In Conversation with Nathalie Nahai

In today’s conversation, I speak with Octavius Black – the CEO of Mind Gym, a consultancy that uses the latest psychology and behavioural science to transform how people think, feel and behave so as to improve both the performance of companies and the lives of the people who work within them. Having read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The Queen’s College, Oxford University, Octavius went on to work as an analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton, and later became a director of the organisational communications consultancy, Smythe Dorward Lambert. He co-founded Mind Gym in his kitchen with Sebastien Bailey 20 years ago and floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, and he has co-authored several Mind Gym books, including Wake Up Your Mind, Give Me Time, and Relationships. Octavius has written for The Times, Financial Times and The Sunday Telegraph, and together with his team, he seeks to equip ambitious companies with the knowledge and capability to be ready for tomorrow. Recorded on 26th November 2020.

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with another great friend of the podcast, Dr Aaron Balick – a psychotherapist, author and director of the international psychology hub, Stillpoint Spaces, an organisation devoted to sharing ideas from depth psychology widely and with integrity. After nearly 20 years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist and supervisor, and a decade as an academic in his field, Aaron now works as an author, media contributor and consultant, and speaks internationally to a wide variety of audiences about the impact of social media and technology on the individual and society. As a psychological consultant for the media, Aaron has advised on, and contributed to a variety of projects that aim to bring quality mental health content to programming for young people and adults alike, and he has been the resident “agony uncle” for BBC Radio 1 and CBBC for many years. The author of several fantastic books both for adults and children, his new title, The Little Book of Calm: Tame Your Anxieties, Face Your Fears, and Live Free draws upon his years of experience as a clinician and researcher, to offer readers techniques, advice and inspiration on the best and most effective ways to manage anxiety. Recorded on 14th December 2020.

In this episode, I speak with workplace and change strategist, Chris Kane, the Founder and Director of Six Ideas Ltd. Having started out as a Chartered Surveyor, Chris’ 30-year career spans corporate real estate and workplace strategy, and he has held positions from the CEO of BBC Commercial Projects and Head of the BBC Corporate Real Estate, to the VP of The Walt Disney Company’s CRE. Of his wide-ranging projects, the largest includes overseeing the BBC’s £2bn property portfolio regeneration to deliver a fit-for-purpose estate using the Corporation’s decade-long ‘analogue to digital’ transformation, as a catalyst for organisational change – an endeavor which also involved masterminding the foundations of new innovative and creative media, business and residential quarters in White City, London and Salford, Manchester. Chris is also the author of the brilliant book, Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century, published by Bloomsbury, a volume that presents a game-changing challenge to the existing ways we work, as well as being a guide to harnessing the true potential of an organisation’s people and workplace. Recorded on 9th February 2021.

Today I speak with Rita Clifton CBE – a global brand expert and former Chair of Interbrand, described by the Financial Times as a ‘Brand guru’, and by Campaign magazine as ‘The doyenne of branding’. Alongside her board chairing and non-executive roles, Rita is a writer, keynote speaker, conference chair and practitioner on all aspects of brands, branding and business leadership. A regular columnist and media commentator, Rita is the author of several books, including the best-selling title The Future of Brands, two editions of The Economist book Brands and Branding, and her new book, Love Your Imposter, which explores new types of business leadership and how we might take our imposter self and use it as a driver to come out stronger. Having worked as the Vice Chair and Strategy Director at Saatchi & Saatchi, the London CEO and Chair of Interbrand, and as co-founder of BrandCap, in 2014 Rita received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, and is now a portfolio chair and non-executive director on the board of businesses including John Lewis Partnership, Nationwide Building Society and Ascential plc. Previous boards have included ASOS, Dixons Retail plc, Emap, Bupa and Populus Group. Her non-profit boards have included Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the UK Sustainable Development Commission and Green Alliance, and she was recently appointed Chair at Forum for the Future, the leading international sustainability organisation. Recorded on 11th February 2021.

In this conversation, I speak with a great friend of the show, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. Professor of Business Psychology at University College London and Columbia University, Tomas is an international authority in psychological profiling, talent management, leadership development, and people analytics. An incisive and prolific writer, he is also the author of a wide-range of brilliant books, the most recent of which, Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders?: (And How to Fix It), was transformed into a TED talk of the same name, which has racked up over 1.3m views. Currently the Chief Talent Scientist at Manpower Group, and co-founder of Deeper Signals and Metaprofiling, Tomas is also an associate at Harvard’s Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, and his commercial work focuses on the creation of science-based tools that improve organisations’ abilities to predict performance, and people’s abilities to understand themselves. Tomas has previously held academic positions at New York University and the London School of Economics, and frequently lectures at Harvard Business School, Stanford Business School, London Business School, and IMD, as well as being the co-founder and CEO of BrazenX and the former CEO at Hogan Assessment Systems. Recorded on 27th November 2020.

