Problem Busters

Ecological artist and activist Eva Bubla shares how art can challenge us to see the wood for the trees when it comes to our impact on the planet. She takes the Problem Busters on a fascinating tour of eco-clever projects spanning multiple countries. If you have ever wondered if your creativity could get people thinking in a positive way, then this episode is for you.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that highlights people with ideas to solve the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Eva Bubla is a Hungarian artist who deals with environmental and ecological issues. Her insightful and thought-provoking projects have both an activism and education element and have been widely recognised. Eva has participated in a range of projects and artist collectives, including Green Root Lab and PAD. Eva is currently based in Budapest.

• Eva's website

Show mentions:

• 01:50 Art has always been in my mind. Ever since being a child.
• My current practice is rooted in Indonesia, because that is where I started dealing with environmental issues. I studied there and stayed longer, those experiences pushed me in this direction. Wanting to deal with environmental issues both as a person and as a citizen.
• 03:00 What sparked the interest in the environment specifically? 2011-13 I was at University, we had a task to form groups and experiment using art. I used to study painting before (a solitary process), but this working with a group, on location at the beach, was exciting. We were asked to use materials we found on the spot.
• Using material on-site was one of the sparks in taking me in this direction.
• Because the materials included a lot of rubbish on the beach - it was obvious to use that, and one of the experiences that started my journey.
• This was 9 years ago and my perspective has changed a lot.
• I would not now use rubbish as a material (I find it contradictory), but at the time it was a moment that got me starting thinking about the environment.
• 06:00 The question of visibility. We have services that take rubbish away, so it is not visible how much rubbish we create.
• Governments such as the UK government pay for rubbish to be exported to other countries. Many just put it to landfill, it's important to follow the chain and have visibility of it.
• Greenpeace UK as an important group in raising awareness here.
• Documentary: Plastic China. A movie about family businesses that process plastic, horrible waste, which was imported into China from other countries. It's a must-see for all of us.
• Regulations are already changing, a lot of countries are already saying no to waste that is exported to them from other countries.
• Making art from things that have been found can really shock people.
• In that project - we built the shape of a nautilus shell, but the material related to this human habit of generating waste.
• I no longer want to create artworks from waste because it has the risk of making waste look aesthetic.
• 11:00 Earliest memory of being interested in art - kindergarten! My first memory that comes to mind is sitting at a small table in kindergarten and drawing a tale for children.
• 12:30 Project: Designated Breathing Zone. The first version came out of a residency with HONF foundation (art and engineers - makers).
• My process: I have an initial idea but decide a topic to explore only once I am on the spot. The place is important for the people, the materials I work with.
• I got sick in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, related to air pollution I think. This is a global issue (not related to a specific country).
• Certain green areas where I used to ride my bike disappeared, so I started to dig into it and read into local regulations, how much green area the city is supposed to have, etc.
• I started to read about how certain plants can remediate air pollution.
• Project: Designated Breathing Zone is basically an incubator for the snake plant / mother in law plant. This is one of the plants that is really effective in making indoor air quality better.
• How does it work? The air goes into this box, with the plant inside it, and a fan to ventilate the air out via a mask. You can take the mask and breathe the air through the mask.
• This idea actually exists on the market, but I used materials that I found around the area (e.g. a box from a restaurant nearby).
• The purpose: A symbolic object to raise awareness of the importance of plants, air pollution.
• Combining art and education is something important to me.
• What was the reaction to your work in this case? Some surprise, raising questions in them, and then a really nice conversation with people, especially kids.
• Children were very sensitive to the issue of air pollution.
• In public spaces you can reach a wider audience than in a gallery. I didn't see a difference between children and adults in their sensitivity to the issue.
• Workshops with kids are more curious maybe, but not necessarily more or less interested (a lot depends on the parents).
• 23:00 szabadonbalaton (Free balaton lake) (also in English here) - a group project raising questions around the challenges of the lake and its ecosystem. We have various art events, including social scientists, ecologists and engineers. We have cocktails and foods that are sourced from the area. Chips from plants found in the lake.
• The reaction from people is really interesting - they can't believe food can come from the lake.
• The perception of people is usually that the lake is clean if you can see the bottom. If it is clear. But this is false, it is not necessarily related to the water quality, may also be related to the bottom of the lake or ocean.
• 28:30 we need a change in perspective in certain respects. We should treat lakes as lakes. We should become friends with its elements (e.g. mud) and not be disgusted by it.
• The Blue Lagoon, Abereiddi: There is a lake in Wales (there is also one in Russia) that is nicknamed "the blue lagoon" - and looks blue, but cloudy - and it's caused by Slate from a quarry. Remnants of an industrial past. Locals still swim in it.
• The story of the two fish, and the old fish. Two fish are swimming and they see an older fish. It nods at them and says "isn't the water great today". The other two swim on and look a bit weird, then ask each other a bit later "what is water?".
• It is hard to generalise which generation is wiser. We should learn from elder generations what they did right, mistakes they made, but should keep the curiousity of children.
• If we are curious, that can be used as a tool to explore and understand.
• 33:00 Are you seeing improvements in environmental awareness? I see more and more people paying attention to the environment. But it's not that simple. Is it enough for us as citizens to pay attention and become aware? When actually the problem is caused by companies, so we should also make change at the government or corporate level. In the latter there is not enough change.
• Me personally, I don't want to wait for governments or others (anyone else), I want to do what I can do, even if in the end it is not enough.
• Many people don't have a positive perspective on where we are heading to. But I want to live with the idea of I do my best and if more and more people do their best, maybe that will lead to a change.
• 36:30 The word solution. I was often using this word, but maybe it is too big to be used. We cannot solve certain problems, but what we can do as artists, is raise questions, start conversations and think of alternative ways.
• In design and technology - in design thinking we can really look at a problem and think of solutions. Designing objects that have technological elements is great.
• The first step is that you start to raise questions. Perhaps one thing we need to learn is to adapt to whatever is around. There are certain things we can't solve in climate change, but we need to learn to adapt to the unknown. With certain methods and art, you can develop a different ability and mindset to adapt - a love for beings (human and not).
• I really look up to ideas that combine art and technology, even on a global scale. We don't need to think global to make a difference
• Artist collective: Superflex, Tanzania - a project in Tanzania installing biogas. An example of a movement where art is not about creating something beautiful for a gallery, but is understood more widely.
• A saying: Ask a builder to build a house and they will build a box. Ask an architect and they will build something that works into the surrounds. The two can work well together.
• Artist: Leonardo Da Vinci - who invented the design for Helicopters
• TV Show: Star-trek inventions and introducing new ideas that eventually became real as flip phones, voice activation, microwaves.
• Does life imitate art? or does art imitate life?
• The ability to inspire someone to create a solution is powerful.
• We can only control what is in the sphere of our control. Western countries can only control themselves. Telling third world countries they can't use fossil fuels is hard - because they need it.
• Being in Sardinia in June - at a festival where the theme was breathing. An important element was to work with locals there.
• Project: Designated Breathing Zone: Sardinia. In this project I had an artist's residency in Sardinia, the island off the coast of Italy.
• Association: Rimettiamo Radici. The local association I worked with in Fluminimaggiore, Sardinia. I worked with this organisation of activist women, we did experiments with wild carrot, investigated plants of the regions and characteristic plants. We reused wine bottles adding pumps and a funnel where the smell could come out. This was a new version of the designated breathing zone.
• Designated breathing zone - Sardinia. A metal structure that had plants upside down, so as you walk, you walk into them and can breathe the scent of the plants.
• Back in Budapest and the idea of Designated Breathing Zone: Public Breathing Practices.
• Project: Designated Breathing Zone: Public Breathing Practices
• During the lockdown, I found people were scared in public and at times of each other. This project focused on harmonising breathing
• Preparing for at the moment: Bucharest Biennale 9 Research Lab, I represent the Doctoral School of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts - Hungarian School of Fine arts. And an upcoming research lab and exhibition.
• 52:00 When we think about plants and their role and our role in the ecosystem, it's a global issue. Each place is different but the outcomes may be the same.
• 53:30 Advice on limiting your impact on the world? What I more and more believe and focus on is that the root of all of this (pollution/waste) is that we need to develop our connection with the elements of nature and the elements of the environment around us. If we try to see ourselves as part of this system.. I would wish that power struggles and status struggles disappear from the world and you want to collaborate with people and natural elements in the world.
• If we really develop this skill of being empathetic towards the environment that can have an impact on our decisions and then our actions.
• I learned painting but I do everything but painting! I teach myself design programs and software, I love to use my hands and I enjoy learning new things.
• One of my hobbies is to leave my comfort zone.
• Artist: Lilli Tölp, an inspiring Estonian artist
• 59:00 The method? you have an idea, you don't know how you will realise it, but you are crazy enough, passionate enough to go for it and make it real.
• Being an artist is hard, sacrifices need to be made, but art is something that is less supported because it is in certain minds less necessary. But those who really believe and stick to their passion, then sooner rather than later they find a way.
• Who do you most look up to in the world? There is not one, there are so many people!! People who don't give up, even if it is impossible.
• Rocky balboa from the Rocky movies!
• What book/film has most inspired you recently? I have at least 6 books right now.
• Book: Eva-Maria Dreyer: What kind of edible wild plant is this?
• Book: Mogyorósy-Révész Zsuzsa: Érzelemszabályozás a gyakorlatban (Emotion Regulation in Practice) and certain practices or exercises which are useful for me and I turn them into my art projects.
• Book: T.J. Demos: Decolonizing Nature. Contemporary Arts and the Politics of Ecology
• Projects that excite you? I'm inspired by my work so all of them! Especially the ongoing projects. I am about to curate in the next project, creating a concept of the program and selecting
• Project: Budapest - Placcc festival - Sensing the City. Projects related to the 5 senses. I'm really excited about the projects that will be exhibited! Projects dealing with waste management, agricultural technologies, a sound/audio walk, and one on the cycle of life and death.
• Amazing how people without a sense can still navigate the world - soundscapes and colour blind designers are super interesting.
• Project: Designated breathing zone: C19 (face masks)
• Is there one thing you would like to change in the world? Power struggles. If there were no power struggles then our relationship to one another would be so different.
• Eva's website: https://evabubla.art

Credits:

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

We talk to Daryl Woodhouse about burnout and how to avoid it. A timely episode for many who have survived lockdown by working (even harder) from home. As we step out into the world again, some will be in balance and looking to keep it that way, while others will have lost sight of the outdoors and be in need of a rethink.

