Productivity Mastery

In episode #79 of Productivity Mastery Podcast, we decided to devote ourselves to a very important topic related to team culture - CREATIVITY. And who would be better to speak about how to unleash your creative genius than a creative genius himself. Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you Jamshid Alamuti. He is a true creativity master. Even as we speak, he's working on the founding of three different companies. How does he manage to do it? Jamshid shared his unique view, experience, and advice about: 💡 Exploring life and learning to be human 💡 Creativity in life and work 💡 How to build a team culture of creativity 💡 The problem about "finding inspiration" And much, much more. Jamshid’s multifaceted nature makes him unique as a disruptor, a transformational strategist, a development expert, and a creative entrepreneur. A born communicator, Jamshid’s rare ability to bring different people together led him to his current project at Neural Jam: combining technology and creativity and apply them to innovation, entrepreneurship, and problem-solving projects. His track record is wide and diversified, namely in Arts, Business, educational and personal development. He has been challenging established ideas and connecting people from different backgrounds under common goals all over the world for the past 20 years. Tune in and enjoy this exciting episode.  And remember, all work and no play make a team dull and grey.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about a different valley – “The Valley of Genius”, which happens to be the most most-read and best-reviewed book about the history of modern Silicon Valley. And our guest is its brilliant author – Adam Fisher! From having a “geeky” childhood in the Silicon Valley, to working for magazines in New York, to writing about some of the biggest companies in the Silicon Valley, Adam learned a lot about passion and success. And he gave us some great insights about: 🎯How he managed to get access and interview most of the legends of Silicon Valley and put it all in a book (for 4 years), 🎯The untold stories of some of the biggest companies in the world when they were just start-ups, 🎯What made all these iconic companies successful, 🎯How the invention of a meta formula for solving mazes helps us measure success, and much more! Adam Fisher is a writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a best-selling author who specializes in books about the culture of high technology. His first book, Valley of Genius, The Uncensored History of Silicon Valley, is both the most-read and best-reviewed history of modern Silicon Valley. The book appeared on best-of lists compiled by media outlets as varied as Bloomberg Businessweek and the BBC. Chapters of the book were excerpted by Vanity Fair, Wired, New York, and The Smithsonian Magazine. Adam's second book, about a reclusive tech billionaire, was published privately. His third book, Designing Ideas, about the design superstar Yves Behar, was just released by the art publisher Thames & Hudson. Currently, Adam is working on a fourth book, also to be published privately. In a former career as a magazine journalist, Adam roamed the world covering art, travel, music, and tech for The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Men's Journal, the MIT Technology Review, and Wired. When Adam is not writing books for private clients, he still writes the occasional long-form feature story, but now mostly for the new magazine, Alta, where he is a contributing editor. Enjoy listening and stay #productive!

In episode #77 we’re having the author of “FastScaling: The Smart Path to Building Massively Valuable Businesses”  - Patrick Fleshner. He shared with us a lot of essential tips for founders of start-up businesses: that might “Get Through the Growth Valley of Death”: 💡 The five building blocks of fast scaling, 💡 How to accelerate growth – predictably and efficiently, 💡 Focusing on Customer success, 💡 How to stay on top of the game by implementing healthy habits, and much more! Patrick Flesner is a growth capital investor and a partner at the investment firm LeadX Capital Partners. Each year, he looks at hundreds of tech companies that want to raise capital in order to accelerate growth. He sees patterns in companies that fail and companies that succeed. His respective growth expertise and his knowledge deriving from more than 16 years in Private Equity and Venture Capital have gone into his latest book, FastScaling. Prior to joining LeadX Capital Partners, where he built one of the largest European portfolios of B2B and B2B2C tech companies active in consumer industries, Patrick Flesner had been a lawyer and partner at reputable German business law firms. His articles on Venture Capital and M&A have been published by renowned magazines like the MIT Sloan Management Review and the Global Corporate Venturing Magazine.  Patrick Flesner received a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Cologne and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from INSEAD Business School. He lives with his wife and children in Cologne, Germany. Enjoy listening and stay #productive!

In this episode, Zane Bojāre, the Head of Marketing & Comms at Startup Wise Guys, talks about finding the sweet spot between ambition and mindfulness. She shares with us some raw and honest insights on: 💡  The positive life force and dark side of ambition 💡  How can we be ambitious without being self-abusive 💡  Tips on building habits according to our needs 💡  Mindfulness as part of your journey to success And much more practical advice. After 10+ years in marketing communications and building her own company - a social enterprise providing senior employment and minimizing textile waste, Zane is currently helping techy startup founders become successful entrepreneurs at one of Europe’s top startup accelerators – Startup Wise Guys. She is the main person behind a comprehensive Startup Scene report about the Baltic region and an active Co-Creator at Riga TechGirls. Untypically for the tech sector, she holds a Master degree in Philosophy. Tune in!

