Dr. Michael Green was in the White House on the morning of September 11, 2001. He spent five years on the National Security Council running Asia for George W. Bush — across 9/11, a near nuclear war between India and Pakistan, North Korea, Taiwan, tsunamis, coups.

Twenty-five years on, he's the first to tell you the playbook was wrong. Both administrations that followed wrote new ones. Both were wrong too.

Now CEO of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, Michael has spent a career at the intersection of geopolitics, strategy and leadership — and four years living in Australia watching the alliance from the inside.

We talked about why the toolkit the West built over seventy years is no longer fit for purpose. What it takes to make decisions under pressure when there is no right answer — and when the crisis you're handed is one you've never seen before. What cognitive intelligence actually means and why even the most capable leaders struggle with it in a world of compounding complexity. And how he got a black belt in Japanese sword and was told by his sensei he was still nothing.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction — Dr Michael Green & the United States Studies Centre

0:47 The old world is dying — Australia and the US in a new era

7:04 The 1950 car — why the old toolkit is broken

9:52 Leadership is the answer — but what kind?

11:43 Cognitive intelligence — knowing when your plan isn't working

13:51 Why leaders need hybrid experience across domains

15:03 Cognitive sovereignty and Australia's fourth challenge

21:16 The birth of the United States Studies Centre

25:30 What Washington gets wrong about Australians

30:10 Stories from the White House — leadership under pressure

30:38 A PhD every six months

31:51 Lower your voice — what Condoleezza Rice taught him

34:13 Bagpipes in North Korea and a black belt in Japanese sword

37:22 The word that means everything — appreciation

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A good career is supposed to look like a ladder. The most interesting ones look like a scrapbook.

Craig Gilliver spent more than 25 years backstage at the country's biggest arts festivals — looking after Elvis Costello and Lou Reed when they came to town. Then came a redundancy at an age where the interviewers stop calling back.

"Your next job is not going to come from a job application. Your next job is going to come from a contact."

He was right. A contact at Sydney University who'd seen him work opened a door. Craig walked into a business school with no business degree and started teaching leaders how to lead through story.

It only looks random until you find the thread.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction — Craig Gilliver & backstage life

3:22 Studying literature — "Will that help you get a job?"

6:41 25 years backstage — arts festivals and artists

9:04 What business leaders can learn from artists

11:28 The night it nearly fell apart — Lou Reed and the Hare Krishnas

14:53 From arts to academia — how COVID changed everything

17:12 What it felt like to be made redundant

18:10 Your next job won't come from an application

22:04 What we misunderstand about how Gen Z learns

24:50 The children's book exercise

28:07 How do you make it through writing?

32:20 What childhood belief did you have to let go of?

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Dr Kellie Nuttall holds a PhD in psychology and nudge - the science of how people actually make decisions. She spent thirteen years at Deloitte building the AI Institute and becoming one of Australia's most recognised voices on AI.

Then she resigned with nothing to go to.

She signed a contract to build a house. No job. And she refused to job-hunt until she knew what she was running toward.

"Don't run from something. Run to something."

A conversation about AI coworkers, the authenticity researcher who feels like a fraud, and what it actually takes to commit before you're capable.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction — Dr Kellie Nuttall & Future Secure AI

1:50 What are AI coworkers?

3:24 Leaving Deloitte — an identity decision

5:39 Resigned with nothing to go to

5:59 The most risk-averse person who leapt into the unknown

7:01 What she was looking for in her next chapter

8:14 Landing at Future Secure — the stars aligned

12:51 Thirteen years at Deloitte — three careers in one

15:41 Authenticity as a nudge — the PhD research

17:53 AI amplifies a human expert — but erodes confidence

24:07 What people misunderstand about how she got here

26:24 Massive introvert. Massive overthinker.

28:26 The cuddle punch

30:32 What childhood belief did you have to let go of?📩⁠Join the newsletter ⁠where I go deeper: framework deep dives, interviews with leaders who’ve transformed from within and reflections on what transformation actually costs

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Halfway through Season 1 of The Reinventor's Mindset, I stepped away from the interview chair and answered the hard questions myself.

In this episode I reflect on what's surprised me most about building this project, the moments of self-doubt, what I'd do differently, and the guests I'm still dreaming of having on.

And I answer the question I ask every single guest to close: what childhood belief did you have to let go of to become who you are today?

My answer goes back to growing up in housing commission in Northwest Sydney - and the one belief that shaped every career decision I made for twenty years.

The Reinventor's Mindset is a podcast, newsletter and framework series about transformation as a learnable skill. New episodes monthly.

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Timestamps:

0:00 Mid-season reflection 

1:08 My biggest revelation

2:28 Lowlights or challenges 

4:07 What I would do differently

5:48 Guest moments that stuck with me

7:40 What I'm most excited about looking ahead?

8:38 My dream guests

10:25 The childhood belief I had to let go of

Dr Corinna Galliano is a researcher at the University of Sydney Business School whose work sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, paradox theory, and how founders experience the tensions most business schools teach as strategy problems. Born in Italy, trained as a structural civil engineer, then a management consultant - she left everything behind at 35 and started over in Australia.

A Vedic meditation teacher trained under Thom Knowles, including three months in the Himalayas. Corinna has an unusual range.