Daryl shares his story from corporate to start-up, the experience of running a coaching and training business during lockdown, and what he has learned along the way.

Plenty of tips are shared in a bite-sized and easy to apply way.

This episode will get you thinking, and will likely cause you to reclaim a bit of your precious daily time for spending what you love most.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Daryl Woodhouse is a speaker, coach and founder who helps leaders and their teams grow performance and maximise life-work balance. He has a long track record of working with businesses ranging from Fortune 500 to plucky startups. His most recent program The Life Work Effect has just hit the market to help people achieve balance.

• The Life Work Effect site
• Daryl's LinkedIn
• Daryl's website

Show mentions:

Two halves of career to date: Corporate leadership up to a FTSE Top 10 level, and lucky enough to benefit from a leadership development program that got me where I am today. Then in 2012, I started my first business.

Starting a business and there being a lot to learn to do so (and how to beat the odds and not fail).

Advanced Business Partnerships scaled up to 7 figure revenues in the first few years in the areas of leadership, coaching, mentoring and non-executive leadership training.

2016 coming away from that business and getting involved in several technology companies and a few exits, and getting into lecturing in business, then keynote speaking.

05:00 Having a major burnout was the result. Something that was a long time coming as a workaholic who put work before life for too long.

A personal tragedy finally brought everything out and showed that life happens and if burnout is not dealt with, then health problems result and relationships are the result.

Coming back from burnout and moving to a 4 day week, seeing work life improving as a result, means I've realised that less is sometimes more.

Less is sometimes more, I've realised there is a better way than the traditional rat race many corporates and entrepreneurs just accept.

07:20 It should be life work balance, not the other way around. Sustained success comes with planning life first, then fitting work around it.

08:00 Signs of burnout? A number of things came up for me. Things like working long hours, always being too busy, too rushed and regularly late for meetings (even just a few minutes), they love work and see it as a hobby, but it can be a very unhealthy one.

For overachievers, it is a natural habit to try to pack too much into the day. Being aware of being too reactive to time gremlins and to be proactive in how we spend our time (and the boundaries we set) is the key to overcoming them.

10:00 Tips for putting life first? Do exercise at the start of the day, not at the end. Make time for lunch.

Garmin watches as a way to track stress during the day and as a trigger to have down periods during the day.

14:30 Research proves that when overworking, less is actually more. There are a range of benefits that come from more balance, and being happier. A study from Oxford University showed that people who were happier in their work and what they were doing, were 13% more productive.

15:20 Tips as a team to make yourself a little bit happier during the day. Notice your energy levels during the day and when they dip (or are lower). Notice the big hairy potatoes - the work tasks that are more complex, boring, unclear and those that you don't want to touch. It is natural to put them off.

It is natural to put off doing things that we don't like doing. But putting them off, we have them in mind and they drain our energy. Do them earlier in the day and free up time and energy for the rest of the day.

Bucking the trend of putting off difficult tasks and doing them first thing in the day, opens up the rest of the day for a reward and a better experience.

I found that when I started tackling the big hairy potatoes (difficult tasks) first, I was able to finish my working days earlier.

Usually when we enjoy something, we typically complete it 2, 3, even 4 times quicker.

19:30 Top tip: Take 5 minutes out of your day to go and do something fun. Get your energy levels up, lift your mood and refresh yourself.

Getting on the rowing machine as a way to blow off steam and refresh yourself.

Eating, having cuddles with baby children and exercise all as ways to replenish yourself.

23:00 What are some of the benefits you see as a result of better life work balance? People are likely to stay longer, they are happier, customers get a better service, customers stay longer, sales conversion improves.

The quality of work of a burned out sales team is worlds apart from a motivated and energetic team who are enjoying what they do.

25:00 Nurturing a culture of productive wellbeing and the importance of it. Investing in employee wellbeing initiatives is the right thing to do, and indirectly does boost productivity. However there is a multiplier effect alongside that because embracing life work balance in the workforce is where the real change occurs.

With this pandemic, with life-work boundaries being blurred, wellbeing has become critical to teams.

29:00 What I've learned as an employer during lockdown (and what I'm doing differently now). It was a hit to my confidence as a founder to be someone who is known for helping people turn their businesses around, to find that overnight, business dropped so heavily. To see clients going into administration. It was hard. We needed to work very hard to do things differently and as a training and coaching business, to deliver service online. It was a stressful and worrying time.

What we're seeing now is that for many who have worked hard, listened and learned from lockdown, the silver linings have been very much in our grasp.

I've now got a business that is much more robust and stable. We have embraced technology and have developed new products that leverage technology for delivery.

34:00 The Life Work Effect - the concept and how it frames Daryl's view of life-work balance. This transformation program brings together 19 years of business experience into a program. Four main pillars; Improve strategy and planning, productivity mastery, life-work balance skills and routine, and wellbeing. Working across all these at once brings in a multiplier effect to improve balance and life.

Statistically we have been found to forget 75% of what we learn on courses within 24 hours. Why? Life is busy. We have a lot on, there is a lot to do. If we haven't developed the life-work routines (they aren't taught in school), it's hard to balance.

Related episode: Edward Fenech on Carbon Trading.

If we aren't teaching the next generation of leaders about the importance of developing healthy daily routines at school, when do we expect them to develop them?

The power of an app when taking a more agile approach to training and coaching. It allows people to learn in their own time, in their own place. It opens up the chance to gamify the program and the learning experience.

What is a transformation program in this case? Using a range of tools (live coaching sessions, the app, reading and watching recordings), participants are as a result finding 10 hours a week on average to do something else with.

41:00 If you can free up 10 hours a week, you can take 5 hours for yourself for hobbies, family time and happiness, and invest the other 5 hours in high value tasks (like making a better strategy).

Measuring time usage using the app means that people can gather their own data and identify how are are living, so they can change it.

A pre-recorded program as a very scalable way to share knowledge. It can scale to helping a million people easily!

45:00 The motivations to bringing the program out to the world in this way, and now. To help as many people as possible. To help people avoid burnout. We are seeing increases in work-related stress and I'd like to help make a dent in that. To help others learn from my successes and my failures.

I now see my own failures as opportunities to learn.

If we treat failures as opportunities to learn, imagine how much we could all be learning from each other, all the time!

49:00 If you feel you are too busy, then focus on your motivations. What would you do if you had more spare time? If you spared some time?

50:00 An example for leaders - eliminate operational and administrative tasks. It is super-effective to hire someone to help automate or complete these tasks so that you can

Free workshops: Daryl's free monthly workshops

If you just change just one thing a week for 12 weeks, each thing adds up to a lot of improvement over time.

Some things you can do differently today:

53:00 If your typical meeting is an hour long, try out capping them at 45 mins. Keep that 15 mins to do any follow up after the meeting, or better yet, have a break.

Pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and blueberries are top tips for a snack that's good for your brain.

Specifically build into your diet foods that are particularly good for the brain.

Another tip: When you wake up every day, drink 500mls of water straight away. That's the amount of water the body needs to flush out any toxins from the previous day.

Ollie and Jonathan learning a lot from the podcast and the guests. Thank you podcasting for bringing us so much wisdom!

What can leaders do to help support healthy life-work balance? Lead by example, bring in people like Daryl to help give lunch n learn tips to teams and make time to understand your team.

It's important to lead by example and look after yourself better, sharing the benefits of that with your team, and bring in help to run lunch and learn sessions to help share some tips and benefits of wellbeing.

As a leader, it is vital to make time for listening to and coming to understand your team. This leads to insights into how they are and how you can help them.

Related episode: Nik Haidar

Daryl's YouTube channel for more free tips and tricks

Daryl's website: https://darylwoodhouse.com

Who do I most look up to in the world? My wife. She's my best friend, she's strong and she has been patient and supportive with my during good times and tough. I take a lot of inspiration from her and the way she goes about things.

What film inspired me? Pay it forward. A film that demonstrates how much an idea can change things in a positive way.

A nice idea Ollie founded: Ask it forward. If we all asked two people questions, and then they answered to help us, then went on to ask two questions to others themselves as a result, we could all learn so much from each other.

Movement: I am seeing a trend of more individuals and organisations talking about conscious capitalism. In my interpretation, putting people and planet before profit. Not instead of profit, but before profit. To move away from a traditional approach to profit at sacrifice of planet, staff and even customers. It is great to see more people giving more attention and resources to planting more trees, removing plastic from oceans etc.

