Pay attention.

This is one of the most inspirational conversations I've had.

Here I sit with Melvyn Downes, retired SAS (Special Air Service) operator to talk about his life and experiences in the military and special forces, where Melvyn developed the unique and highly specialised skill set required to lead himself and teams of people in extremely challenging, high pressured environments where good leadership and organisation measure the difference between mission success and tragedy.

I have much admiration for these individuals in the special forces who relentlessly dedicate themselves to be the best at what they do in an environment where the motivator is a potential loss of life, sharp tools indeed.

Through a career of constant improvement and progress across such a wide range of skillsets which transfer to so many areas of life and business, the special forces community are an untapped source of wisdom and learning.

In this 2 hour conversation we barely scratched the surface.. Definitely more coming, but for now.. Be inspired.

Melvyn:

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00:00 - Start

02:55 - Childhood experiences

16:40 - Journey into the military

20:53 - Northern Ireland tour

23:58 - First encounter with the SAS (Special Air Service)

39:16 - Encouraged to join the SAS

41:56 - Gulf War; leading men in combat

59:21 - SAS Selection

01:05:08 - High performance environments

01:22:30 - Qualities of high performing teams

01:35:19 - Qualities of strong leadership

01:45:36 - Bad leadership / thinking outside of the box

01:56:08 - Mindset & resilience

02:09:32 - Fun/Light questions

02:13:11 - What's next for Melvyn

Back for Episode 007 and it's a bit of a different and fun concept this time as Jahee and Mike take some time to explore what vehicle dynamicists would do given regulatory freedom.

Episode 06 and we are joined by expert dynamicist Mike Law to talk about Ride & Vertical Dynamics.

Episode 05 and we are joined by expert dynamicist Mike Law to talk about Anti Geometries.

Implementing anti geometry into a suspension design is largely used to control the aerodynamic platform under longitudinal accelerations (throttle & braking) by generating forces oppose pitching moments.

It should be used with caution though, and understanding what you're doing is key.

Learn about it here. Enjoy!

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Mike has a book published called "Ace Thinking" which takes the skills and experience he's gained developing race cars to create a framework for approaching tasks, engineering and otherwise.

Many of the approaches to problems you hear in these episodes are communicated in the book, which you can find on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ACE-Thinking...

All proceeds from the book go towards the Small Piece Trust.

This episode is also available on Spotify and Apple under the title "Wavey Dynamics Insights"

Returning again for Episode 04, we are joined by expert dynamicist Mike Law to talk about Ackermann Steering geometry.

As our Vehicle Dynamics Insights series returns for Episode 03, we are joined again by expert dynamicist Mike Law to talk about the myths and misinformation around chassis torsional rigidity.

As our Vehicle Dynamics Insights series returns for Episode 2 to focus on the widely discussed and debated topic of roll centres, we are joined again by expert dynamicist Mike Law.

As our engineering insights series returns, we are joined by Mike Law, a greatly experienced vehicle dynamicist working at the highest levels of motorsport..