The Human Edge

Professor Mark Peters is Consultant Paediatric Intensivist at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), Professor of Paediatric Intensive Care at UCL Great Ormond St Institute of Child Health, and lead author in a landmark NHS study, which has found that reducing oxygen levels for critically ill children on mechanical ventilators in intensive care could save tens of young lives each year.

Mark and I talked about the state of the NHS (of course!), what his version of leadership looks like, especially in the context of an emergency situation, the necessity of struggle in the context of leading a fulfilled life, and the Oxy-PICU study (including its genesis half way up Mount Everest).

It was a real eye-opener for me and I hope it is for you too!

______

To learn more about the Oxy-PICU trials:

https://m.soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/less-is-more-oxygenation-targets-in-critically-ill-children-by-m-peters-openpediatrics

https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(23)01968-2/fulltext

Andy Payne is without doubt one of the pre-eminent figures in the UK's video games industry.

A 40 year (and counting career) has seen him, among many other things, run Mastertronic from 1988 – 2015, chaired trade body Ukie from 2005-2015, founded games industry charity, GamesAid, mobile and tablet specialist AppyNation, and Good Shepherd, which is the world’s first equity based crowdfunding platform for games and movies. 

Andy also founded simulation specialists Just Flight, where he is now CEO and a VP of games charity, Special Effect. He is also chair of The British Esports Federation and was a board adviser to the world’s biggest esports company, ESL until that company was sold in 2022. 

You'd have thought we would predominantly talk about video games, but as I say in my intro to the conversation, we talk about so much more! If you're interested in Andy's views on leadership, how to create a great company culture, economics, law and regulation and his entrepreneurial journey (and more), please have a listen, Andy's an entertaining guest!

Stevie Griffiths started his working life in the boxing ring, turning professional at an early age. After retirement, he found a new passion in youth work and is now a social entrepreneur, bringing together communities in the King's Cross area of London.

Stevie I began by talking about his boxing career, why he chose boxing over football and rugby, the fear that he used to feel in the changing room before fights and how the techniques he learnt to deal with fear help him in his career today. 

We also talked about how the education system is failing disadvantaged youth and what needs to be done instead, how he's bringing the world of big business together with the residents on the 'other' side of the King's Cross tracks, and how he became a social entrepreneur, and what you need to do to become an expert networker.

As you can tell, our conversation was incredibly wide-ranging and enjoyable - and really insightful too! I hope you enjoy it.

Check out one of Stevie's projects here - https://www.fishtankldn.co.uk

Paula Keve is a PR powerhouse! She now owns and runs her own consultancy (Intra PR) and across her 20+ year career in PR has worked with well known brands such as Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, BNP Paribas, Headspace and Tinder.

This is a must-watch for working parents (but I especially suspect working Mums who feel terrible guilt about the amount of time they're not spending with their kids). 

Paula and I also talked about insecurity - how having a high profile position in a big organisation was really challenging. We talked about whether or not to scale her business and why growth isn't always the right path. And of course we talked about PR and Paula was kind enough to give me some on-the-spot advice!

I hope you find the conversation as valuable as I did - enjoy!

You can find more about Paula's work here

https://www.intrapr.com/

Sydney Sam is an African entrepreneur on a mission to transform the continent, one creative solution at a time. He's a four times founder, a global speaker, an entrepreneurship educator, a brand/marketing leader and in 2019 made the Forbes 30 under 30 list. And he's as impressive in person as his bio suggests!

But what made the conversation so special for me was its unexpected twists and turns, taking in Sydney's journey, the hammer blow that was his (now) wife's question "who are you outside what you do?", the long period of introspection that followed and the challenges men face in the world today.

The conversation was a real joy and I hope you find it as rewarding as I did!

Find out more about Sydney at https://www.workspaceglobal.com

Mark Dowds is a serial entrepreneur, currently scaling the Belfast based RESPONSIBLE, a pioneering tech company in the resale industry. Mark was formerly a Church Minister, and brings a uniquely spiritual approach to business and to life. Mark's zest for life - and for what he calls 'wild' adventures - is inspirational to behold.

Our conversation ranged from cancer survival, to business leadership, to his work in the Church (leading to him being told by the 26 Churches of Northern Ireland that he "was not of God and neither was his work") to living a purposeful life.

It was such a pleasure being in Mark's company and I plan to be so again on this podcast. I hope you're as energised and inspired by this conversation as I was.

Kitch is a 25 year old rapper from Walthamstow, East London. He was born with a speech impediment and it wasn’t until he found fluency in rap that his journey as a once frustrated young man, blossomed into that of an artist expressing his voice through music. Kitch uses a blend of Hip-Hop, UK Rap, and Grime to tell stories of life’s complexities, music that resonates with a wide and diverse audience.

Can you imagine having a stammer and still having the courage to appear on a long-form conversation format podcast? That courage is testament to Kitch's resilience and his drive and determination to forge a successful career in music.

Kitch and I talk about how he came to write lyrics to express the frustrations and feelings he couldn't originally express out loud, how he needed to be told "you're not good enough", the transformation that happens when he gets on stage, and what success means to him.

There is so much to admire and so much wisdom in Kitch's words and I hope you love the conversation as much as I did!

http://www.youtube.com/@Kitch_official

Home | KitchOfficial

Kitch (@kitch_official) • Instagram photos and videos

Jeremy Crane is a consultant transplant and vascular surgeon based in London. His practice encompasses kidney and pancreas transplantation, dialysis access surgery, vascular surgery (including varicose vein surgery) and he has a specialist interest in treating chronic wounds.

Jeremy and I discuss why some surgeons have a God complex, how the medical staff working in the NHS have lost a sense of belonging, how the NHS often wastes its vast resources, the future of organ transplantation and much more.

Jeremy is both thoughtful and direct and the conversation is a compelling watch. I hope you agree!

Sam Kukathas has pioneered a new approach in personal development and transformative guidance called Neuro Resonance Optimisation™️ - a revolutionary system using self-generated sound which helps leaders to break through the emotional, mental and energetic glass ceilings that holds them back from achieving the results they desire.

Sam and I began the conversation talking about anxiety and how in his early 30s, having suffered from crippling anxiety since childhood, he was able to cure himself. 

We went on to talk about his extraordinary work with Neuro Resonance Optimisation, my own experience of it, as well as the transformative experiences he's witnessed first hand with his clients. 

This was such a fascinating and insightful conversation and I hope you think so too!

Here's how you can find out more about Sam:

https://www.facebook.com/sam.kukathas/

https://www.soulpurposeleaders.com

https://www.instagram.com/samkukathas/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/soulpurposeleaders

https://samkukathas.bandcamp.com/album/being-one

Mucktaru Kargbo, or MK, as most people know him, is a multi-award winning, high-end barber, who is as skilled cutting European hair as he is cutting African hair. 

He's worked in salons, on TV, in film, for the catwalk, in session shoots and has taught extensively both in the UK and internationally.

In this conversation, MK and I explored his journey from roots to tip (pun intended!) MK's approach to customer service makes a compelling watch and if you're in a sales or service role, whatever industry you're in, there are plenty of golden nuggets here for you.

This was also a conversation about God, spirituality, the importance for men of being able to talk to each other, and how to live a good life.

This one is not to be missed!