It's important to me to know that my children will have a healthy planet to live on.

Apple using a lot more recycled materials.

The automotive industry shifting with the introduction of electric vehicles, some moving to materials made with recycled plastics from the ocean.

Bacteria that eat plastic as a great idea for helping clear up the oceans.

What tech is improving my life? YouTube. I subscribe to YouTube Music for £9.99 a month and it gives me an abundance of music. I love music. I also love YouTube for there being so much great content and people we can learn from. Topics we can upskill on.

I am a visual learner and I like to both listen and see people.

YouTube as a great democratisation of information. Anyone can create and share information.

1:14:00 What is one thing you'd like to change in the world? For there to be no poverty, for global warming not to be an issue, for animals not to be endangered. Perfection for the planet.

How can people find out more about you? My website, my YouTube channel, Twitter or Instagram.

Happy to have a private message and to give advice.

A show special: Daryl has set up a special 10% of our listeners, to get 10% off Life Work Effect programs, use promo code: ProblemBusters by clicking here.

Credits:

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

Jason Knight takes the Problem Busters through the ins and outs of Product. What is Product as a function and why is it so important? What do businesses stand to gain from becoming "Product companies" and why does doing it your way matter so much?

This episode answers the "what is Product anyway?" question and will leave you with a solid understanding of the product-driven mindset that permeates modern companies and has resulted in the products you love, and the apps you use every day.

Jason is a straight-talking Product leader who hosts the One Knight in Product podcast, and we talk about how to start a podcast, what is involved in podcasting and why we all love it so much.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Jason Knight is a Product Leader, Podcaster and speaker. He is Product Director at RegTech startup DueDil, and is host of the popular One Knight in Product podcast. Jason lives with his family near London.

• Jason's podcast: One Knight in Product
• Contact Jason on Linkedin
• Follow Jason on Twitter

Show mentions:

• Starting out with 19 years in big corporate, from research, to analytics, to product management and now product leadership
• Transitioning to a Fintech startup
• 02:15 Doubling down on the growth journey and ensuring you don't go stale by keeping learning and getting to understand things you didn't understand before.
• Podcasting as an interesting ride - and a way to talk to interesting people. A way to talk to up and coming product leaders
• Podcast: One Knight in Product
• 03:00 Anyone could start a podcast. Anyone can! As with most things, just go for it, try it and get started.
• Apply the Lean startup terms to learning podcasting - test and learn. Just get started with a cheap mic, plugged into your laptop. You will meet some really interesting people.
• Book: Lean Startup
• There are now well over a million podcasts out there in the world.
• 07:45 It being easy to set up a podcast means that many people have. That also means there are many - and it's hard to get attention of people who you want to have tune in. It can be an emotional rollercoaster
• YouTube as the second largest search engine on the planet and a great place to get into podcast promotion and discovery
• 09:00 One Knight in Product as a podcast focused on Product Management themes
• Inclusion and Diversity as important topics in our world today
• Themes in Product, things people are struggling with and focusing on.
• 10:00 Aspirations of becoming a Product company don't always match with reality of a business. Need to find your own way.
• 11:30 Top down, setting of culture is vital for becoming a product company. Having the correct mindset and alignment is absolutely critical.
• Enabling the culture and the cross-functionality and the teams that are needed to have discussions and make difficult prioritisation decisions.
• 12:30 What is a product? Something that solves and important problem in a scalable way, for as many people as possible, in a profitable way.
• 16:40 What is a product company vs. what is a professional service company?
• A product is something you can buy in a standard way, a professional service is a service that is customised for you.
• As a product person, you will be asked to do a lot of things and many times you will have to say no
• You cannot rely on your customers to identify the biggest most important problems in your market - because they only care about their own problems.
• 19:30 The difference between a large corporate and a plucky startup in culture and being product-led.
• Starting with a simple piece of technology and backfilling with human effort is a valid first step, a valid business model. But you must then step beyond this in order to become efficient and therefore scale in a sustainable way.
• Scaling in people is slower than scaling in process and technology.
• Becoming a product business is not the only way, it's just different.
• Growth is fueled by getting the right people in, people who can multiple their own effort by building the tools you need to scale rapidly.
• It's not always worth automating things, and that's fine. But generally, things can be improved and focusing on this will lead to things working better and faster across the board.
• 26:30 Tools now allowing not only simple, but also complex tasks can be automated.
• 28:00 Making an amazing product is always the north star, but there are plenty of successful products out there that aren't amazing - but they solve a need.
• You don't have to be the best technical product, but you have to be the best general product
• Find something that you can own and own it in the market.
• 30:30 Common pitfalls to avoid in Product.
• There needs to be alignment across the company. Avoid disconnects. When you start to see disconnects between teams in a company, they need to be reconnected. The alternative is to be pulling in different directions.
• It's easy for Product people to refer to Sales and other divisions as "the business". This needs to be bridged. We are all part of the same company and need to be on the same page.
• Trying to get product thinking into all elements of the business is really important.
• 24:00 How to get product alignment across the business. Product people have to demonstrate leadership here. Run experiments to prove/disprove a point and demonstrate it to anyone who is misaligned.
• You need to have leadership level alignment at the very least.
• Book: Inspired by Marty Cagan
• People don't have to get along all the time, or even agree all the time - they need to be aligned on the direction, on making important decisions and following them through.
• It's very easy to please the current customers because they are want are in front of them. But it's important to treat your portfolio as a portfolio and put money aside for key tasks.
• Salesforce.com as an example of a Product business that also has a successful professional services business alongside it.
• 41:00 One thing Product people need to realise is that we work for real companies. With real politics and ideas. It's not just for people to bend to our will. This is a discussion.
• We are talking about people working together better.
• You want people to recognise each others' needs, and be as aligned as possible,
• I don't think I have many heros, I'm not into idolising people but I respect many.
• Steve Jobs, Elon Musk.
• I respect a lot of Product people, Marty Cagan, Gibson Biddle, Jackie Bavaro.
• Greta Thunberg
• Anyone who isn't Boris Johnson
• Movie - the climb
• Book - just work by kim scott (defeating bias, prejudice and bullying in the workplace)
• Book - Empowered by Marty Cagan
• I have ultimate respect for Greta Thunberg for the efforts she is going through to raise awareness of the climate emergency
• BLM Black Lives Matter and the Me too movement. These conversations need to be had.
• Episode: Educate for Climate with Hakim Evans
• Better is better, so while these movements take time, I like to think that at least the fact these conversations are being had, and people are being held to account, that things will get better over time.
• Tech that is improving my life right now: Laptop, a fancy microphone for the podcast.
• Tools for podcasting: Squadcast, Zencastr, editing tools.
• Canva for online design and creating pictures, free
• What one thing would I like to change in the world? Racism, sexism, homophobia would be wonderful to turn off.
• If we could somehow make the default reaction when confronted with a new idea, to be open to that idea (rather than putting up barriers). So many problems in the world come from not listening to and accepting other people's ideas.
• System 1 thinking (what you do automatically) vs. System 2 thinking (what you do consciously).
• The idea of things getting better by each generation.
• Not everything new is bad or scary
• We need people to have the ability to understand other people's point of view.
• Jason's podcast: www.oneknightinproduct.com
• Twitter: jsnknght.

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

How do we make the most of this new normal? How do we break out of habits we no longer need? Growth and Mindset coach Heather Rooke of St Albans Holistic Therapies takes a practical and straight-talking approach with the Problem Busters - encouraging us to investing in ourselves, dispelling common myths along the way.

Heather has a no-nonsense, down to earth way to explaining phrases and terms we hear often, but may not understand (such as Mindset, Therapy, Meditation, Yoga, or the concept of Perception vs. Reality).

We look at the current situation many of us find ourselves in, as we emerge from consecutive lockdowns, and uncover a healthy list of practical advice that can be applied to many areas of life right now.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Heather Rooke is a Growth and Mindset Coach, an NLP Practitioner; a Psychodynamic Counsellor and a Holistic Therapist. Heather believes that we all have an innate ability to achieve our dreams and grow far beyond our perceived potential and in listening to her explain so many of life's realities, we fully agree.

