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The Not So Breakfast Show - Midweek Mini
 Episode: What Is Your Shadow?

Episode Summary
Every strength has a shadow side. If Superman were evil, he'd have all his abilities but use them for harm. This quick mini explores the downside of your strengths—from being the idea person who never finishes anything, to being so helpful you burn out and resent everyone. The trick? Take micro-pauses to ask: Does this situation need my strength right now, or am I best served by pulling back?

Key Insights

• Your greatest strength, when overused or poorly timed, becomes your greatest weakness

• The shadow creates barriers when you're trying to connect

• Recognition is the first step—you can't manage what you don't acknowledge

• Take micro-pauses to ask: "Does this situation need this right now?"

• Sometimes Superman was just a journalist, and that's okay

 The Practice

1. Identify your core strength

2. Ask: What's the downside when this is overused?

3. Notice: When does my strength create barriers instead of connections?

4. Pause: Before deploying your strength, ask if the situation actually needs it

5. Pull back: Give others space to step up

 Reflect & Share

What's your shadow? Share your strength and its flip side with us.

Rate & Review on whatever podcast platform you listen to

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Forward the show to a friend

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Episode Show Notes 

Season 8 kicks off with Sacha unpacking boxes in her new Christchurch home (can't find her microphone lead!) and Ish fresh from the holidays. This episode tackles a question they get all the time: how do you speak without notes? They break down what notes actually are, when to use them (spoiler: funerals and podcasts), and why reading to your audience means you should have just sent an email. Plus: UK Traitors' enthusiasm and why nobody actually cares what you say.

Also, for the record, the word Ish was trying to say was EXTEMPORANEOUS. 

Main Topics

Notes Are A Distraction – If you're reading word-for-word to your audience, that's not a presentation, it's already an email. Send the email instead.

What Are Notes, Really? – The difference between full scripts, bullet points, cue cards, and memory aids. When each type is appropriate (and when they're not).

The Two Exceptions – Podcasts (no live audience watching) and funerals (emotion is overwhelming). Everything else is up for grabs.

Be Worthy of Your Audience – If you're asking 5, 50, 500, or 5,000 people to listen to you, the very least you can do is prepare well enough to be good. Everybody can be a worthy speaker.

Nobody Knows What You Were Going To Say – The liberating truth: your audience doesn't have your script. If you skip something or change direction, they'll never know. Relax.

Ready to level up your presenting skills? Start practising without notes!

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Season 8 Announcement: Help Us Grow!

Happy New Year 2026! A quick message before Season 8 drops. We're excited to bring you more leadership, career development, and occasional chaos - but we need your help to grow the show.

Three Ways You Can Help:

1. Share an Episode - If there's an episode you enjoyed, share it with one person who'd get a laugh or a takeaway. Seriously, this is the best way for us to reach new listeners.
2. Rate & Review on Apple Podcasts - A five-star rating and even a sentence or two review makes a huge difference. The algorithm loves it and puts us in front of new audiences.
3. Take Our 2-Minute Survey - We've put a link in the show notes. Tell us what you're enjoying and what would make the show even better.

SURVEY LINK 

Don't Want to Do Any of That?

That's totally fine! Just keep listening. We love having you in the crew.

Coming Soon:

• Season 8 launches very soon
• Planning a live Not So Breakfast Show recording (details coming)

Thanks for being part of this. See you in Season 8!

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Episode 246: Christmas Parties, Career-Limiting Moments & Season Seven Wrap-Up

Sacha's in her pyjamas in Raglan (it was Coffee Culture's "Oops, I'm at the Wrong Party" themed Christmas party a week ago, she's just still wearing them), while Ish is fresh off winning a dance-off at their ABBA vs Spice Girls costume showdown at music bingo. As they wrap season seven with 246 episodes, they dive into Christmas party culture, the "no free willy" pyjama party rules, and why being first on the dance floor is actually good leadership.

Main Topics

• Christmas Parties Then vs. Now -- Less drunken carnage, more intentional fun. The question isn't whether "woke gone wild" killed parties, it's whether we've lost the ability to connect in real life without alcohol-fueled chaos as entertainment.
• The ABBA Dance-Off Victory -- Ish's team went as ABBA, got roped into TikToks by younger teammate Millie before the party, then won the costume contest dance-off when "Dancing Queen" played (the exact song they'd just practised)—multi-generational teamwork for the win.
• Coffee Culture's Theme Mastery -- "Oops, I'm at the Wrong Party" meant people came as bachelorettes, Halloween, and baby showers. Head office chose a pyjama party, leading to Sacha's critical briefing about appropriate underwear layering.
• The Leadership Responsibility Gap -- Someone needs to monitor the party end-to-end: Who's too drunk? Who's getting home safely? Is there enough food? Are people eating? The organiser can't just be "all in" - they need to stay responsible.
• Dance Floor Leadership -- If you've paid for a DJ from 8-12, leaders should start dancing at 8:30, not wait 2.5 hours for someone to get courage. Being first to dance or talking to wallflowers isn't brand-damaging; it's culture-building.

Bottom Line

Christmas parties work when leaders take responsibility for safety AND fun. Being first to dance, talking to wallflowers, and cross-pollinating departments is good leadership. 

Have a great Christmas! We'll see you in 2026 with season 8

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Episode 245 - Hustle Culture: Is Working Harder Still Worth It?

Episode Summary
Ish wins the Exercise New Zealand Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Fitness Industry (and wasn't even there!), while Sacha hustles across the South Island. This leads to a deep conversation about hustle culture, rise and grind mentality, and whether working harder actually gets you ahead anymore. 

