Battling with Business

Episode 42 - How to get people dancing; first followers and loyal dissent

After a party at Chris's house, he pushed the emergency podcast button to ask why he couldn't get anyone dancing?  We explore the concept of the first follwer and the power they have in driving group behaviours.  The conversation moves on to wider group dynamics, group-think, and  the idea of loyal dissent.  We discuss the conditions required to allow team members to normalise good behaviours and support the overall mission.

Episode 41 - The Loneliness of Command

When leaders feel that the decisions they need to make isolate them from their teams or even their superiors, they can feel the stress and pressure of their position.   In this episode, Chris and Gareth share their experiences of feeling the loneliness of command and explore why this happens. Emotional stress is normal, but there are things that can exacerbate it and there are mitigations to help reduce it. Gareth talks about a time when he refused an order and the lessons that all involved learned from the experience and Chris talks about being put on the spot in front of his team and how this induced stress and made him feel detached from the organization.

Episode 40 - The Influencers #4 - Erwin Rommel, ’The Desert Fox’ - Part 2

Johannes Erwin Rommel, 'The Desert Fox' was a German Field Marshal during the Second World War. Perhaps no other military leader came out of the war with a greater reputation. In this 2-part Influencers episode, Chris and Gareth explore how the legacy of Rommel has endured.  Was he a genius or is he over-rated? And why does the myth of the ‘Good German’ endure despite him being a senior Officer in the Nazi regime?  What can we learn about tactics, strategy and, leadership from one of the most well-known but arguably one of the most misrepresented leaders of the 20th century?

Episode 39 - The Influencers #4 - Erwin Rommel, ’The Desert Fox’ - Part 1

Johannes Erwin Rommel, 'The Desert Fox' was a German Field Marshal during the Second World War. Perhaps no other military leader came out of the war with a greater reputation. In this 2-part Influencers episode, Chris and Gareth explore how the legacy of Rommel has endured.  Was he a genius or is he over-rated? And why does the myth of the ‘Good German’ endure despite him being a senior Officer in the Nazi regime?  What can we learn about tactics, strategy, and leadership from one of the most well-known but arguably one of the most misrepresented leaders of the 20th century?

Episode 38 - Battling with VUCA. Making sense of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity

VUCA, a term that originates from US Army thinking around the dynamic and dangerous conditions of contemporary warfare, that bleeds across into the corporate lexicon.  But what is it and what can we do about it?  In this episode, Gareth breaks down each of the constituent parts of what makes things VUCA, and then in discussion with Chris, they try to find ways to overcome these challenges. 

Episode 37 - Do you want to play a game?

Chris and Gareth introduce games that they have each run with corporate participants.  Both games are quite different and as a result, engender different experiences, emotional responses, and lessons. Over the course of the episode, they discuss the specifics of the workshops they've run using these games as well as the wider value of games and these sorts of events.  

Episode 36 - Leading teams through transformation and the power of external perspectives with Pia Wendell

Gareth and Chris are delighted to be joined by Pia Wendelbo an experienced mentor and business coach from 'Scandinavian Change Agents'.   Between them, they explore the value of having external advisors within organizations, especially within the C-Suite. Begging the question 'who mentors the people at the top? The conversation also covers change and transformation programs and the need to shift the culture as well as the goals.   One of the key discussions revolves around the difference between coaching and management consultancy.  

Episode 35 - The Influencers #3 - John Boyd, the greatest strategist since Sun Tzu

Once again we deep dive into the life of an individual who has changed the way we think about the world.  Col John Boyd is the creator of the infamous 'OODA loop' as well as many other concepts that have changed our perceptions of strategy.  In the discussion, we try to untangle myth from reality, tackle misconceptions of the OODA loop, and chat about the links between mechanics and human dynamics in systems.

Episode 34 - Lie, damned lies, and Deception!

Chris and Gareth explore the difficult subject of Mis, Dis, and Mal information. trying to work out when, if ever, it's appropriate for a leader to mislead people or hide things.  They also discuss the difference between honesty and transparency, how to capture the narrative, and how to lead people in an ever more polarised world. 

Episode 33 - Decision making lessons from J Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project

Having just come back from a screening of the Christopher Nolan film, Oppenheimer, Chris and Gareth discuss what we might learn from such a profound and important moment in our collective history.  From project management, through to leading teams on morally difficult tasks.  Gareth discusses leading teams in Combat and they both try to understand what led to General Groves and Dr Oppenheimer ultimately being successful in the pursuit of such an audacious, complex, and wholly unprecedented goal.