A conversation about transformation you can't see while it's happening, the identity paradox hiding inside every startup, and the childhood belief that worry keeps you safe.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - Dr Corinna Galliano 

1:20 How transformation actually feels from the inside

3:04 Teaching entrepreneurship as a process, not a trait 

9:14 How to connect students with their why 

13:15 Corinna's story - engineering, Italy, and the plan that collapsed 

19:42 The loneliness that clarifies - arriving in Australia at 35 

25:10 Vedic meditation & what stillness gave her 

32:18 Leading with a hypothesis - effectuation in practice 

39:37 The identity paradox hiding inside every startup 

41:21 What childhood belief did you have to let go of?

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Mat Keeley grew up on a fifth-generation sheep and wheat farm in rural New South Wales. He didn't finish his exams. He tried to be a professional footballer. Then he spent a decade as a financial planner before co-founding a fintech startup that ended up inside one of the world's largest fund managers.

An encounter in Florida left him with a question: would you keep reading a book that keeps telling the same story?

A conversation about discovering that anything can be learned, identity after achievement and backing yourself in a world you weren't born into.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - Mat Keeley

1:07 Growing up on a fifth generation farm

4:02 Journey into financial planning and industry insights

7:27 Pivoting from financial advice to fintech innovation

9:24 Understanding the backend of financial fystems

10:14 Pitching to Vanguard as a 30-person startup

12:39 Building culture - A-plus players and ownership

14:31 What sport taught me about leadership

17:52 How to back yourself in a world you weren't born into

21:11 Identity after achievement - shifting from outcomes to process

23:34 The power of life chapters and future aspirations

29:37 Current focus: building, advising and exploring AI opportunities

31:42 Rituals for reflection - how to capture learnings when moving fast

35:28 What people misunderstand about how you got here

40:16 What childhood belief did you have to let go of?

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Monty Hamilton co-founded UBank inside NAB, Australia’s first digital bank, then built Belong inside Telstra in just eight weeks, from brief to launch.

He has spent his career launching new ventures from inside large organisations and has since led digital transformation at PwC and TELUS Digital across 30+ countries.

A conversation about creating space for change, corporate innovation and why progress beats perfection.

This is The Reinventor’s Mindset. Let’s dive in.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Overview of TELUS Digital

01:52 The Rapid Launch of Belong: A Case Study

05:11 Building New Ventures Within Large Organisations

09:45 The Importance of Speed in Transformation

13:39 Navigating Crisis: UBank's Launch During the GFC

19:47 The Evolution of Digital Banking and Compliance

22:58 Innovation in Banking: The Australian Experience

25:54 Leadership and Empowerment in Change Management

30:35 The Importance of Relationships in Professional Growth

34:36 Cultural Insights from Global Business Practices

38:56 Childhood Beliefs and Professional Optimism

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Nicholle Lindner has built a portfolio career across CBA, NAB, Westpac, AT Kearney, Capgemini, Gartner and Unisys. She completed a Masters in AI before it was fashionable and her innovation philosophy is grounded in giving people "room to roam" - think Western Plains, not Taronga.

A conversation about portfolio careers, the GFC as a teacher, and why success is a journey, not a ladder.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction - Nicole Lindner & the portfolio career

5:07 Career identity and the moments that disrupt it

9:24 From banking to consulting - going down and across to go up

13:12 Did you plan it, or did you follow what you liked?

17:08 The open plains zoo - room to roam as the condition for innovation

21:26 More frame, more freedom - innovating inside large organisations

26:31 How to decide what to let go of

31:03 Proud and difficult moments - navigating the GFC with a newborn

35:19 AI before it was fashionable - what Nicole learned then that matters now

46:08 Letting go of the ladder - redefining success

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Gareth Jones built a talent consulting firm, sold it to Mercer, and spun it back out as Revolve Partners.

A talented golfer, he treats business like a season: you can't play at 100% every round and expect to be sharp for championship moments.

A conversation about growth through subtraction and managing energy for when it counts.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:49 The Journey of Revolve Partners

05:57 Childhood Influences and Personal Growth

08:57 The Role of Luck and Relationships in Success

11:57 Lessons from the Mercer Acquisition

14:54 Navigating Business Cycles and Transformation

17:53 Building Momentum in Change Initiatives

20:55 The Mental Game of Business and Leadership

24:00 High-Performing Teams and Leadership Qualities

26:47 Navigating Mergers and Acquisitions

29:53 Final Thoughts on Growth and Transformation

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CEO Rob Samuels is 8th generation at Maker's Mark.

His grandparents walked away from 160 years of family whiskey to start fresh - then didn't profit for 25 years.

Now Rob is pioneering regenerative agriculture, rebuilding soil health while making bourbon.

A conversation about legacy, purposeful inefficiency, and why nature is the real maker.

This is The Reinventor's Mindset. Let's dive in.

Timestamps:

0:00 Introduction & Reimagining what bourbon could be

3:46 Holding the vision before the payoff

5:57 Growing without losing authenticity

8:37 The people behind the brand

14:47 The infinite mindset

16:20 Regenerative farming & nature as the maker

25:07 Suntory - same side of the moon

30:52 Scaling purpose

36:48 Legacy, letting go & being invited back

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