• St Albans Holistic Therapies on Instagram
• Contact Heather on LinkedIn

Show mentions:

• What is a Multi-hyphenate? A person with several sets of skills, several strands to their career.
• What is a Holistic therapist? Someone who works with different therapies that support the mind, body and soul
• 03:20 Have we lost touch with ourselves as a society? We have tech, we are connected, but some of these tools have disconnected us from ourselves and others. So we have an opportunity to reconnect.
• 04:00 90s babies that can't even have a meal without watching something. Jonathan growing up with screens all around him.
• So how do we help people who have grown up with screens all around them to get to know themselves?
• 05:20 I work with people to help them listen, to their mind, body and soul, so they can optimise their lives. By truly listening, people come to identify who they really are and what they really want.
• Mind, body and soul? What does that mean?
• How do we differentiate between them?
• The Mind is our thoughts and our reasoning. The soul is far more intuitive, the emotion and how we feel within ourselves. The part that knows whether we are feeling joy or not.
• Mindset and coaching people to help them change it.
• 08:00 It starts with learning to listen, to emotions, to your body, to your thoughts and to pay attention to what is happening. This leads to understand ourselves and to think about how they want to be.
• Heather's passion: to support people in investing in themselves and helping them to optimise their lives.
• Things to try: Meditation, journalling and focusing on your general healthy
• 09:30 The different types of councelling and psychodynamic councelling as a way to understand the present.
• 12:00 Councelling looks at the past and impact on the present, holistic therapies around about living the best life in the present and coaching is looking at the future.
• What is self-care and what tips could people apply to their daily lives?
• 13:00 Self care is about more than downtime. It goes a lot deeper to really focusing on ourselves internally.
• Book: Miracle mornings by Hal Elrod
• 13:30 Savers: Silences (e.g. meditation), Affirmations (positive thoughts, songs that lift you), visualisation (dreaming about what you want), exercising (needed daily), reading and scribing (journaling your thoughts).
• Drawing is a form of meditation as you are focusing and stilling the mind.
• Teaching a friend to draw as if it is tai-chi! Drawing as a similar type of meditation, as the movement of the pencil being a flow of a meditation.
• 20:00 Meditation is about steadying the mind and being able to notice our thoughts, but not feel that we need to take action on them. Meditation is not about stilling the mind, and the calming of the nervous system can come in many forms; running, yoga, sitting quietly, walking.
• We have become so busy that we have forgotten how to just be still. Anything we can do to slow the mind is so helpful in our daily lives.
• Meditation being similar to a prayer, where you focus daily on what you are thankful for in the day, to assess what has happened, what is about to happen and what you would like to have happen.
• Yoga as a nice way to bring prayer into a busy life
• Podcast: Feel better, live more
• Book: Feel better in five by Dr Rumney
• If all you can do every morning is lie on your yoga mat for 5 minutes, that is still a practice. That is still helpful.
• 22:58 How to take the first steps in breaking an unhealthy cycle. The first step in change is recognising that you are not happy with an element of your life and then start to look at ways you can seek to improve it. There are so many different reasons people come to councelling. Recognise that there is something in your life that you want to change, and find people to help you.
• 24:00 How to look for help from a coach or councellor. Be sure of what you are looking for when looking for help. Spend some time researching, understanding what is being offered, and once you have a testimonial from a friend or make a choice, then take time to speak with that person to ensure you both feel that it is the right partnership.
• 25:10 How do you identify what your perceived potential is. If people have a limit to what they think they can achieve, how do they start to be coached through that? The first thing is to be curious as to why that perception is there, and together to explore where it might have come from and if there is any evidence to support that. Then start to explore questions that open up new possibilities.
• 26:00 The difference between belief and reality. There often comes a time when long-held beliefs no longer fit reality. E.g. the 4 minute mile was not believed possible, because there was no evidence it was possible. Then along came someone (Roger Banister) who believed they could, and he did. And beliefs changed.
• It is a question of working out whether it is a belief or reality. About coming to believe you can go a bit further, so that you can.
• Heather's favourite quote: Audrey Hepburn: Nothing is impossible, the word itself breaks down into I'm possible.
• 28.20 Feeling so much better when going for the daily walk. What is causing that? Research: The Harvard power pose. How a power pose can impact on our confidence. Doing a power pose for just 2 minutes changed the body's procductive of hormones reducing stress and increasing confidence.
• 30:00 Jonathan fully supports the power pose and the difference you feel when standing in different ways when coping with anxiety, new situations at work.
• 31:30 Showing up in the manner you want to continue. Dress and get into a posture and therefore a mindset that sets you up to succeed.
• 33:00 The importance of changing your state. Creating change in a way that is resetting the body, so that it becomes automatic. The Harvard power pose, opening up your chest and getting your Buzz Lightyear on. Lifting shoulders back, breathing in and changing the physiology in your body.
• If you are sitting down and are feeling stuck, just by standing up and walking around to change your state and break through it.
• Going to the gym during your lunch break as a great coping mechanism for stress in the day.
• 34:00 We often make things more complicated than they need to be. create a change in a way that is resetting the body to make it automatic
• 35:00 Something from neuroscience that will surprise you. Our understanding of why we are the way we are and why we do what we do. One of the amazing findings of neuroscience recently is that our idea of the ego (sense of self) developed once babies were born. We now realise that it starts when babies are in their mum's belly.
• 36:00 There are so many ingredients that go into the bowl of life, that two people born at the same moment can turn out completely differently.
• 37:00 Heather's mantra: I truly believe that if we truly focus on what is inside us, everything outside us will take care of itself, and what doesn't won't matter. Think about how you invest in yourself and make that investment.
• 37:45 The sharing section
• People Heather admires:
• 37.55 Person: Dynamo the magician - who came from a background where he was bullied and has been such an inspiration in how he pushed through Crone's disease, and continues to push the boundaries of magic. He has such a grounded, kind way about him.
• 39:40 Person: Stacey Soloman - won the X-factor, now on Loose Women. She is extremely authentic and presents herself as exactly who she is, is very thoughtful and is so honest for one so young. She is a young mum, and is very accepting of how life has turned out. She always shows up.
• 41:25 Book - The untethered soul by Michael Singer. He has an incredible way of explaining what the inner voice is and where it comes from. Of understanding that the voice that criticises and knocks you down, isn't your inner voice at all.
• 42:00 Book - The source by Dr Tara Swart. The connection between neuroscience and harnessing our full potential.
• 42:43 Movement - The Sober curious movement. E.g. One year no beer and doing amazing things for reducing the stigma for people who want to reduce or stop drinking. Because they realise that life can be so much more opportunity filled when they chose to drink less, or to drink less.
• 48:00 One thing I'd like to change in the world - our investment in mental health across the globe. We have Let's talk and other programmes, but we still don't have enough resources or tools to help people when they have taken that first step to saying "i'm suffering and I need help".
• I'd like to change it from from mental health awareness to mental health action.
• The most important thing you can do to help another person is to be curious. Ask them what they are feeling, actively listen to them and don't put your story in it. Ask them later if they have spoken to their GP, then suggest great organisations like Mind, The Samaritans etc.
• Organisation: Mental health first aiders. They train people in organisations how to be there at that first point where people show a sign of trouble.
• Getting in touch: Listeners can contact me via Instagram using the St Albans Holistic Therapies account.

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

Dance movement Psychotherapist Eszter Ivan talks movement, breathing and how we all need to take time to reconnect with ourselves. This is a far-ranging episode and covers a lot of interesting and helpful ground including mindfulness, meditation, many types of therapy and of course - the joy and value of a jolly good dance.

Eszter is straight-talking, genuine and both Jonathan and Ollie left this episode glowing (while holding their Buzz Lightyear power poses). Over stunningly varied career, Eszter has learned a great deal and is kind enough to share a lot of practical wisdom in this episode.

At this moment in time, after a year of lockdown for many of us, Eszter's message of the need to pause, to rest and to shake your arms and legs to the beat if it takes you has never been more vital. May this episode warm you up and get you smiling.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Eszter Ivan is a Dance movement Psychotherapist, student councellor and Somatic coach. Eszter's wide-ranging career has centred around the themes of movement and therapy. More recently, she became a transformational coach at the Animas Centre for Coaching. She is currently Head of People for Gregorian House Hotel, a student councellor for Irie Dance Theatre company and is currently building her own practice.

• Eszter's LinkedIn

Show mentions:

• 02:00 Dance movement psychotherapy as a dream career, combining the two passions of psychology and dance.
• Dance as something in my life that helped me to deal with many problems and conflicts in a positive way.
• Somatic coaching as a way to deal with conflict in the workplace
• Somatic coaching believes that body and mind are connected. I see the person as a whole, body and mind.
• 03:22 There are always observations of the posture and body that when awareness is raised, clients can notice, initiate change on a body level and this can help both behaviour and emotional level.
• If a client shares an experience, and I notice they don't breathe, if I raise this to their attention, just starting to breathe can help let go of tension and have positive downstream effects.
• This goes for muscle tension and many other areas of life
• By picking up on the physical signs of clients (or indeed anyone around us), we can learn more about their state of being, can share it as feedback and they will improve things for themselves.
• 06:30 Clients once they realise what they are doing in their body, can use this understanding as a way to regulate their emotions and their reactions to situations, for example a stressful moment with their manager.
• 08:50 If someone comes to me that they are always tired and really exhausted, I help them to see the signs the body is showing, so they can notice and prevent their suffering.
• Reconnecting with our body's wisdom as a concept - learning to listen to the signs, to where I feel tension and this helps to better understand our state and to be able to do something about it.
• My field is more about non-verbal communication.
• 10:30 wanting to use non-verbal communication led me to Somatic coaching, but dance was always there for me.
• 11:30 Applying a somatic approach to grief recovery. This helps when clients need help with self-regulation (perhaps getting up in the morning or managing at work due to grief).
• 13:00 Self-regulation relates to the need to regulate the reactions of our nervous system. Our nervous system responds to the world around us but we can take action, such as touching our own skin or regulating the way you walk.
• 13:30 Lying on the ground can give you so much benefit, to feel the support of the floor to relax you and to connect with your body, to feel more ease.
• 15:00 The society message about being alone to grieve is not helpful. In a supported community way, grief can be shared and processed more naturally.
• 17:30 Working as a student councelor at Irie Dance Theatre company, founded in 1985 by Beverley Green. The bachelor course aim is to promote diversity through dance.
• 18:00 One of the biggest challenges of remote dance councelling was that students did not feel comfortable accessing the service from home. Councelling is private and you don't anyone to hear the session.
• The second lockdown being so much easier, where students had accepted remote sessions and had found their own way to make it work. Some sat in cars, people found creative ways of coping.
• 20:00 Observing dance students and seeing that they still have the same challenges as before the pandemic, but now they also had this locked down situation to deal with.
• Many students questioned their career path due to being trapped in hospitality careers while studying, while waiting to dance as a group again.
• 21:30 The approach to trying to help students to deal with their doubting of their career choices. Giving them space and asking them to remember back to why they chose this path in the first place. To reconnect with the fun and happiness that dance used to give.
• Reconnect with the happiness and joy that led you to a current choice and path, see how that feels in your body and posture and then ask yourself what is now stopping you to keep that hope and direction in place.
• 23:30 The many inventive ways students tried to make space and to use technology to continue to dance. Using video in the park to make recordings, but not being fans of being online for sure.
• Being able to work to a certain point online, but really preferring to be in person when wanting to really help people.
• 26:10 Advice on how to reconnect with yourself - whatever you are doing, be really in that moment. Really experience that moment. Feel the clothes on the body. Find something that you enjoy about this moment. Focus on that.
• 28:30 Listen, feel and experience what is going on for you and in your body. Sense what is going on around you.
• You have a whole body, so don't forget certain body parts.
• 29:30 How somatic coaching has helped; A feeling of ease, from feeling really lost to a feeling of inner peace. To be OK, to feel OK within whatever they are experiencing, or however they are feeling. To own your feelings as yours, as something under your control. To give back this feeling of control over self.
• Kimchi and the value of fermented foods
• 33:00 Emotions needs space, to process and for you to get through it. If you ignore it, it is going to come back.
• It is important to stay with it, to stay with emotions until they go.
• 34:30 What can we all do, in order to help our loved ones? Invite them to try some of the things you also do (e.g. standing tall, breathing deeply), so they can try it out together. Experience it together.
• 36:00 What is dance movement therapy? Using dance as a way to express emotions, to express in movement how you feel. This can tell us way more than words. Our muscles can bring things up we have forgotten. With movement, as we change position, we begin movement internally.
• Jonathan's mum as a Child Psychologist, realising that he was very shy. She booked him into Stagecoach drama classes and then to dance classes on a weekly basis. This got him out of his shell and really helped.
• Dance helping me too find my identity as a woman. To accept my body, my identity and being seen.
• 43:00 As a woman, there being a moment when my body started to change. I couldn't process it yet, but I found others noticing, I started to feel shame and to hide. I started to hide my shape. Dance helped me to find a safe way to show it in an appropriate and protected way.
• Having clients who after many years, struggling to wear a business costume and to "be pretty", both men and women.
• Gregorian House Hotel and starting as a waitress, learning and becoming supervisor and F&B manager. Implementing a free program of health and wellbeing for all the staff. This leading to a Head of People role - looking after employee wellbeing.
• 49:00 Helping the team to handle difficult situations and also to facilitate the discussion between Management and the Team. I see both needs and expectations, and then try to help each see the others' perspective.
• Head of People as finding a balance between the needs of the team and the needs of the business, to run for a profit.
• 52:00 Who do I most look up to in the world? My mum. She is a single mum, who has written books and is a doctor of psychology. She always fights for what is right for her. There is this energy and this unstoppable being about her.
• Book - At the pond swimming by the Hampstead ladies. Short stories about the experience of being at that pond.
• My research project: Moving pieces (by Charlie Blowers), investigating the approach in supporting people living with disabilities. A long-term project.
• Project: Moving Pieces
• Eszter's website

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

Dave Martin of Right to Left and the Problem Busters talk leadership and how to do it right. Whether you are a first-time leader or an old hand at it, there is plenty to learn here from Dave's experiences as a Software Engineer, Product Leader and eventually, as an Executive coach.

Dave shares plenty of practical advice for remote working, running effective meetings, the styles of leadership and of course his own model for Product leadership: The Product Leader Map.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Dave Martin is an Executive coach with a background in Engineering, Product and as an Executive himself. Dave coaches leaders to grow SaaS companies with Product Led Growth, via his Consultancy Right to left.

• Dave's Consultancy: Right to left

Show mentions:

• Starting as a Software engineer in the days of C++
• A couple of decades in Product leadership, even before it was called product
• 15 years in roles of transformation from the old world to becoming product-led (and unlocking product growth)
• Tes global (Times Education Supplement) and time spent helping Tes transition to a subscription-based revenue model.
• 03:00 Moving Tes global from a transaction-based business to a subscription-based business.
• 04:20 The decision to move into Executive coaching - as the thing I enjoyed the most.
• The first job, at 16, teaching windsurfing and sailing - and loving that the most.
• 05:00 enjoying watching individuals grow and prosper. Learning a new skill and controlling a boat on their own. Teaching people and helping people grow and reach their ambition being the biggest kick.
• 07:00 Today we develop our skills and are measured individually. As you become an expert, the journey to leadership eventually emerges as the way to grow your income and your impact. <------
• 08:00 Having to relearn your job when you become a leader. To delegate and yet still be responsible <-----
• 09:30 The key mistakes many make when moving from doing to leading <----
• It's hard when your message isn't landing, that you aren't communicating well and that folks haven't heard what you said.
• There is too much pressure on the word "great" and being a "great leader". We are not all going to be charismatic leaders who will change the world, but we can all help people achieve their goals and the business along with them.
• 11:00 Give yourself permission to not be the very, very best. Be open to don't knowing everything. To being vulnerable and accepting you'll get some things wrong.
• The best leaders don't protect their teams like some sort of military leader.
• Empowering teams to fill the gaps you leave with your own ability and limited time.
• 12:00 You are not a leader just because people have to follow you. That's a Manager. If people choose to follow you, then you are a leader.
• What makes a competent leader? What about a competent coach?
• 14:30 Leaders of leaders and the Situational leadership model. The first box is about telling. Be clear when you have to tell non-negotiable things to your team (quality, core principles, contractuals). The next box is supporting. Supporting is helping individuals with their tasks, their problem to solve. Helping, showing, and knowing when to stop supporting. Coaching is guiding them to work it out for themselves. Finally delegating is sharing a task, making it clear and stepping back to let them do it.
• Coaching in it's truest form is questioning and helping people work it out for themselves. Guiding, but not telling or supporting.
• 19:00 As a leader the key is to know when you need to step in, or step back and which situation needs which type of leadership.
• Too often the more immature leader gets stuck in a box and forget to switch style when necessary.
• 20:00 What is the goal for a leader? To get the most out of your team. Sometimes this will mean putting them in challenging situations and letting them have a go at it. <------
• It's important to push people outside their comfort zones, but in a safe and supportive environment.
• If you create a culture that feels a safe space to make mistakes, they will push themselves out of their comfort zones more and will lead to a more performant team. <------
• What goes into building a high performing team?
• 22:00 Autonomy and being an empowering leader as the key to developing high performing teams in technology businesses. <------
• 23:00 How to help teams focus, three big things; Be clear on big strategic bets (define them, explain them clearly and prioritise them), have great team objectives (individual contributors propose these), run healthy meetings.
• Engineers are problem solvers, that's their job. Empowering them to come up with solutions to deliver on strategic bets is part and parcel to success.
• As a rule, as you become a leader with more responsibility, you want to become less and less a cog in the workings.
• 26:30 How to run a healthy team meeting. Start in the same way - launch control (especially remotely) - go around the room, everyone gives FOE (focus, openness and energy level 0-5). This can start before everyone arrives. This gets the team in the room and creates a supporting environment. Avoid status updates (they just aren't helpful). What help is needed (go around the room asking for help). Celebrate successes and celebrate together. Plan where shared resources should be (do they need to move?). This gives you all the information you need as a leader to help, focus, re-focus the team. <--------
• If your meeting is a status update, you may as well put it in an email.
• There isn't enough celebrating of success in most organisations and this is absolutely critical in a remote environment.
• Having an established meeting template is helpful as the team can run through it with or without you.
• 33:00 Take control over your time. There are several keys to getting control over your diary. Have a roadmap for improving how the team functions - driving your priorities and what you focus on. <-----
• A roadmap, even one for your own priorities, helps you know what you say no to.
• Time management is the one thing leaders often forget when under strain.
• 36:00 How to build a business to have a healthy profit and secondly how to build a business to sell at some point.
• When you are thinking about building a business to sell, you have to focus a lot more on what the multiplier is.
• Doubling down on monthly revenue and demonstrating a roadmap to lead to future growth as factors to improve the multiplier.
• Revenue multiplier as a way to value an organisation. E.g. take profit and multiply by 6 is a common one.
• To achieve product-led growth, the importance of demonstrating product-led growth. Either via introducing new products and cross selling, or introducing new capabilities, or entering new markets.
• Some conflict between Product and Engineering being healthy.
• Product need to bring the problem to the table, so the engineers can solve it, and they can evaluate the fit between them.
• When engineers are empowered to solve problems, then growth is unlocked.
• Agile in it's original form, where Product orders work to be done, rather than presenting problems, created a spoon-feeding of engineers, instead of product finding the most valuable problems to solve and letting engineers get on with it.
• Marty Cagan: If engineers are not given the space to solve problems, you are losing 50% of the value of engineers.
• 44:30 Don't bring solutions to your team, bring problems that need to be solved. Bring good strategic bets in the form of problem areas we want to solve but leave the how to the team. <------
• A good strategic bet defines a problem, a solution space with guardrails and then empowers the teams to do the amazing work to solve it.
• 48:30 The Product Leader Map. There are 3 circles; Products, Culture and Team. You want a team that's empowered, cross-functional and capable. You want products that deliver value to the business and are sustainable. You want a culture that is supportive, can-do and a positive place to be.
• The Product Leader Map helps you evaluate where you are, and pick an area of Product, Culture and Team you want to improve next.
• As a leader, you can't just focus on one thing at a time, but keep your eye on several
• Organisation - Mind the product
• Article: The Product Leader Map on Mind the product
• When to disconnect from daily involvement and to step back and let the team run. Knowing when to delegate and to empower the team to go and find answers themselves is really important.
• There is a transition point in training where I ask a question back - "what would you do" and help the team member come up with a solution as a way to learn.
• 55:00 When in coaching mode with your team, remember to ask questions and don't tell them how to do it. Avoid questions starting with "why" - a judgemental word. Focus on "what" and "how" questions and actively listen. Listen hard and talk less. Help them consider their options, then help them select an option proceed with. <-----
• Listen hard when coaching and reflect back what you are hearing to help trigger their solving of the problem.
• Book: Gallop - First break all the rules (https://store.gallup.com/p/en-us/10286/first-break-all-the-rules)
• Know when to support your team in growing out of your team and on to other things.
• It's important to realise when an individual is not aligned to the team or their position and to helping them to identify what they would rather be doing.
• Authenticity is absolutely critical on your path to becoming a competent leader.
• Book - Chris Foss: Never split the difference
• A brilliant writing style when talking about negotiation and running the negotiation department for the FBI. Not only is the process he describes really interesting, and full of integrity. Not only do they seek a win-win, Chris describes how he was exposed to very sophisticated negotiators (particularly Lawyers). He had none of that background, but through trial and error, his process won hands down when under pressure.
• Chris foss has a lean approach to negotiation and found the best ways through in a very pragmatic way.
• A shout out to Tes (Times Education Supplement) and their ed tech work.
• Movement: Made by Dyslexics
• 01:05:00 Made by Dyslexics as a movement that talks about all the super successful who are dyslexic and how this disability doesn't need to stop anyone.
• Covid has driven us to all be more remote. For some that won't be an improvement but for me, that means a much better work life balance. Spending fewer hours a day stuck on trains.
• Health tech - Apple watch and the biometrics it generates. Making us more aware of what we are up to, eating and doing.
• Technology in mountain bikes and composites and suspension as taking the sport further. The child-like fun of cycling.
• E bikes - Electric mountain bikes and the purity of avoiding the battery-assisted ride to ensure you get the pain of accomplishment and getting the most out of mountain biking.
• The lead singer of Iron Maiden as a person to look up to. He's still the singer of a band from the 80s, what a legend to still be doing it. But in the middle of his career, he learned to fence and fenced for Britain. He went to Sarajevo and performed for people to raise spirits. He became a pilot for British Airways, owns a jet plane company. He's made a career he really enjoys and hasn't harmed anyone along the way.
• Idea: To make career politicians illegal. Career politicians being a conflict of interest. If you could only be a politician for 8 years, you'd probably be in it for the right reasons, before ending up in positions of power and doing thing to win the vote.
• Righttoleft.io - Dave's business.

