TIE Unearthed

By Philippa WhiteBusiness

TIE Unearthed episodes

February 17, 2023 Ep:#67 Finding your laser beam of genius with Sarah Watson
Phenomenal A list talent causing a wave of destruction at a company.

We’ve all seen that person.

We may even be, or have been, that person.

But what is the reason for it?

Sarah tells us it’s when Talent has “misplaced genius”.

And she is essentially the red telephone for capital T talent.

Sarah Watson is an Executive Coach that helps bring leaders to their greatness.

She used to run the Global Strategy department for the global ad agency BBH, and whilst doing that, and being the chairman of the New York agency, she unearthed her calling. Having worked on brands for years and helping them find their soul, she realised that’s what she needs to do – but for people.

Today Sarah is going to talk to us about why monasteries exist.

Her love of language and poetry and how this finds its way into her work.

Sarah tells us how she helps people drop into a different presence and a different part of themselves that is deeper than the one they thought they had constructed.

And what happens when they do that.

She talks about the emergent journey.

And how people are conditioned out of their power.

And she ends on God’s Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins. And her articulation of how this relates to her work is simply gorgeous.

This is such an inspirational episode. So, grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and enjoy this conversation with Sarah.

And please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter

Follow Sarah on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-watson-aa49181/
39 min
February 03, 2023 Ep:#66 How to stop men taking their own lives with Ben Akers
How are you out of 10?

These 6 words have saved lives.

And today you’re going to hear how.

Did you know that the biggest killer of boys and men from 9 – 50 is suicide?

That’s one man every 90 minutes in the UK.

Why is that?

In 2014 my friend Ben Aker’s life was turned upside down with the suicide of his childhood best friend Steve Yates.

After years of trying to come to terms with this tragedy, he decided to use his power to stop the next Steve. And today you’re going to hear Ben talk about how to stop men taking their own lives. Ben is the co-CEO and co-Founder of Talk Club, a talking and listening charity for men.
Ben is also a film maker, problem solver and mental health campaigner.
He began his career as an advertising copywriter and grew to a multi award winning Creative Director at some of the world’s most creative ad agencies in London and Sydney.

We talk about the creation of his changementary “Steve”.

We talk about how Talk Club was born and the major ingredients to its success.

Ben gives advice to anyone out there that’s listening that may be having a hard time.

And as a special treat, Ben then lets us in on his genius solution when it comes to funding his charity. “Not everyone has to be there with their hands out”.

This is a tough subject, but one that needs to be talked about, and today you’re going to learn some simple ways to help those people closest to you.

So grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and here is Ben.

Please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter

Check out: Talk Club: TalkClub.org “Steve”
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEp5ck-DYzI
Full film: stevedocumentary.com TED talk: https://youtu.be/Y9FEQYp1imc
OurKidsOurLives: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ourkidsourlives
Instagram: @STEVEDOCUMENTARY
@Madewithltd @TalkClubUK @ourkidsourlives
Twitter: @SteveDoco + @benakers @Madewith_ @TalkClubUK @ourkidsourlives
Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-akers-39873729
34 min
January 20, 2023 Ep:#65 Prison Radio and it’s power with Phil Maguire
Prison, by definition, removes someone’s liberty as punishment for the crime committed.

But there are two ways to spend that time inside, and therefore, two ways to see prison.

Prison can be a horrible place to suffer for the crimes that have been committed.

Or it can be a place to reflect, to learn, to gain skills, and to be better.

Today I talk to Phil Maguire who became the founding Chief Executive of the Prison Radio Association (PRA) in 2006, and has been running the award-winning charity that uses radio to support prisoner rehabilitation ever since.

We talk about what prisons looked like in London in the 90s: Riots, racial tension, deaths in custody and lots of incidents of self-harm. A sad and desperate place.

And then how things have evolved from there.

We talk about what happens when you create a conversation between the people living in prison and the people running a prison.

And what happens when you empower people in the most difficult of situations.

Phil talks about how their award-winning model has people who live in prisons at the heart of everything they do – including being the award-winning hosts and producers of their programmes.

You’ll hear about what happens when people leave prison and how they continue to engage people “beyond the gate”.

And how they are building a global movement of people using audio in criminal justice systems for social good.

Talk about the power of humanity!

This is a movement you will love to know more about. So grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and enjoy this conversation with Phil.

Please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter
And definitely check out:
The Life After Prison Podcast: https://lifeafterprisonpod.com/
More on Prison Radio: https://www.prisonradio.org/
And connect with Phil here: [email protected]
41 min
January 06, 2023 Ep:#64 Human emotion and architecture with Heatherwick’s Eliot Postma
I was researching schools in Brazil for my 12-year-old a few months ago.

