidence to make a change.
• How we are always looking for shortcuts when there are none. 
• The importance of setting goals correctly, and focusing on how much time is needed so it is manageable, achievable and aligned with who you are as a person.
• The redundancy theory; the person who is supporting you should always be looking at the point when they will no longer be supporting you, and how good coaches are always considering this.
• Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, and how intrinsic is more important in the long term.
• The importance of resilience and surrounding yourself with a good team is integral in achieving anything worthwhile. 
• How you can cultivate humility, trust and empathy in being a leader.
• The importance of transparency and trust between higher up management and the employees in order to get good productivity out of your workers.
• How 2020 has tested businesses a lot, and the ones that responded the best are the ones that we're focusing on welfare and ensuring their workers are doing well rather than setting targets.
• The difference between absenteeism and presenteeism, and how it is much more important to focus on making your workers present when they are at work, as opposed to getting them to work for longer periods of time.
• How exercise and maintaining an active environment can increase presenteeism and productivity.
• Examples of unhealthy working environments and the changes Phil and Greg implemented to make them healthier and more productivity.
• How 2020 shone a light on mental and physical health, and how we need to be social in order to be fulfilled and happy.
• How you need to take care of yourself before you take care of other people, otherwise you won’t be of any use to anyone.
• How taking small steps can help you make big changes in your life, and an example of what these changes could be in both a personal and professional setting.
• The importance of rest and recovery in elite performance, how it’s hard to achieve, and how it is those at the top who are the most guilty at working their employees or athletes too hard.
• Greg’s love for open water swimming, the link between it and cold water therapy, and the physical and mental benefits of it.
• Greg’s sporting hero
• Greg’s proudest moment
• Greg’s next big goal
• Greg’s top 3 tips for a healthy lifestyle
• Greg’s non-sporting hero

References:

Greg Whyte’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/profgregw/?hl=en

Greg Whyte’s LinkedIn - https://www.youtube.com/user/ProfessorGregWhyte

Greg Whyte’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/gpwhyte

Greg Whyte’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ProfessorGregWhyte/

Greg Whyte’s Website - https://www.gregwhyte.com/

Topics Discussed:

• Martin’s 10-try game, and how unbelievable it seems to him looking back
• How creating a legendary moment in sport is what builds a legacy
• How Martin was always striving to be the best he could be, and how the adversity he faced inspired him to prove people wrong
• The importance of legacy for Martin, and how he wasn’t happy until he felt he had achieved that
• How, after his famous game at Wembley in 1994, he knew he had finally created the legacy he was striving to
• The luck involved in being given a moment like his try at Wembley, and how many great people are forgotten
• The importance of keeping faith and keeping your head up, as something will come along if you keep working hard
• All of the research and thought goes through Martin’s head when he was playing Rugby, and how there is more to him than a player than just being fast
• The costs of success, and how Martin made a lot of sacrifices during his career.
• The importance of having balance in life, and not focusing too much on work or too much on the play
• Striving for your goals, and how you are often happiest when you are on the journey, and not when you are at the destination
• The drop-off sportsmen experience after they retire, the benefits their discipline gives them but the negatives a somewhat sheltered life gives them when moving on to new careers.
• Martin’s experience with this, and his techniques for dealing with working in an office environment
• Longevity, and how important it is in being a memorable person, whether you are a sportsman or something else
• The importance of being prepared to risk everything in order to achieve what you want to get
• Martin’s tips for achieving at life; being passionate and surrounding yourself with people who inspire you and are interested in what you are interested in
• How taking small steps every day can make a huge change in your life
• How people always try to discount Martin’s successes because he is black
• Martin’s passion for making the world a better place, and making positivity out of the negativity he faced
• Examples of Martin’s experience with racism, and how he chose to fight back by performing well on the pitch
• Martin’s experience with anxiety, and how he has learnt to manifest it positively and let it fuel him to perform 
• The adrenaline buzz Rugby gives a player, and how that contributes to the drop-off
• How Martin got just as much of a buzz from scoring a Try when we were at school as he did when he did it professionally
• The importance of taking feedback and dealing with it in a positive way, and how it can be a powerful learning experience
• How everyone is special but no one person is more special than someone else. We all have our skills and it’s up to us to tap into them
• Destiny, and how it seems that some things are simply meant to happen
• Martin’s current career at Connected Kerb, how he found himself in that job, and why he is passionate about it
• Martin’s Sporting and Non-Sporting Role Models
• Martin’s proudest moment
• Martin’s statue, and his love for it
• Martin’s main goal for the future
• Martin’s one wish

References:

Martin Offiah’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/martin_chariots_offiah/

Martin Offiah’s LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-offiah-m-b-e-127a2540/

Martin Offiah’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/martinoffiah?