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

Career Coach Rick Veronese shares his story from Italy to England, from pre-career to UX Designer to Career Coach. Most importantly, he and the Problem Busters discuss how all of us can reframe our views on our careers and having identified what matters to us, take charge of our careers and next steps.

We also talk tech, FIRE (Financially Independent retire early) and how keeping expenses low can shave years off your working life (and how retirement for many is not stopping, merely starting to do only what you love, for the love of it).

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Rick Veronese is a Career Coach currently based in Valencia, Spain. He built a successful career of his own in UX (User Experience) Design in the thriving Bristol startup scene and is now taking all he has learned, adding a healthy dose of living within your means, and helping others take control of their careers.

• Rick's LnkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickveronese/

Show mentions:

• Growing up in a small town in Italy, and realising that travel was the passion
• Moving to the UK, to Bristol and studying design
• After 7 years working in Design for Fintech in Bristol, moving to Valencia Spain
• 03:42 making a life change based on google search - to Bristol
• London not being the only tech hub in the UK, Brighton, Bristol and others now included in the mix.
• 05:45 Self-taught design and how getting on google helped to understand the fundamentals of design, online resources etc.
• 06:30 Why Design? Wanting a creative career and just simply searching for jobs that you could do on a computer
• Web design with Adobe PhotoShop and Adobe Fireworks
• Moving into HTML and CSS
• Then moving into a pure play Design role and into UX, then into research and strategy
• UX and going into the rabbit hole with learning more about design.
• 09:00 the journey from google search into web design
• 09:30 What is UX? User Experience. And why should we and our organisations care about it? <-----
• Good UX and Bad UX and how UX has emerged from Design over the years.
• 11:45 What is the role of the Designer and the Design team in a digital business? The Designer as a connector of sorts, between the product and how it should work, and the business objectives of the company.
• Designers connecting different elements of the company
• The sociology and psychology behind exploring the human psychy.
• 15:00 The career problem - and realising that life is short and not wanting to go on spending it in a job doing something they don't like.
• The fulfillment question - are we entitled, unique snowflakes who expect too much from our careers and wanting it all right now? Or do we all deserve to be fulfilled and to have a choice?
• 17:00 The fulfillment gap and there being a stressed out, burned out state for so many people (and wanting to help them find their place).
• 18:45 The unrest that comes from a misalignment between what I want to do and what I am doing, leading to stress.
• Career coaching as a way to help people find their way to their own path
• 20:30 Summing up the concept: The person comes before the professional. Career growth as a by-product of growth as a person. When I focused on my career, I didn't see career growth, when I focused on me as a person, the career grew. <----
• The painful realisation when understanding that for there to be growth, there needs to first be a period of non-growth. Of stagnation.
• 22:00 Career progress as similar to the creative process. You struggle but you know after this will some kind of epiphany, eventually.
• Lay-offs and lockdown creating a period of stagnation and struggle for many people.
• The role of guilt in realising that a well paid job may not be what you love to do, especially if you have it all on the surface.
• 26:00 Lockdown as a catalyst to change for people, as an accelerator for change. <-------
• Zoom calls are not the same thing as real human connection.
• LinkedIn as a way people start to reach out to folks they'd like advice from
• 27:00 What mistakes have been made along the way in your career and what have you learned?
• Scrolling job boards not being a great way to find the right job for you.
• It's important to be picky about the jobs you apply to
• 28:00 the biggest mistake I made - not focusing on my mindset enough before focusing on technical career. Taking care of myself first, would be the first thing I'd do going back now.
• 29:00 If you are in a place where you know you need to make a move and you aren't sure what to you, focus on your vision, what you dream about (within realistic expectations) and begin to move in that direction. <-----
• A focus on your values and roles in life, set your own standards and then take your actions based on that.
• Don't take actions based on society's rules, or what your parents say.
• If I'd done that introspection, I would have got where I am today much quicker.
• 31:00 What steps anyone can take to being to make a start on change in their career?
• 32:30 Steps for the overworked professional or someone who has found themselves outside of a job. <-------
• Working out what you want to do requires real work, sitting down and putting pen to paper to establish what you want and how to go out and get it.
• Contribution as one of the main drivers of people
• It is hard to set a vision that is just for yourself - it is always going to be stronger to include those around you.
• 35:00 Setting a deadline - where you want to be in 10 years' time. Most people miss this and get 10 years down the line before they know it.
• Financial security as not worrying about money. Not worrying about bills, about going on holiday, on running out of cash. Having enough to cover your expenses.
• 37:30 Financial independence as taking it a step further, getting to a point where you don't really have to work anymore. Expenses are covered based on having saved and invested in the years beforehand.
• 39:00 The school system not providing personal finance education. Financial education should not be a secret.
• 42:00 Getting charge of your finances is painful but simple and also important. Look at your expenses, see where your money is going. Hold up a financial mirror and identify areas you can save money (spend less, save more).
• Do the math - Measure Money in at beginning of the month, money out at the end of the month.
• Get educated on how personal finance works.
• Certainty of finances (some savings) as a springboard to making a change.
• The Sharing section:
• Book - Jordan Peterson's 12 rules for life
• Takeaways from the book - Diving deep into human interactions, how we think and what consequences our actions have. The ultimate self-help book, with some science backing it up.
• Reading books is good, and listening to them on Audible is also great.
• Article - Rick's review of Jordan Peterson's 12 rules for life (6 rules for design life)
• The 6 rules of design life; You're a bad-ass (be an expert in the way you act), Take care of yourself before thinking about others (take care of the person before the professional)
• 50:45 How do we take more accountability for our actions in our career? Having a coach or a third party (friends/family) ensures you are held accountable to making change.
• Having a coach as a way to ensure you invest in support, take action and get held accountable
• The idea of a job club - an environment where a group of people help each other and hold each other accountable. Ask each other about it constantly.
• Find an environment that inspires and empowers you
• Sports teams as a powerful force for taking action. Teammates hold you accountable if you don't train.
• The FIRE movement - Financial Independence Retire Early and a big community of people out there who are working on their personal finances and are focusing on also enjoying their lives.
• We have the means to invest and make money, we just need to get focused, get organised, and get started on making steps towards retiring early and doing something they love.
• It's not about not working any more, it's about reaching financial independence, so you can go and do something you really enjoy.
• The love and hate relationship with the laptop and phone in this modern world
• The fitness tracking (a huawei tracker) that keeps track of calories burned and considering an upgrade soon.
• Nora ring - a ring you wear, which gives you all kinds of stats about your sleep and how you as a person are doing health wise.
• Using sleeping stats to work out best time to go to bed and best time to get up.
• Garmin as a fitness tracker.
• A lack of a commute as a tough choice - when do we try to find the motivation.
• 01:03:00 What change would I like to see in the world? Wanting to see more people fulfilled, a society that actually works. A society where people can contribute to something greater than themselves. A society to be proud of. <-------
• Rick's program - the FIRE career.
• The FIRE Facebook group Rick is a part of: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefiremovement

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

The Problem Busters talk remote work and how to do it well with expert Zoltan Vass of London Tech Advocates. What do teams and individuals need to focus on in order to do remote working right? And does remote work hold more promise that simply a way to get through consecutive lockdowns? Are geographically-diverse teams the way to driving business growth and diversity of knowledge?