The schools on the short-list were the same when it came to teachers, distance from home, and their approach to education.

But the deal breaker for me was one thing: the architectural experience inside the school.

And until I had this conversation with Eliot, I hadn’t truly understood what that experience was and why it was so important to me.

Eliot Postma has been working with Heatherwick Studio since 2010 to deliver innovative designs on numerous high-profile projects that focus on the human experience through form, craft, materiality, and sustainability.

Heatherwick and Eliot are all about reconnecting the built environment with the human emotion – and today he’s going to help us understand why that is so important.

Eliot answers some pretty big questions in this episode.

What does it mean to make places and things more joyful and fundamentally more human?

And how can architecture create the necessary solutions for the climate and biodiversity crises our planet is facing?

He uses examples from his experience working on a large portfolio of projects that span Europe, North America and Asia to bring his thoughts to life.

We hear about what solutions the studio designed for a UK cancer research charity to create a home-like and calming environment for people that have just discovered they have cancer.

And he brings to life the story of how they created the award-winning Mountain View Google campus. Google's first ground-up campus that took 10-years to create, that spans 3-million square feet and had sustainability central to all aspects of the design.

We talk about re-earthing our cities.

The significant impact that construction has on the climate crisis and what the solutions are.

And where one of the world’s most famous design studios is looking for the next 20 years.

This is a super inspiring conversation and one that will get you thinking.

So grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and enjoy this conversation with Eliot.

And please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter
47 min
November 18, 2022 Ep:#63 How to be an activist in your life and work with Tessa Wernink
We start this conversation reflecting on the question “where are you from”?

If you are a global citizen, you will be able to relate to Tessa’s response.

Tessa Wernink was born in Hong Kong, moved to the Netherlands when she was 10, and has lived in various other Asian countries over the years. She is a social entrepreneur and business activist, facilitator and podcast maker who is addressing social and environmental issues in business.

We then go on to talk about how a phone can be built and made fairly. And what that means.

Tessa talks about Fairphone, the only European phone today, that she co-founded at the start of her activist journey.

After Fairphone Tessa then started to ask how businesses can be more humane and a force for good.

We talk about the Undercover Activist which she then founded.

How people can be more of an activist in the way they work. How they can accelerate projects around social and environmental issues.

And we learn how you can nurture more of an activist culture at a company, turning from theory and great ideas to action.

We reflect on culture, customs, and change.

And then talk about interesting social businesses around the world ranging from environmentally friendly cars, how to approach death undertaking from a more sustainable and ethical point of view, and then an entrepreneur in Hong Kong that is creating fish from a lab.

Tessa finishes on the concept of active hope. Which is such a great way to finish this episode, and this year’s series of the TIE Unearthed Podcast.

Let’s celebrate action. So grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and get inspired with Tessa.

Please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter

If you want to find out more about Fairphone please click here https://www.fairphone.com/en/), about The Undercover Activist https://www.undercoveractivist.com and about Tessa’s What If We Get It Right podcast: https://www.whatifwegetitright.com

See you again in January of 2023 for more inspiring episodes of TIE Unearthed. Happy holidays!!
44 min
November 04, 2022 Ep:#62 The force of self-awareness in Iraq with Asmaa Ibrahim and Jiyan Foundation
Why is there so much trauma in Iraq?
How was the war with ISIS so different to the other wars over the years?
What is the reality on the ground for women in Iraq?
Today I speak with Asmaa Ibrahim, co-head of Trauma Care and Health at Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights and assistant lecturer at the Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology at the University of Duhok in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
We start this conversation understanding the history and the background to the country.
Asmaa talks about the stories from when the war broke out in 2014. And what she has heard from the people that she helps.
Then she explains what she does to help start the healing process.
Asmaa tells us one of her favourite techniques that she uses to help people heal from trauma.
We hear about how children were militarised and educated under ISIS.
And then what she and the Jiyan Foundation are going to do to reintegrate these now young adults back into society.
During this conversation Asmaa gives us a brief window into the life in Iraq. We talk about the culture. And she finishes explaining her anguish but also her hope.
I was left so reflective after this. Talking to people in other places is so important. Perspective is such an incredible thing, and conversations like this bring us all closer together.
There is a lot here. So grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and enjoy this conversation with Asmaa.
And please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.
And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter
43 min
October 21, 2022 Ep:#61 Rick Wheatley on breaking out of the old ways of thinking to create the future we need
We start this conversation talking about South Korea in 1998.

This was Rick’s first posting when he was in the US army at 22 years of age.

He then found himself skiing and climbing in the alps and sailing in Norway. And afterwards, very quickly got immersed in leadership development.