Ever dreamed of meeting a real Hollywood DOP? Listen to episode #75 with Shane Hurlbut, ASC, and learn about: 🎥 How the DOP of “Need for Speed” and “Terminator: Salvation” started from the bottom; 🎥 An inspiring love story that drove Shane his whole life; 🎥 Making 102(!) music videos in a year,  including Guns N' Roses' “November Rain”; 🎥 Implementing work principles in the family life, 🎥 How Shane and his wife Lydia pass on their knowledge through their own film Academy, hurlbutacademy.com, and so much more! Director of photography Shane Hurlbut, ASC works at the forefront of cinema as a storyteller, innovator and discerning collaborator, who brings more than three decades of experience to his art. Most recently, Hurlbut lensed Resident Alien, a TV Series for SYFY, about a crash-landed alien who takes on the identity of a small-town Colorado doctor who wrestles with the moral dilemma of his secret mission on Earth. Hurlbut also photographed Netflix’s Love Hard which stars Nina Dobrev and Darren Barnet and Jimmy O Yang which is currently in post-production. In 2020, Hurlbut worked on the Disney+ original film Safety, directed by Reggie Hudlin. Inspired by the true story of Ray-Ray McElrathbey, the film follows a freshman football player for Clemson University who secretly raised his younger brother on campus, after his home life became too unsteady. In addition, he lensed the Netflix original film, Holidate, directed by John Whitesell, which stars Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. Earlier in his career, Hurlbut photographed iconic music videos including Guns N' Roses' November Rain and collaborated with artists Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, The Rolling Stones, and Nirvana. His debut feature film, The Rat Pack, received critical acclaim and earned him a nomination from the American Society of Cinematographers, making him the youngest nominee to date. Hurlbut is based in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife Lydia, who is CEO of the Hurlbut Academy. The Hurlbut Academy is a professional filmmakers platform that fast tracks member’s careers in the content and entertainment industry, helping them master their craft. The Academy will change its name to Filmmakers Academy in November, 2021. Tune in and enjoy the ride! 

Listen to episode #74 with Milimo Banji, Founder of TapIn, and get insights on: 💡 The shifting needs and wants of Gen Z; 💡 Gen Z and flexible work; 💡 What is TapIn's mission and how does it help today's generation of young people; 💡 Why hustling may not work in your favor; 💡 Where should a young person start looking for a job, and much more! Milimo (Mils) Banji is the 24-year old Founder and CEO of TapIn, a media company that is on a mission to prepare 100 million young people for the world of work. TapIn has built an active social community of over 100,000 Gen Z’s and influencers who engage with their social video content every month. They are helping employers such as EY, Capgemini, Newton Europe, and the RAF attract and engage with the best Gen Z talent. Being the eldest in his team, Mils is leading a team of Gen Z's who are quickly disrupting the ever-changing recruitment marketing space. Tune in!

In this episode of Productivity Mastery, Simon shares his valuable experience and talks about: 💡 a Japanese principle regarding the ways of learning; 💡 what he does to keep him inspired and motivated; 💡 creativity and pursuing what you like to do even if you're ~not~ creative on demand; 💡 goal-setting and his approach to establishing what's a priority to him; 💡 a reminder to enjoy the path to success, and many more! Cultivated through decades of skateboarding and worldwide adventures, award-winning photojournalist Simon Skipper challenges the norm in his search for truth, identity and belonging. With endless curiosity, he looks for simple answers to our complex human lives. Simon is on a mission to inspire mankind to live authentically and fully and surrender to the miraculous in our lives. He’s co-authored several best-selling books and has been featured on stages, in podcasts and magazines worldwide. Besides his visual entrepreneurial work, Simon is studying to become one of the world’s first Emographic Psychotherapists. Simon Skipper is intent on sharing his insights with others, so that they can finally step into the hiking boots they were born to wear and carve out a path to their true selves. Tune in!

Nick Elston is one of the highest-profile and leading Inspirational Speakers on the Lived Experience of Mental Health. In life, we can either let our adversities, our challenges, define us negatively for the rest of our lives… or… we can choose for it to forge something beautiful, something powerful – something that never would have existed without you going through your ‘stuff’ in the first place. Described as a ‘BIG man, BIG heart, BIG story & BRUTAL honesty!’, ‘Utterly inspirational, absolutely engaging!’ and ’10/10 – a Speaking Masterclass!’ – Nick shares his experiences of Mental Illness, Mental Ill-Health & Breakdown worldwide – through his powerful, inspiring, engaging & emotional talks. Nick is also a Transformational Speaking Coach who helps other people to deliver their messages through the concept of ‘Emotional Storytelling’. Tune in!

Listen to episode #71 with Kate Williams, CEO of 1% for the Planet, and get insights on: 💡 The effectiveness of flextime; 💡 Creating the conditions for others to be successful; 💡 Always knowing your current top priorities; 💡 How does 1% for the Planet function; 💡 The importance of being part of a community that drives you forward, and much more! Kate Williams is CEO of 1% for the Planet, a global movement that inspires action and commitment so that our planet and future generations thrive. 1% for the Planet’s global network of thousands of businesses and individuals have given $100s of millions to environmental partners to date Kate has led significant growth in the community’s scale and impact, as well as deep work on best practices for implementing high-impact giving strategies, growing a network brand, and operating as an effective and innovative enterprise. She earned a BA at Princeton University and an MS at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and has served on a variety of Boards throughout her career. Kate is a mother, a trail runner, an active dog walker, and a kitchen gardener. Check out the 1% & join the movement: onepercentfortheplanet.org Tune in for another great episode!

In this episode, Mahdis Gharaei gives valuable insights on: 👩 Why is women's presence in executive-level jobs so low? 🦸‍♀️ Where do negative unconscious biases towards women come from? 👩 Ways to stimulate women to start their own companies 🦸‍♀️ How do you make self-care a priority? 👩 How do you take care of your team? Mahdis is the co-founder & CEO of the female factor, a career platform dedicated to empowering & developing a new generation of female leaders by providing knowledge-driven experiences around personal & professional development, a global mentoring program and a strong network in over 75 countries. She co-founded her first business at age 23 and also served in leadership roles at non-profit organisations such as the World Affairs Council, AustrianStartups and Female Founders. Mahdis is a passionate opportunity maker, diversity advocate, entrepreneur, mentor, podcast host and speaker with a love for business development, sales, negotiations, female leadership and diversity & inclusion. Tune in !