From his London home, Zoltan reflects on his Serbian background and pan-european experience of over 20 years building and running highly-functioning remote teams across multiple geographies. He brings a unique perspective to the concept of remote work and how to do it well.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Zoltan Vass is a remote delivery and innovation consultant with over 20 years experience in sourcing and growing remote teams. His background in project delivery brings a unique perspective to the logistics of effective management in a remote setting.

Zoltan is a co-founder and active member of Tech London Advocates (TLA), a unique collection of tech leaders, experts and investors who form a combined strength of opinion in tech. Zoltan believes strongly in the potential globally-distributed teams offer to both economic growth and diversity.

• Zoltan's Website
• Zoltan on LinkedIn
• Join the free Tech London Advocates group on LinkedIn

Show mentions:

• Many companies think that remote working is just sitting with a computer at a desk, but there is a lot more to remote working than that.
• 04:32 It's important to realise that remote working is the future and is underlined by issues including cyber security, work life balance and more.
• Most companies have been forced to work remotely and this is why the experience to many are not as expected. It wasn't planned.
• Once people know how to operate in a digital space, they can connect with talent outside their home market
• 05:45 Remote working and digital collaboration is crucial for the UK economy
• Studies indicate a large number of CEOs see a proportion of their workforce continuing to work remotely after the pandemic.
• 07:45 Advice for moving towards remote working and recognising that people need greater flexibility - leading to some companies offering a more hybrid environment
• There are companies that will offer great flexibility post-pandemic and that will attract more talent
• The hybrid environment we are likely to see will be a bridging state to a future, more fully remote working environment
• The effect of remote working on people and businesses depends on the business and their working culture.
• I see that if remote work is done carefully, then productivity can increase significantly.
• Survey with Loughborough university and collaborating on research around remote working challenges
• We are seeing remote leadership emerge as one of the key issues with running remote teams
• 12:00 The Zoltan Vass framework to help understand the remote working. You need dedicated space to work.
• You need dedicated space to work, a desk, lighting and this is the bare minimum.
• Need to look at body and soul - as employees as humans. Mental fitness, physical fitness are so important for productivity.
• If productivity drops for someone, it could be due to many factors at home as well as at work in this new working world.
• The hard pillars of need the basic technology standard, cybersecurity and policies and procedures
• Soft pillars of ownership and collaboration.
• 14:30 The future of work.
• Diversity is critical to innovation. If we bring in people who have different perspectives, it helps innovation.
• Tech London Advocates Remote Working Group bring different perspectives to the topic and this is critical to bring innovation and to think outside the box.
• When it comes to diversity, it's really important that we understand that there are really talented people who are disabled and just can't go to the office. Now these people become available to us and our teams.
• How can we help unemployed people to be re-employed?
• 17:00 How can we upskill and retrain people from industries such as hospitality, into tech and digital industries?
• Take the customer service industry. It's just training people on the tech that is needed to help people transition into the industry.
• How leadership and management needs to change to facilitate remote working.
• 19:45 Leading in a digital space is not enough. You need to manage and also deliver.
• If you are a leader in a remote company you need to make sure that people can approach you and that they can see you are doing something. <----
• Doing and delivering becomes so important. Staying close to employees and creating a culture where they can reach you.
• 21:00 The three levels of communication and getting things done
• Slack as a really powerful tool and I really believe many companies underestimate the need to have this in the mix of communication tools.
• There is a need to centralise and keep everything in the cloud. You can't store data on different platforms and different places.
• Having something in email is not centralised and is a lot harder to hand over between people
• Version control is so important and can waste a lot of time.
• Building a truly remote team unlocks access to a truly diverse group of talented people across the globe.
• Engaging with talent across the globe is what unlocks the potential to innovate.
• 26:00 How we live our lives and our work is certainly changing. How we lived until 2 years ago is now going to be different.
• 27:00 Advice to help avoid pitfalls of overwork and burning out.
• I realised that I need to set boundaries and set a routine.
• Waking up early, spending 15 minutes thinking through priorities, some meditation, push ups and then starting the day.
• Looking into emails, then having breakfast
• I really recommend a 10-20 minute nap after lunch to help increase productivity.
• We all have to set boundaries, and at a given time, close your laptop and stop.
• How you close your day is really important.
• This could be going to a walk, walking the dog, doing exercise.
• Set crystal clear digital boundaries and don't check emails on your phone after work.
• Companies need to learn not to expect people to respond after hours
• Covid is adding a lot more pressure, as is the temporary home-work environment but I strongly believe as we move out of this phase we will see a lot more benefits.
• Companies need to open up and embrace mental health, mental fitness and the very high possibility that issues will come up in the next few years due to stress.
• 32:00 It's important to train hiring managers around hiring people from different cultures, so that we understand diversity and can better identify talent.
• It is really important that cultural differences are on the agenda and that people are talking about how to help diverse groups work together
• Companies that have never had globally remote teams are truly entering new territory here and it's vital they understand how to build and support remote teams.
• The double whammy of not seeing people face to face any more, combined with not seeing friends and family face to face during lockdown.
• 36:00 There is a trend towards companies starting hubs in distibuted locations, perhaps in co-working spaces, so that teams can gather at a local base.
• There is an interest in redesigning workplaces to make them less dry and more interesting.
• Tech companies like Google have been leading the way with £1,000 per employee to set up their working space from home.
• Book - Minter Dial - You Lead
• What book inspired you recently?
• Book - Minter Dial - You Lead. Minter Dial is a management consultant for blue chip companies and keynote speaker who has had a big impact on me.
• Who do you most look up to in the world?
• Russ Shaw - Co-founder of Tech London Advocates (TLA/GTA) had a massive and positive impact on my life. He is both experienced and yet down to earth and is growing an amazing community with Tech London Advocates
• Movie - Mindhunter series
• TV series - Vikings
• DNA testing to find out the mix of your genes
• Tech - a really reliable laptop
• Tech - a Jabra corded headset for calls
• Quest 2 - virtual reality
• PS4 online gaming and wishing I had a PS5 (if the crypto miners hadn't got in first)
• Tech - High fi system - Yamaha amplifiers and Odil speakers
• Earfun uBoom bluetooth speakers
• People I look up to - Ros shaw, founder of Tech London Advocates
• Tech London Advocates as a source of best practice and the future of work.
• https://zoltanvass.com for more detail on my work.
• My advice for thriving in the remote world? Have crystal clear boundaries, raise your concerns and be open to change.

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

The Problem Busters explore how to stay healthy while working from home with Ben Musio, health advocate and as with many of us right now, a work from home employee.

We discuss how Covid-19 has affected our mental and physical health, the highs and lows of working from home and share the tech and gear we simply wouldn't be without in this new home office environment.

We talk home gyms, the importance of getting outside, how JustEat has become Ben's best friend and how the little things are now so important after a year of working from home.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Ben Musio is a husband, father to be and a Tax Advisor. A lifelong learner, Ben is interested in keeping fit both in body and in mind. He lives with his wife in the South East of England.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-musio-143886174/

Show mentions:

• Office for national statistics reports that in the UK in Jan, adults staying at home or only leaving for work, exercise, essential shopping or medical needs continued to increase, to 65% of adults this week; the highest proportion since May 2020.
• Lockdown has been harder for some, and easier for others. Especially more introverted folks
• Just Eat as your best friend
• 05:50 Because I didn't have to present in a suit, it was easy to let myself go while working from home and to transition to put on a "winter coat"
• Sport is good for introducing structure into your life, but when that is taken away, it's important to get yourself back into a fitness regime
• Walking the dog as a way to have companionship and also to get you out of the house
• Kids not going in to school is difficult enough in terms of home schooling, but the communication was lax via the school, we found out over the news!
• 12:30 mental health connected to physical health
• Intermittent fasting as a way to control grazing on food
• Making time to exercise is an important part of the day
• 13:40 Mental health being as if not more important than physical health
• The ability to say how are you, are you finding this difficult like I am? Has been so important
• Supporting each other as the way through this.
• Workmates were the only people you really get to see during the day, even outside of lockdown.
• 15:25 there has been a positive shift in discussing mental health becoming a normal topic of conversation
• Intermittent fasting being where there is a window during the day where you can eat, and outside of that time window you drink mostly water. This being a way to extend the period of burning fuel (fat) that you normally get between meals or while sleeping.
• Flexitarianism is growing (as is being vegan) during the pandemic. People are eating less meat.
• 22:00 There is no magic bullet to losing weight, if you eat too many calories and don't exercise, you will like me, gain weight <-------
• When we are hungry, are we hungry or are we just thirsty?
• You lose weight in the kitchen and build muscle in the gym
• Weightlifting and compound movements as an enjoyable way to exercise.
• Building up a very minimal home gym as a long-term investment
• Winter swimming as a way to get exercise and a worldwide boom in it as time has gone on in the pandemic
• The cold shower in the morning as a way to boost immunity
• The pandemic as something that has accelerated the trend towards mental health becoming something that is now OK to talk about
• 29:00 Mental health has entered the mainstream and is now OK to talk about
• There is an awareness about the need for mental health and it is vital that people feel OK to talk about it.
• 31:40 There has been a stigma about feeling unwell mentally and not telling people about it. Now it is becoming a lot more acceptable. <-------
• Asking about wellbeing in your team being an important factor of leading a team, especially in stressful environments and during lockdown.
• Outgoing people are really struggling during lockdown, a real struggle for many.
• Jordan Peterson put it well: Some formats of prayer help you meditate and be thankful for the day. That regime of quietness as a chance to reflect.
• Book: How not to worry
• Yoga as a way to remain calm and to repair the back after a weight lifting injury.
• YouTube: Craig Budsic and yoga for back pain
• Meditation and setting a habit of finding a moment for quiet as a way to centre the self
• Yoga at the end of a weight lifting session as a way to warm down
• Sam Harris as a way to begin to meditate
• Book: Jordan Peterson - 12 rules for life
• Avoiding the echo chamber of reading The Guardian and not hearing things outside of your comfort zone. Reading things and listening to things that you don't agree with.
• YouTube: Slovoy Malesic as a Marxist and a debator with Jordon Peterson
• 44:00 self-directed learning and enjoying learning
• YouTube: Wisecrack and the philosphy of things
• Listening to a podcast as a way to switch off and to continue learning.
• Episode: Teach the world to code with Alice Lieutier
• School, home community and home life all have a huge impact on schooling experience.
• 47:00 Life isn't about school, it's about finding what you are interested in and going and doing it. <--------
• Related episode: Teach the world to code
• Teaching and teachers as such an important part of early life. Needing to attract and incentivise and look after teachers as they are so vital to learning.
• Religion and the role of bringing a community of strangers together.
• Religion as a way to bring people together. As a common ground.
• The healthy habits that underlie a lot of religions. A template of how to live at that time.
• Faith as the universal thread that unites people of all religions at a base level.
• Fermented foods and sauerkraut as something important to digestion. Kimchi as a great alternative to sauerkraut. Kefir as a lactose-free dairy alternative.
• Vitamin D as a great go-to vitamin
• Cod-liver oil and butter tabs
• The uptake of vitamins being better (for some) when you have them with something.
• Mixed race and darker skinned people needing to take more Vitamin D
• Taking Magnesium for energy when fasting.
• Multivitamins are good while eating
• Electrolytes as an essential replenishment during a prolonged fasting period
• Powdered bone broth as a source of nutrition along with utah sea salts
• Jamaican oxtail stew as a slow-cooked preparation.
• If you eat rubbish food, you feel rubbish.
• 01:03:00 eating leading to how you feel. it is all at our fingertips but it is just turning this to action. It's not complicated but we make it more complicated than it needs to be.
• Cutting out meat for 2 months as leading to a lower heart rate during exercise or gaming, along with cutting out coffee (as measured by the Garmin).
• Working from home kit and what to look at to work more freely
• Flexispot standing desks and standing desk pads
• An external screen as an important step to lifting the gaze
• Get yourself a proper office chair instead of being huddled over a dining room chair on a table at the wrong height
• Garmin watch as a way to remind me when to be active
• The kettlebell as a way to do short exercises in breaks from working
• The Apple Watch reminding you to take a walk.
• An awareness of steps and getting in your steps per day
• Blue light blocking computer glasses
• Penguin vertical mouse and wrist pads
• SAD lamps and the concept of the artificial sun as a way to increase wellbeing and alertness at the desk.
• Getting outside as the most important part to good health.
• Would love to see critical thinking introduced into education more widely. The ability to look behind the headline, to investigate and to make up your own mind.
• Critical thinking as a much needed skill and practice right now.
• Being able to question things is important, regardless of what your viewpoint is. Questioning, holding people to account and starting with teaching kids this at a young age.

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor

Alice Lieutier of Makers Academy discusses the issue of retraining with the Problem Busters, and explains how teaching the world to code (in perfect harmony) is so important right now.

As Head of Coaching, Alice describes the boot camp model for learning to become a software developer and contrasts semester length courses with the traditional route of 3 years at university.

She shares what she has discovered about the process of teaching, talks diversity and we discuss how we need more women in tech.

Finally we discover how anyone can learn to code and break down perceived barriers to "becoming a software engineer".

.

About the show:

Problem Busters is a show that explores solutions to the biggest and the smallest of problems. Hosts Jonathan Goodwin and Oliver Happy discuss making the world a better place with guests from far and wide.

About our guest:

Alice Lieutier is a software engineer who after a career including a role at Facebook and time spent as Chief Technical Officer at a start up, turned her attention to being a software coach at Makers. She now leads the coaching team and lives in London UK.

Show notes:

• maths and it leading to an interest in problem solving, then engineering and finally software engineering
• coaching as a way to do something completely new, but related to engineering
• 03:30 Winning a hackathon at Facebook and then joining their team
• Facebook and the Women in tech hackathon
• The role of a good pain au chocolat as a way to entice new potential staff
• Burn out and the need to rebalance your life
• SheCanCode as a women-run business
• The shortage of women in technology
• Why are there so few women in technology?
• 09:30 The experience of being a co-founder and the difficulty in solving a problem for users
• Trying to grow a business as a life lesson in business and diversity
• 11:00 The problem: the tech industry needs more people and more diverse people at that
• 13:37: The core of the problem: the idea that you need a computer science degree and if you didn't have it early in life, it's too late
• The problem of representation in technology
• Makers.tech as a training option for people wanting to learn to code.
• 14:00 The role of Makers and making a career change a reality for people wanting to get into tech
• The fact that there are self-taught developers, unlike doctors!
• Coding bootcamps as a way to learn in a year, what might take 4-5 years via the computer science degree alternative
• Mental health and maintaining balance in your life as key to the successful software engineering career
• An alumni community and a Slack workspace as a way to support people in their new career
• 23:00 Learning so much about education and how people learn since becoming a coach <----
• Moving beyond teaching and beyond the idea of knowledge transfer
• 24:00 The learning concept: That people build their knowledge based on their own experiences
• Modelling as a method of observational learning
• Coding challenges as a method of experiential learning
• Pairing as a method of team work, of two people working on a problem together.
• 26:30: Pairing as a way to get more done, to do your best work and a way to learn together
• 99% of bugs as a beginner developer are going to be typos. They are hard to find when you are new, so pairing is a great way to avoid them.
• Powerpoint and death by powerpoint as something to avoid in the learning process
• 31:30 As a developer you have to learn throughout your life, learning about new technologies is a constant thing. So learning to learn is the key.
• 34:00 The levels of mastery of a concept in software development
• The need for people to complete their studies and to feel ready to work. To have the skills they need to start work immediately, and not be full of abstract knowledge.
• You can learn so much on the job
• 40:30 The idea of Makers: to get people to the level they can get their first job, be productive from day one and know how to solve a problem, along with the context to understand the job straight away.
• A reason to teach yourself: to learn to know how to ensure you know what you need to know, when you need it
• Software engineering as a second career being a great way to go.
• 43:00 The most important thing to learn when you are young
• Imposter syndrome and the need to keep things in perspective when comparing yourself to more experienced people.
• Tech as a futureproof job
• 45:00 What I'd say to people considering the tech industry right now
• The tech industry needing to represent the entire population, needing people of all types, people like you
• People in the tech industry are quite privileged and perhaps this derives in part from a lack of diversity
• Tech is interesting as their is a shortage of people but not a limit of attractiveness. Tech has a unique combination here because it is such an attractive industry
• Jargon and the use of it as something that makes them sound smart but actually excludes people.
• 54:00 Humility being so valuable and the ability to say that you don't know being so important in personal growth.
• What often blocks junior developers is being afraid to ask questions, and realising that it is the sign of a good team to be willing to help each other.
• 56:00 A team is always best when we just trust each other
• Project Management as an example of a profession that is full of jargon and the concept of stripping jargon out leading to getting a lot more done.
• Imposter syndrome and the name given to the feeling that "they must have made a mistake in my interview, do they know how little I know?" and the need to help people overcome it and become empowered
• 1:00:00 As soon as you share your feelings of imposter syndrome, it lifts the weight and you are accepted by others, and are then able to grow
• The idea of learning in public - to as you learn it, share it through publicly. Such a powerful way to improve yourself and to help others also
• Instagram: samanthaming https://www.instagram.com/samanthaming/?hl=en
• Book/Article: Laziness does not exist by Devon Price https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01
• A lot of the time what we may write off as laziness, when someone doesn't do something, there are just things that are blocking them. There are a number of reasons that might prevent people from doing things.
• Focusing on the removal of obstacles as a way to help overcome them means you can do just about anything.
• Zoom and Slack as tools for communicating
• 01:09:00 Slack is underrated as an idea of a place where all your conversations exist. Slack actually gives you a community and I've really seen that value in lockdown.
• Reclaim.AI as a tool that helps to plan time for deep work and breaks. https://reclaim.ai/.
• Telling reclaim that you want to go to yoga a couple of times a week, leads to it blocking time out for it.
• www.Makers.tech and looking at boot camp options
• Medium.com as a great way to blog and to learn
• Switchup.com for reviews comparing different boot camps

Logo and concept by Christy O'Connor