Connect Kerb - https://www.connectedkerb.com/

Topics Discussed:

• Ed’s presence on the previous episode, and his new role as the rolling co-host of the P3 Podcast!
• The advice Ed would give himself as a youngster if he could; how it’s important not to focus too much on material pursuits and accolades, and focus instead on being happy, humble and good to those around you. 
• The Olympics and sports bubble that athletes such as Ed experience during the Olympic cycle, Ed’s experience with it and how he has learnt to handle it over the years.
• How some people, such as Geraint, are naturally more positive, and how Ed feels like he is almost the opposite of that. 
• The importance of being centred and knowing your own self-worth when it comes to achieving your goals. 
• How over-analysing can be a strength and a weakness, and how it may have caused Ed’s negativity in the past.
• Ed’s experience with leadership, how it’s often thrust upon someone, and how Ed learnt from his failures with leading when he was younger and improved upon them.
• How Ed and Phil met during the difficult time surrounding Team Pursuit's famous terrible result in 2014 and how it helped Ed turn a corner as a result of that.
• Ed’s back injury, surgery and subsequent recovery during 2015, and how the support he felt and the determination it triggered in Ed helped him go on to do succeed at Rio 2016. 
• Phil relates the lessons learnt from Ed’s injury can be related to the world of business. 
• The importance of not getting complacent and appreciating what you have already done as opposed to always focusing on what's next.
• Ed’s opinion on what common threads Mark Cavendish, Geraint Thomas and Dave Brailsford have, and how their positive mentality may be what has helped them to be so successful.
• How Cavendish would tell people about his outlandish goals because he wanted to be held accountable, whereas Geraint had a quiet confidence in himself and wouldn’t want to appear arrogant to others.
• How Cavendish and Geraint both have entirely different personalities on and off the bike.
• Cavendish’s and Garaint’s good values, and how they are both great people off the bike.  
• Ed’s two worst ever days on the bike.
• Ed’s biggest sporting and non-sporting hero.
• The five guests that Ed would invite to his retirement party.
• Ed’s future roles with Pro-Noctis, but mainly the Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy, why Ed set it up and why he thinks it is so important for kids to have access to cycling

References:

The Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy - https://www.clancybriggs.co.uk/home

Ed Clancy’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ed.clancy/?hl=en

Ed Clancy’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/ed_clancy?lang=en

Topics Discussed:

• Geraint’s upbringing in Cardiff and his unlikely fall into cycling, and how his love for it and the people he met is what made him stick with it.
• The importance of play as a child, how it’s good to hold on to that as an adult, and how Geraint has found this key in having a lengthy, prosperous career.
• Ed and Geraint’s time living close together and all the fun they had when working together.
• Geraint’s down-to-earth personality, and how it’s something you can see in a lot of Welsh athletes.
• Geraint’s transition from cycling for fun to taking it seriously and how he always had the mindset for it. 
• Geraint’s quiet confidence and resilience and how he won’t talk about his goals and his self-belief, but it’s present and allows him to consistently give 100%. 
• Geraint pontificates on how his Dad helped him develop this attitude, even though he didn’t realise or appreciate it as a child.
• Geraint’s injury at Giro d'Italia, how he broke his pelvis and proceeded to cycle 130 km to finish the race. He talks about it in detail and how disappointed he was to lose.
• The self-doubt that comes after an injury like that, and how you almost hope it’s a serious injury so you don’t have to wonder ‘what-if’ had you pushed yourself harder.
• The press’ tendency to twist what athletes say and the frustration Geraint feels towards it. 
• How the training is the hardest part and how the race is won in the months of training leading up to it.
• How Geraint’s mindset changed from being a helper cyclist to believing he could win the Tour De France after 2015 when he was fourth in the 19th stage. 
• How Ed almost retired after the 2020 Olympics got delayed, and how Geraint’s advice to Ed helped him believe he could carry on until 2021.
• Geraint’s nickname ‘G’ and his opinion on it.
• Geraint’s sporting hero and non-sporting hero.
• Geraint’s main goals for 2021, given all sporting events, are on.
• Geraint’s opinion on what it means to be Welsh.