Plus: AI end of the world chat, and why the younger generation wants their technology separated again.

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Midweek Mini - What's The One Thing For The Week?

Why One Thing? – You have 52 opportunities in a year to get one thing nailed each week. Clarity breeds genius.

Focus vs. Urgent – The one thing for the week isn't necessarily the most urgent thing—it's the meaningful longer-term thing that needs attention.

The Exercise – Dump everything that needs doing on paper, then identify the overarching focus that sums up what success looks like for the next 7 days

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Sometimes you reach the end. The absolute end. Sacha is moving house, dealing with impossible transactions, and has just discovered the movers left three massive items behind. Ish is surprisingly recharged from mini-breaks and witnessing his co-host process what happens when resilience runs out. This is a raw, real conversation about those moments when life is genuinely hard—and how to hold onto the "but it's worth it" part.

Key Topics Discussed

When You Reach The End

• Recognising you're at your breaking point (and that's a skill)
• Over-the-top emotional responses when resilience is at an all-time low
• The ability to recognise you're losing it while staying (relatively) calm

Life Is Hard, But It's Worth It

The mantra that's getting Sacha through:

• Acknowledging that yes, life IS hard right now
• Focusing on what's coming on the other side
• Making the learning about yourself worth it
• Asking: "How can something horrible be useful? What am I learning about myself?"

Memorable Quotes

"Would it be all right if everybody just today, just on this day, just did their jobs? Is it too much to ask of the people around me to just do the job that I coincidentally have paid you a lot of money to do?"

Key Lessons for Leaders

1. Recognise Your Breaking Point: The ability to identify when you're at the end is itself a valuable skill
2. Reframe the Narrative: "Life is hard, but it's worth it" - hold onto the second part
3. Find the Learning: Ask "What am I learning about myself right now?" even in horrible situations
4. Control Your Controllables: Change your clothes, drink water, take micro-pauses
5. Notice Small Joys: Small moments that don't require coordination

The Not So Breakfast Show - A podcast for leadership and career development

Sometimes the best episodes come from the worst days.

Life is hard, but it's worth it.

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MWM: Hope Is Not a Strategy 

Every time you find yourself saying "I hope sales improve" or "I hope that changes," recognise that hope isn't a strategy - you're just gambling with other people's lives and your business outcomes. Join Ish and Sacha as they unpack this famous business school line (spoiler: Sacha didn't coin it, but she uses it brilliantly).

The Recognition Tool:

• Every time you say "I hope..." ask yourself: Am I taking enough action?
• Hope is good - we need optimism and the promise of a better day
• But hope alone isn't a plan - you need to DO something about your situation
• Don't lie around waiting to be rescued

The Whitewater Rafting Wisdom: You must participate in your own rescue. It's a powerful metaphor for life. What are you doing about the mess you find yourself in? You don't control the cards, but man, you've got to play them.

The Reality: Both Ish and Sacha are positive, optimistic people. Hope is important. But it's just a starting point. You need to assist in your own rescue - make yourself rescuable by doing everything in your power to improve the situation.

Want Help With Your Team?

Hit up Ish and Sacha to crash your staff meeting - they'll drop in online for 5-10 minutes of inspiration and knowledge on any of these topics. (And maybe drop some intellectual property that you'll swear was Sacha's by the time they're finished.)

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Episode Overview

Ish has just been certified in the Working Genius model and is excited to share this powerful framework for understanding team dynamics, project workflows, and personal energy. In this episode, he unpacks the model live with Sacha, who's just received her results and is wrestling with what it means to not be naturally gifted at something. Spoiler: it's not about skill, it's about what gives you energy and joy.

Key Topics Discussed

Understanding Working Genius

• It's a ranking, not a rating - everyone is a "six-letter person"
• The model identifies what brings you joy and energy, not just what you're skilled at
• Three categories: Genius (naturally gifted, energising), Competency (capable but neutral), Frustration (draining, even if you're good at it)
• Every job is also a "six-letter job"

Wonder (W): Pondering the possibility, asking the right questions 

• "What opportunities exist here?"
• "What questions should we be solving?"

Invention (I): Creating original ideas and solutions 

• Coming up with new approaches
• Not innovation (that's all six working together), just inventing

Discernment (D): Evaluating ideas and providing insight

• Natural instinct for what will work
• Assessing viability and process

Galvanising (G): Rallying people to action 

• Getting buy-in and momentum
• Creating enthusiasm for the project

Enablement (E): Providing support and assistance

• Helping others complete their work
• Supporting the team's needs

Tenacity (T): Ensuring completion and follow-through 

• Doing the work
• Pushing through to finish

BOOK ISH NOW

If you would like to have Ish do the Working Genius module and assessment with your team, email him at [email protected]  

https://ishcheyne.com/

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The Core Question

What conversation has been sitting in the back of your mind, taking up mental bandwidth?

Why We Avoid Conversations

• Hoping it will just go away
• Fear of conflict or discomfort
• Lack of preparation
• Emotional reactivity

The Two Negative Outcomes of Delay

Option 1: Extended delay

• Physical effects: not sleeping, overthinking
• Builds up exhaustion
• When you finally have it, you're depleted

Option 2: React without preparation

• Have it while angry or unprepared
• Don't get the outcome you want
• Damages the relationship

The One Exception

Permission to delay: If you are so emotional that you can't have the conversation without keeping your emotions in check, take processing time. Otherwise, have it early.

The Action Step

1. Identify the conversation you've been avoiding
2. Set a time: "I'm doing this in two hours"
3. Put a little thought into it
4. Get it done
5. It's not going anywhere (unless they get hit by a bus - and then you'll regret not having it)