Today, I speak with Cindy Gallop, founder & CEO of Make Love Not Porn, the world’s first user-generated, human-curated social sex platform which is ‘Pro-sex. Pro-porn. Pro-knowing the difference’. With over 30 years of experience in brand building, marketing and entrepreneurialism, Cindy is a brand and business innovator, consultant, coach and keynote speaker, who works with those who want to change the game in their particular sector. From brand and business innovation, leadership and advertising, to sextech, social responsibility and diversity and inclusion, Cindy has worked with some of the biggest brands across a gamut of industries, and her unique approach has seen her reach audiences around the world, with her 2009 TED talk, Make love, not porn, attracting over 2.6 million views. Summarising her style as, “I like to blow shit up. I am the Michael Bay of business,” Cindy takes a radical, innovative and transformative approach to helping clients envision and achieve their futures, whether in leadership, branding, or in creating more gender-equal, diverse and inclusive workplaces. Recorded on 15th January 2021.

Today I speak with the inimitable Brian Solis, a world-renowned digital anthropologist and futurist. An award-winning author and global keynote speaker, Brian’s research, advisory and presentations humanise the relationship between disruptive innovation and its impact on institutions, markets and societies. He not only helps audiences understand what’s happening and why, he also visualises future trends and inspires people to take leading roles in defining the future they want to see. Brian serves as Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, and his work focuses on thought leadership and research that explores digital transformation, innovation and disruption, customer experience, commerce, and the cognitive enterprise. He has advised leading brands, celebrities, and startups, and his ideas and work are consistently featured in the press. A regular contributor to leading business and industry publications including Forbes, Harvard Business Review, CMO.com, Adweek and others, Brian is also an official LinkedIn Influencer. His work is followed by over 700,000 people across social media. Recorded on 24th February 2021.

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Barbara Kellerman – the Founding Executive Director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, and a member of the Kennedy School faculty for over twenty years. A world-leading authority on the subject of leadership, Barbara has held professorships at Fordham, Tufts, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Washington, Uppsala, Dartmouth, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and she is the cofounder of the International Leadership Association (ILA). Having received the Wilbur M. McFeeley award by the National Management Association for her pioneering work on leadership and followership, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Leadership Association, Barbara has spoken to audiences all around the world, and has appeared on media outlets including CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, NPR, MSNBC, Reuters, and the BBC. Alongside articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and the Harvard Business Review, Barbara has authored many books including Leadership: Essential Selections on Power, Authority, and Influence (2010); Professionalizing Leadership (2018), and Leaders Who Lust: Power, Money, Sex, Success, Legitimacy, Legacy (co-authored with Todd Pittinsky). Her new book, The Enablers: How Team Trump Flunked the Pandemic and Failed America, is now out. Recorded on 19th January 2021.

In today's conversation, I speak with David Rowan – renowned technology expert and former editor-at-large of WIRED magazine’s UK edition, Conde Nast’s award-winning technology-and-innovations magazine that stays ahead of the trends transforming businesses. In his role as editor of WIRED UK, he traveled extensively to investigate the companies and entrepreneurs who are changing our world, and his insights and research are documented brilliantly in his captivating book, Non-Bullshit Innovation: Radical Ideas from the World’s Smartest Minds. As a speaker, David has given keynotes around the world on the themes of technology, business, and innovation, and he has chaired and moderated high-profile events for the UK and French governments, for Google Zeitgeist and TED Global, and for international banks, and Fortune 100 businesses. His most recent awards include Techmark Technology Journalist of the Year, DMA Editor of the Year, and British Society of Magazine Editors’ Editor of the Year. With wide newspaper experience as an editor, he has made TV films for Channel 4 News, and written regular columns in GQ, Condé Nast Traveller, The Times, and The Guardian. Recorded on 12th January 2021.

In this episode, I speak with Scott Barry Kaufman – a humanistic psychologist whose work explores the depths of human potential. Having obtained his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at Yale University, and an M. Phil in experimental psychology from the University of Cambridge under a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, his interests lie in using his research to help all kinds of minds live a creative, fulfilling, and self-actualised life. Scott has taught courses on intelligence, creativity, and well-being at Columbia University, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and beyond, and in 2015 he was named one of “50 groundbreaking scientists who are changing the way we see the world” by Business Insider. He also hosts the world’s No.1 psychology podcast — The Psychology Podcast— which has received over a whopping 15 million downloads and was included in Business Insider’s list of “9 podcasts that will change how you think about human behavior.” A prolific writer, teacher, self-actualisation coach, and public speaker, Scott’s writing has appeared in a host of publications including The Atlantic, Scientific American, Psychology Today, and Harvard Business Review and his latest book, Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, proposes a new hierarchy of human needs for the 21st century – one that allows for the fulfilment of individual potential as well as the actualisation of transcendent purpose and peak experiences. Recorded on 12th January 2021.