Rick Wheatley now runs the advisory firm he started in Oslo called Systems7, where he helps leaders break out of the old ways of thinking and helps them see new possibilities that enhance commercial success, while creating the future we need.

We talk about how he got into this space and how he started his leadership development journey.

He talks about the power of taking people to the edge of their mental maps and nudging them off.

We talk about the way our brains are wired. About cognitive bias. And how the challenges we face today impact our ability to lead change.

I ask Rick how we can accelerate the sustainability strategies and performance of companies. And how ESG can be less about a paper drill, and more about action.

His insights in this area are fascinating.

Rick talks about the power of expanding the playing field.

He talks about what a CFO said to him once that was game changing for their teams.

And then we talk about the hot topic of net zero.

There is so much here. He even finishes with some really sound advice for the times we are currently living in.

So grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and enjoy this conversation with Rick.

And please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter
43 min
October 07, 2022 Ep:#60 Ali Alvarez on love, resilience and courage to challenge convention
Have you seen the monarch butterfly migration in Mexico?

300 million butterflies arriving in Mexico during day of the dead.

And this is where we start our story talking about my friend Ali Alvarez. Mexican-born, LA-raised, and London-molded.

She started as a professional horse jumper and then went on to build a creative career in advertising and filmmaking.

And while she was juggling work in advertising, and working on her butterfly film, something happened to her that changed everything.

A traumatic head injury from a horse-riding accident one Sunday afternoon where she lost her memory and the ability on her right side to move.

Ali tells us about what happened after that fateful day.

When she got her memory back.

And then what she did from there.

She talks about how she went back to finish the film and how it healed her.

We talk about love, her inspiring family, and the power of being able to be herself and create the life she wanted to create.

She tells us the three things that have kept her together in really challenging times.

And then we finish having a conversation about how we can all make a difference in our own unique way – whatever form that may take.

This is an inspiring story of what happens when someone lives their life with conviction, determination, and love.

So grab that favourite beverage or throw on those running shoes, and enjoy this conversation with Ali.

And please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter
To find out more about Ali and her work you can click alialvarez.com.
And to check out the incredible stop frame animation film Ali, Cali Oliver, Bart Yates and Joseph Mann made for TIE in 2010, click here.
35 min
September 24, 2022 Ep:#59 Sarah Cohen on the force of personal connections
We see the world not as it is, but as we are.

We simply don’t all interact in the world the same way with the information around us. And we all process things differently.

What you see is going to be different to what I see. And that impacts everything.

Particularly when it comes to education and people management.

Today I speak with Sarah Cohen, a People & Culture professional and leader whose experiences in education, technology, and economics have shaped her pragmatic and innovative approaches to developing people and growing organizations.

We talk about her learning challenges growing up, and the fascinating insights that came from that time in her life.

We hear about the fundamental lesson her dad taught her in his last weeks of life. And how that then shaped how she chose to live and work.

She tells us about her time in education and helping other children transcend learning challenges.

And then how you set up the brain to be able to learn and thrive.

What is fascinating is she then took these learnings to the corporate world, where she now works in talent, and is focused on creating a culture of growing people where they thrive.

She talks of the challenges she sees in the corporate world from a talent point of view, but also how the creation of strong personal connections is the answer to a more sustainable business.

There is so much here. All rooted in people, math, and economics. Just the way Sarah likes it.

So grab your favourite beverage. Or throw on those running shoes and here is an inspiring chat with Sarah.

And please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.

And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter
40 min
September 10, 2022 Ep:#58 Laura Nice on the power of feminine energy in business
What does it look like to be a mum of two little ones and run the biggest media agency in Australia?
How about running a company and using your power to make business stand for more?
And what is the impact of feminine energy in business?
Today I’m speaking with Laura Nice, Co-CEO of OMD Australia.
We talk about why she and Sian Whitnall created the Co-CEO position.
We talk about what got her to where she is now.
And a key bit of advice about how to progress.
On this chat I wanted to understand why she became a Co-CEO and how that role came to be.
She talks about how she sees her role in helping to drive sustainability for their clients.
And what a human centric organization looks like in her mind.
We hear what purpose means for OMD and the part it plays in the business. And the power of vulnerability.
Laura then leaves us with an incredible insight to what they are doing at their company, which is a fantastic idea, and something every company should think about doing. Absolute genius.
So grab your favourite beverage. Or throw on those running shoes and here is an inspiring chat with Laura.
And please don’t forget to let us know what you think of this episode, leave a review and subscribe.
And if you would like to be reminded of future podcasts and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here. http://bit.ly/TIENewsletter
47 min